Verse by Verse Study of Genesis 16:1-16
Why should we obey God? It might surprise you that obedience to God’s commands is good for us and benefits us. Abraham’s story in Genesis 16 highlights the importance of obedience, particularly 5 reasons why we should obey.
1. Obedience Helps Us Remain Dependent on God.
In Genesis 16:1-2, Sarah knew about God’s promises, but she began to doubt how God would keep those promises. She forgot that God is omnipotent and omniscient – that nothing was too great for him. God gave Abraham and Sarah a promise and his only command was to have faith in him.
Sarah began considering how she could help make that promise happen. Twisting God’s words, it was almost like she was trying to convince Abraham that God had promised Abraham a son, but not necessarily through Sarah.
Because of our human nature, we can too easily forget that God is greater than us. He is more than capable to fulfill his promises and provide our needs. When God asks us to have faith, we don’t need to take matters in our own hands.
Obedience helps us to remain dependent on God, because we can simply decide that – no matter our thoughts, feelings, or fears – we will obey God’s commands. We can trust that God knows better than us, and even when there seems to be a better solution, God’s ways are best.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV).
2. Obedience Prevents Us from Experiencing the Consequences of Bad Choices.
In Genesis 16:3-5, Abraham listened to his wife. Sarah offered her servant, Hagar, as a surrogate to give Abraham a child.
Many read this passage and conclude that Abraham’s sin was committing adultery. Although this sounds very strange to present day culture, it was a normal practice back then. Hagar would be like a surrogate. Abraham would marry Hagar, but the children they had would be considered Sarah’s. It was an acceptable custom, but it wasn’t God’s plan.
Because of this bad choice, Sarah and Hagar felt contempt for one another and Abraham was stuck in the middle. And although it was Sarah’s idea, she now blamed Abraham for the entire thing.
God has a good and perfect plan for our lives. When we submit to God’s authority, we experience that perfect plan. When we choose to go our own way, unnecessary harm and suffering can ensue.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
3. When We Disobey, We Often Harm Others, not Just Ourselves.
In Genesis 16:6, we find out that Sarah deals harshly with Hagar who flees out of fear into the wilderness. Hagar was an innocent bystander. She did not ask for this to happen to her but had to obey her masters.
Not only was Hagar affected by Abraham’s disobedience in not waiting on God to fulfill his promise, but Abraham’s unborn child was now involved.
We sometimes consider what could happen to us if we choose to disobey, but how often do we consider what could happen to those around us? Our family members and friends? Sometimes those consequences can never be taken back or reversed.
When we have sin in our hearts, it flows out and affects everything that we do, including our relationships.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23 NIV)
4. Obedience Prevents Long & Unecessary Detours.
God has a plan for us. He also has road map plotted out for us – one that is intended for our good. It may seem like the long, not-so-scenic route, or even a rough and laborious route, but it’s the route that he intended for us.
When we choose to go on our own detours, like Abraham and Sarah, we will end up facing greater hardships and situations that, in the end, results in a much longer and harder journey than he intended for us.
We have free will, but God is all knowing. He knows what paths we will choose. Yet, he does have a best plan in mind for us – one in which requires us not to sin but obey his commands.
But through God’s mercy and grace, he promises to never leave or forsake us. So, when we choose to go on our own detours, God is with us through those hardships, and he will bring us safely on the other side.
Romans 8:28 promises that “… all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose.” (NKJV).
5. When We Disobey, We Miss Out on Amazing Opportunities.
Genesis 16: 7-16, is the first time the angel of the Lord appear in the Old Testament. There are several times that Abraham spoke with the Lord, but never does it mention that the Lord appeared as a physical presence. Instead, Abraham had visions and may have heard an audible voice.
The passage calls this being the “angel of the Lord”, not the Lord; however, if you notice how Hagar addresses him in verse 13, you will see that she understood that this physically present person in front of her was none other that God himself.
“You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (NIV)
Abraham and Sarah missed out on a visitation by the Lord. Instead, Hagar who had been wronged, was visited, and blessed by him.
When we choose to disobey, rather than trust in God’s plan, we miss how God is showing up in our lives. It’s hard to hear God’s voice and see how he is working in us and those around us when we are disobedient and defiantly going our own way.
There is no such as thing as partial obedience. It’s all or nothing. When we know God’s will for our lives – when we read the Bible and understand how God wants us to live – we must obey. When we choose to do things our own way, we are living in disobedience, and we miss out on God’s perfect plan for our lives.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not ne discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NIV)
Lessons Learned From Hagar.
In Genesis 16:9, the angel of the Lord said this to Hagar, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand… I will multiply your descendants exceedingly so that they cannot be numbered… You will bare a son and you shall call him name Ishmael.”
Ishmael means “God will hear” because God listens, even to the cries of a pregnant runaway girl in a hopeless situation. God was showing compassion to Hagar. She was essentially kidnapping the child that she bore for Sarah as a surrogate. While running away was understandable, it was illegal. Yet the angel of the Lord didn’t condemn her. He was merciful and compassionate towards her and blessed her.
God is a seeking God. Though Abraham and Sarah were his chosen people, he cared for their servant girl and recognized that she was in need. He seeks out those who are weak and find themselves in difficult circumstances. He calls on us to depend on rely on him for help and strength.
Who Are the Descendants of Ishmael Today?
Ishmael is not the son of the promise made to Abraham; however God did keep his promise to Hagar. Ishmael would be the forefather of the Arab nations. The angel of the Lord gave Hagar some idea of what kind of man Ishmael would be: he would be a born fighter. The life of Hagar’s son would not be easy, but God would still look after him and sustain him.
Ishmael was the first one in the Bible to be given his name before he was born. God had a plan for him and his descendants. We may not understand what that plan entails, but God does.
Abraham and Sarah attempted to fulfill God’s promise to them. This lack of trust and disobedience resulted in consequences that were so far reaching, that it continues today in Palestine.
Abraham and Ishmael.
In Genesis 16:15-16, we see that Hagar returned with a submissive heart. She must have told Abraham and Sarah the story because Abraham ended up naming his son Ishmael.
Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. Ishmael was not the promised son, and so now Abraham would have to continue waiting in faith on the Lord.
But as you will see in the following passages, Abraham’s relationship with his son Ishmael is tainted and broken because of his lack of faith and his decision to take matters in his own hands.
Yet, we are truly blessed to have a such merciful God who promises to turn all our bad into good for his glory! In the midst of sustained conflict in the Middle East, God is at work and his will and plan will be accomplished!
For more on what the Bible says about obedience, check out my post called: The Benefits of Obedience.
Book Recommendation:
Reaching for the Invisible God: What Can We Expect to Find? by Philip Yancey. Can we count on God? How can we truly know him? This book offers deep insights to the questions we’re often afraid to ask. Knowing God is important if we are to truly understand why we should obey him.
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