Chapter 4: 1
Hagar and the conceit of life
                                       

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar;  so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."    Abram agreed to what Sarai said.  So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.  He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress" (Genesis 16:1-4)

Hagar is an Egyptian maidservant who came down with Abraham Egypt, she was probably offered to Abraham as a gift from the Pharaoh. Her name means Immigration or Escape. Going through a study of Hagar’s life, we find out many useful lessons to apply on ourselves in our journey of life.

Hagar as an Egyptian maidservant, she probably experienced the enslavement and the bad treatment of the Egyptians, which the people of Israel has also suffered of. The Holy Bible says: “They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly” (Exodus 1:14).

Definitely Hagar has enjoyed comfort and freedom when she became Abraham’s maidservant, for he was undoubtedly treating his slaves and servants nicely. That was ascertained from his relation with Eliezer of Damascus whom Abraham appointed as the head of his servants at the household. Abraham was not only taking care of his slaves, he was even taking care of his donkey; he said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."  The Bible also says: "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal,  but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”(Proverbs 12:10)

Thus, Hagar moved out from a difficult stage in her life to a better and greater one. And it did not end at this stage, for ten years after her residence in the land of Canaan, she became Abraham’s wife and the head of the house, as Sara has given Hagar to Abraham to be his wife.

By becoming Abraham’s wife, Hagar was approaching closer to her mistress position. And her success did not stop, as within a short period she got pregnant and had in her womb the successor and heir who will own all of Abraham’s richness.

Hence within only ten years Hagar was upgraded from a poor Egyptian enslaved maid to Abraham’s maidservant, then to Sara’s maidservant, after that she became her personal companion and the head of her housemaid; like what Eliezer of Damascus was to Abraham; and finally she became Abraham’s wife and the mother of his heir and successor whom he waited long.

Up to this extent, Hagar couldn’t hold herself and couldn’t bear this great and quick success that occurred in only few years, so she dignified herself and elevated her heart and she started to despise Sara her mistress and patron considering her inferior. And from that point, comes out the third challenge in life which is the conceit or the pride.

When God gives us wealth, when our abilities and circumstances change, and when we advance from progress to another, some of us cannot control such success and start elevating their hearts and feeling superior on others, and might even ignore God who provided all that.

Dear Reader, do not feel superior, and do not despise others and let them feel they are inferior to you, but thank God for what He gave you and provided you with, and also pray for others.

Magdy Samuel