"The Fear Factor"
Sermon Presented June 19, 2005
Genesis 21:8-21
No matter how you look at it, this isn't a pretty story! In fact, it seems most inappropriate for a Fathers Day text! It's a story that if it were to occur today, would probably place the Father of Judaism, Islam and Christianity in a negative human interest story on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I can see the headlines now: "Father ousts his foreign wife and teenage son at the insistence of Wife #1!" News reporters would be sticking microphones in Abraham's face and asking why he endangered the lives of his wife and child by sending them into the wilderness. Abraham and wife #1 - Sarah would reap the scorn of the Milwaukee community.
Before I read the text, let me refresh your memory of what precedes it! Abraham and Sarah were childless at the ages of 86 and 76 respectively. Although God promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations, Abraham's faith in the promise dwindled to only a glimmer. Because Sarah doubted her ability to conceive, she suggested that Abraham take her Egyptian slave girl Hagar as a second wife so he could father a child. Abraham agreed, and Hagar delivered him a son whom he named Ishmael.
Much later, when Ishmael was an adolescent, Sarah became pregnant and birthed Isaac. Now there is real conflict in this household with one father/husband, his two wives and two sons - one by each wife. Our text this morning begins with the weaning of Isaac, Sarah's son -at about the age of three.
Genesis 21:8-21 (Read text.)
Usually female biblical characters aren't well-developed, and most aren't even given names. However, we know almost as much about Sarah and Hagar, as we do about most of the male biblical heroes. When we look at these two women, we see personalities that are depicted with faults as well as strengths.
Sarah looks especially bad in our text! One minute she is joyful, thankful and filled with love and the next she's jealous, demanding, fearful and contemptuous! She can't enjoy her son of promise because she fears that the son of the slave woman - who happens to be the older of the two boys - will receive the inheritance and the blessing she desires for her son Isaac. She can't stand the daily reminders of her husband's relationship with Hagar staring her in the face as she watches Ishmael and Isaac play together. She forgets the joy of having a son and begins to abuse Hagar.
This isn't the first time Sarah has abused Hagar. The writer of Genesis tells us in chapter 16 that when Hagar became pregnant, Sarah treated her so badly that Hagar ran away. Because of divine intervention, Hagar returned when informed that her expected son would be the father of a multitude.
Now, even though it appears that God allowed the eviction of Hagar and Ishmael, it doesn't make it right. God gives us the freedom to do the wrong thing as well as what's right. We can choose either good or evil, and here Abraham chooses the path of least resistance by succumbing to his wife's fear and jealousy and sending part of his family into the wilderness. The dark side of both Abraham and Sarah are shown here.
Hagar and Ishmael leave with only a skin of water and some bread - not adequate provisions for a wilderness journey. Soon Ishmael is dying of thirst. Hagar cries out to God and God intervenes. God shows this grieving mother a source of water that until now she hasn't seen. The story goes on to say that God was with Ishmael and that Ishmael became an expert archer and married one of his mother's people from Egypt.
Help was available in a well of water, but until God opened her eyes, Hagar didn't see God's response to her cries. That's the way it is with us many times. We look so hard for a specific miracle of magnificent proportions to solve our problem that we miss the help that's right under our noses - something we don't expect.
On the surface, Sarah appears to be the winner here. She no longer has to contend with Hagar and her son. Out of sight - out of mind! Abraham chose her and Isaac over Hagar and Ishmael. Now Isaac stands alone as the heir of Abraham's blessing and wealth.
However, when we look at the story more carefully, we see that Hagar is the real winner. Now she's free to make a new life for her son and herself outside of the abusive atmosphere of Abraham's home. What appears at first glance to be a death sentence turns out to be an opportunity for a new life. They are liberated and given a new start. What began as a frightening eviction brings the opportunity to start anew.
Fear is a major factor in this story. Sarah feared being childless and she later feared the displacement of her birth son Isaac by her husband's older son. Hagar feared being alone in the wilderness and she feared that her son Ishmael would die of hunger and thirst. Abraham must have feared his wife or he wouldn't have even considered her request to force the departure of Hagar and Ishmael.
Fear displayed as jealousy, fear for the life of a child and fear for the future might have triumphed had it not been for God's intervention. When we are afraid, our fears can either immobilize us or cause us to think and act irrationally. Fear can cause a police officer to shoot an unarmed suspect or a homeowner to shoot at a sound on the staircase. It can cause a spouse to search for evidence of infidelity or a parent to look for drugs in their teenager's room. It can throw us into deep depression or drive us to an unfounded conclusion. It can really mess up our lives.
We all face fear, and when we don't work through it, it robs us of hope and light! When we face surgery or a serious illness, there is a fear in the back of our mind that something might go wrong, the diagnostician, surgeon or anesthesiologist might make a mistake, cancer may be present, the cancer is inoperable, or our heart might stop beating. We understand these feelings!
We face divorce, the death of a spouse, the time of an injury, the birth of a handicapped child or the loss of a job with fear. We question God's presence because we can't always see God working in the situation. What happens is tragic, no doubt about it, but God can bring good from the tragedy when we trust God. And like Hagar, we must be open to see the salvation God has for us - the well of water that is already present - the silver lining in the clouds - the rainbow after the storm.
Those who desire to split denominations, political parties, or churches, or to ostracize people from society who are different than they play on fear. When I was in the Southern Baptist Convention the fear was perpetuated that professors who didn't believe the Bible were infiltrating our colleges and seminaries and teaching theological error. Today it's the homosexual issue that is causing fear and divisions among God's people.
People tend to fear what they don't understand and often we don't bother to look for truth. We tend to believe what those in authority tell us and don't often question what they say. We fail to look beyond our understanding to find truth. Because of fear, we tend to surround ourselves with those who think and act like we do. We may not force those who believe differently out of our family, social group or church, but we can sure make them feel uncomfortable.
The Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear, yet our human love will never be free enough of fear to acquire that perfect love. But we can work toward that ideal because that is embedded in the message of Christ, who said: "Love one another as I have loved you!" That kind of love will cast out fear because it is perfect love.
Fear impacts us all. Let's seek God's help in the midst of our wilderness journeys so that we can experience life. Let's look for the positive in our suffering instead of allowing fear to paralyze us or cause us to do something we will later regret. Let's help friends and family members face the fear factors in their lives as we allow God to work through us. May God liberate us to new life - a life free from fear!
