Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
In this passage of scripture we observe where a pretty difficult problem had arisen within the marriage, in that Sarah being barren, became desperate concerning the fulfillment of God's promise to her, and in this state of mind, without consulting with God or with her husband, she made a decision that was contrary to the plain commands of God, and gave Hagar to Abraham in order that they might have children by her. It is worthy of note that the Bible does not say that she asked Abraham his advice in the matter, instead the scriptures say that she "Gave" Hagar, meaning that she had thought the whole thing over without prayer, and had come to her own independent conclusions.
And Abraham on the other hand seemed all too willing to comply, even though he knew that it could not have been God's will. Instead of nipping the suggestion in the bud, he acquiesced to his wife's proposal, without taking the matter to the Lord in prayer, thus both of them made a critical, and common mistake which often occurs within the marriage relation. Whenever any issue arises within the marriage, that has the potential to cause unwarranted problems in the future, and unforeseen instabilities we did not cater for, we would be well advised to take the matter to The Lord in prayer before we make our move, and before deciding this way or that.
It is a common ploy of the devil to drive us to make hasty ill-advised moves, some of which can potentially cause grave disturbances in the future, if we do not first seek God's direction in the matter. This fact applies to great and small decisions, or anything that could possibly derail the good purposes of God towards us, hence the reason why the following scripture is of so great importance, so that we may avoid the various snares of the evil one, which are strategically set for the feet of the unwary. Let's read:
Proverbs 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
The phrase, "In all thy ways" means exactly in all thy ways, and nothing else, for we sometimes exclude God from those decisions which we may think are inconsequential, and then reap the dire results at the back end. In the instance of Abraham and Sarah, a simple prayer would have brought them both into harmony with God's will, for if they had sought His face together, as ought to be done whenever difficulties may arise, God would certainly have told them not to go forward with such a proposal, for not only was it in opposition to His revealed will for the marriage institution, but in His Omniscience, He could see way into the future, what they could not see, that the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael would be forever at war, until the second coming of Christ.
Now all of this could have been avoided, had Abraham and Sarah taken the proposal to God in prayer, a critical lesson that we may take away from this experience. Whenever we have any delicate or difficult decisions to make, it's important that we be humble and willing enough to fall on our knees, not forcing our own way into God's presence, but by humbly waiting on Him to guide and direct us in the ways of His choosing. There are times when, in the heat of the moment, like Abraham and Sarah, we too may have committed to something which God hadn't approved, yet if there is time for a reversal of our decisions, it will be well for us to approach the throne of grace with an open mind, willing to be led wherever God leads the way.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which cautions us not to trust to our own wisdom, for God who knows best does everything well, and thus we can trust Him to guide us into paths of righteousness, wisdom and peace. Let's read:
Isaiah 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion".... "thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. 20 "Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers. 21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!