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.
What is amazing in the passages above, is that the alternative now began to be incorporated into God’s plans, in their minds, as if God had originally intended for them to go that route. That’s how far persons can go and that’s how deluded persons can become, when placed into a desperate situation.
It’s not to say that Sarah and Abraham did not wait at all, they had waited, but the question is how long is reasonable for them to wait? One year, ten years, twenty years? And should we, in our experience put a threshold on patience, when waiting for a promise of God to be fulfilled in our lives?
Thus, impatience will often breed desperation, and desperation often drives persons to do that which, under normal circumstances, they would not even consider. A wife has to become pretty desperate for her to offer another woman to her husband; yet in this instance, the sheer length of time it was taking for the promise to be materialized, made polygamy seem as a viable option.
Genesis 16:3 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.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!