# 16 - Sarai vs. Hagar - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein explore the tense and emotional story of Sarai and Hagar, where faith, identity, and God's timing collide in a narrative of human frailty and divine intervention. Discover how God sees and responds to the pain of those caught in the struggles of life.
Episode 16 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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Today's opening prayer is inspired by Genesis 16:13, “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’...”
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You've drawn the attention of Pharaoh's officials, and because of that we should be prepared to tell them. You're my sister, not my wife. This is for your protection as well as my own. If you've drawn the eye of a prominent Egyptian as your brother, my life would be spared.
So you'd lie.
It's not an outright lie. We do share a father, Abram.
You would tell a half truth and deny me the protection of my husband. Lie to spare yourself and ship me off to an Egyptian warlord.
My name is Hagar. Is there anything else I can get you?
Master Abram, as my servant piqued your interest, consider her a part of my daddy, a gift for bringing me such a life wife.
She fumed that the only kindness her husband seemingly had to spare was for some stranger and not his own wife. Abram couldn't bring himself to fully admit what had happened in Egypt, certainly not to Sarah, perhaps some day, but the failure still haunted him deeply.
And you speak often for your legacy and the nation you are building. I do not mean to overreach, but how do you plan to secure your line of inheritance without a son or any children, for that matter, have you named an heir?
Abraham, do not be anxious, and do not worry about the opinions of others. I have not forgotten about the promise I have made.
You, God Most High, I know what you have promised me.
But how can.
You count the stars? Abram? You cannot, for there are too many. It is impossible. It is to be the same with your offspring. The great nation I shall make through your air would be as innumerable as the stars in the night sky.
That night, under a canopy of stars and uncertainty, Sarai, despite her tears, felt comforted. Abram had failed her, but the God of Abram wouldn't.
Under the desert searing sun, two women's lives intersected, and the seeds of destiny were sown in the soil of human sorrow. Shallo, my friends from here in the Holy Land, i'm ya l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the stories, filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and meaning. Through Israel's story, we'll find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. Take some time after this episode to follow and leave a review. These small steps ensure that you don't miss an episode, and it helps us get discovered. So let's begin. What happens when faith falters in the face of unfulfilled dreams? How do we reconcile the heartache of waiting and the urgency of desire? Can a sacred promise coexist with human impatience? In this dramatic and heart wrenching story inspired by Genesis sixteen, we dive into the lives of Sarai and Hagar, to biblical women who represent our own struggle to cling onto God's promises and to trust in his plans.
Sarah's hands slightly as she grasped the clay pitcher. Whether from age or pure apprehension, she was not sure. That morning she had known. At daybreak, she opened her eyes to find the sun screaming through a jagged tear in the tent roof. She had watched the black goat hairs of the tent fabric slowly lose their luster and then deteriorate a little more each day, until a slender scene began to form. She eyed the scene every morning and evening, wondering when it would finally burst open. And today it finally happened. Yes, today was going to be the day. She felt the anxiety building in her bones and her patience raveling like the fabric above her head. She could not let it go on a moment longer. Action had to be taken.
Begar, come here, Yes, Marid, I must speak my husband, but you are not dismissed yet. I will have need of you, so do not go far.
Yes, my lady, ten years That's what that hole in her tent had come to represent. These nomadic tents had become their home while they waited on a promise from Abram's god, her god too. She had seen his power when he rescued her from the hands of Pharaoh himself. But she wondered as the walls around her began to crumble and her body steadily declined of old age. If there had been some kind of mistake. Was there some sign or direction they had missed along the way. Incalculable scores of descendants and possession of this land were what was promised to Abram, But a nagging suspicion had begun to worm its way into her mind. Was she to be a part of this grand design? Was she perhaps the roadblock? Was she the hold up, the mistake? She pushed the thoughts away, stuffed them deep inside herself.
Lady Sirrih, I received word that you sent for me.
Yes, Eliezer, I did. I would like you to intercept my husband before he makes plans to join his friends for dinner this evening. I would like him to dine with me. I must speak with him. This is very important, Eliezer.
Yes, Lady Sirrih, I understand. I will do as you ask.
Sarah shakily set the pitcher down on the table and began gathering the cups and readying the table for their meal, losing herself once more in her brooding. Not having children had long set her apart. Other women simply didn't know what to talk to her about. Their whole worlds were oriented around their children, and men didn't quite know what to make of her either. She was the wife of a p dominent clan leader, without the responsibilities of child rearing to occupy her time. It was a life of solitude she had never asked for. She had even lost her reluctant companion in Lot's wife when they decided to settle miles away in Sodom. Even more than the loneliness of her life and station, the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy gnawed at Sarah. She had buried the wound of her infertility deep within herself long ago, but what she would never dare speak aloud was this. She had never felt like a whole person because of it. So she hid behind her mask of self sufficiency and duty. She ran her household, honored her husband, and oversaw their affairs. She was the portrait of her Hebrew wife.
Lady Sarah, the meal is almost ready for you, and Master Abram, thank you. Marret.
With nothing else to nervously fill her time, she began to pace the length of the tent back and forth. For ten years. She wondered at the promise spoken over their lives. Fear that she had done something wrong, or perhaps had not done enough, manifested her creeping doubt in her heart. Old insecurities clawed their way to the surface, refusing to stay where she had long ago lobbed them away. They ate away at her faith, Like the fraying of their tent. They demanded action. They gave her a sense of urgency and need to take matters into her own hands. Maybe, just maybe she had to be the one to fix it. She refused to be the cause of failure. She could not stomach this being her shortcoming. An idea had taken root, and the more she stewed on it, the more sure she felt.
Lady, sir I, I have found your husband. Will you be requiring anything else before I tell the servants you're ready for your meal?
No?
Thank you, Eliezer, that will be all.
Sir I. I am always honored to dine with you, But what's with all the urgency informality?
Are you well?
Abram? I have something I need to discuss with you.
Sarah paused as the servants brought in food and wine. She knew Abram could detect her nervousness immediately, after all, they had been married for over fifty years, but he respectfully held his silence and allowed her to take the time to prepare for what she had to say. Sarah I only resumed her conversation with her husband once the servants were gone.
Abram, I have been giving this a lad of thought. It has been ten years since we arrived in Canaan, and God has promis must you a mighty legacy and possession of this land. You told me that he confirmed this promise in the most binding method of our culture, through covenant. You said that your offspring would come from your flesh and blood. I have never been able to conceive, and in the ten years since we heard this promise, that hasn't changed.
Abram reached over the table to grasp her trembling hand. Abram's touch did not ease her discomfort. It had been fifty years of reassuring glances, squeezes of the hand, and words of affection, but never once did Abram ever say the words she desperately longed for. You are enough for me. She swallowed, steeled herself, let go of her pride, and said, I.
Would have you achieved this promise another way. I would present my maid to you so that you could conceive a child with her. The child would be of your flesh and blood, and you would only have to adopt him as your heir. In that way, we would achieve God's promise to us. We could build our family through this child you would conceive with another.
Sorry, you would do that for us.
I would. It is the most logical path forward, and you would have the authority to make it so according to our laws.
Sarah watched as Abram considered her words. She knew the events in Egypt had affected him deeply. He had come very close to losing her entirely. He was as stubborn as she was in admitting his own failures. She supposed he found it easier to bury them as well. He had been doing his best to mend what had been lost. She could acknowledge that it had taken a great deal of time to walk back the trust between them. They had made progress, and Abram still seemed unsure at times about how to re engage, and she, in turn did not know what to tell him or where to begin.
Sorry, this offer is very generous. You have moved me greatly in your commitment to what our God has promised us.
I will do what you have asked of me. I will accept.
Sharp pangs of emotion welled up unexpectedly from within her. This wasn't what she wanted. Yes, this was what she had planned, and she thought she had the resolve to see it through. But it wasn't until now that she realized she didn't want him to grant her this request, and so readily she knew her suggestion was logical and strategic, But what she had failed to consider was her desperate desire for validation. To her great surprise, she realized at this moment that she craved comfort, the very thing she could not bring herself to ask for outright. All she wanted was for him to tell her that she was a whole person, with or without a child, that she was enough. Promise or no promise of a legacy. These thoughts screamed at her from the depths of her very soul. She had tamped down those old hurts, but here they were threatening to burst out of her. At long last, she was right. She wasn't enough. Her husband's acceptance of her plan proved all her insecurities right. The realization stopped her in her tracks and rendered her silent. She had laid this trap for herself, and now she was snared like a rabbit. She had no choice but to go through with it. She could not now deny her husband the very solution he had been looking for. She could not fail him in this. She would not fail him in this, and so she stayed silent. Hagar now stood before her lady and her master. She had never held an audience with them both before. She had been given to Abram in Egypt, and he in turn gave her to his wife, Sarah. Hagar had been her maid ever since.
Abram, I present you with Hagar, as you once gave her to me as a gift. I now present her to you so that we may build our family.
Hagar blinked in surprise, but kept her head bowed politely. She peered up at her master and lady in the tense silence. This exchange seemed so formal, so restrained between them. Perhaps this was yet another strange custom these Hebrews held. Hagar had always found it strange that Abram had not taken an additional wife or concubine. She was equally so that Abram had not made advances toward her, as all her previous masters had done. All her life, Hagar had been a slave and came to understand that nothing, not even her own body.
Was her own.
Hagar barely remembered the village she came from, or even the faces of the parents who sold her. All she remembered was that they told her it was a great honor to be selected for pharaoh, but even that honor had been taken away from her when she was given away without a second.
Thought, Hagar, you will go with my husband and lie with him until you conceive a child. I will relieve you of your duties until the child is born. The child you bear him will become our heir. Do you understand what I am asking of you?
Yes, Myldia, I understand as you command me. I will do as you ask.
And so Hagar did as her lady instructed. That very night, she was escorted to her lord's tent. Her lady say, I was there to open the entrance. As Haiger entered, she saw her lady's face illuminated by torchlight. Hatred was painted on the creases of her eyes. Was that hatred toward her or perhaps to Abram?
No.
Hager had lived in hollow palaces long enough to recognize a woman who hated herself. Her night with Abram was a gentle and brief affair. She was not abused or belittled. Amid it all, Hagar could not help but wonder if this was the beginning of something good for her. Perhaps she could be more than a slave. True to her word, SyRI I relieved Hagar from her duties, ensuring that she would be looked after for the duration of her pregnancy. For the first time in Hager's life, she had meals brought to her, She had some one else to mend and wash her clothes, and her living space was kept neat and clean. Most crucially, there was no one telling her what to do. To someone who had never had anything, this was everything she felt significant. It gave her a glimpse into a future where she wasn't a slave to the whims of others. She began to dream of things that had never been accessible to her before, a family, and perhaps even a legacy of her own. If Abram and sarah I could hope for such a thing, why not her?
Was she not.
Bringing this about for them? In fact, they couldn't do this without her. If Abram could adopt her son, why could he not legitimize Hager as well. Time passed and the pains of pregnancy began. First, she noticed the fatigue. Hagar knew the tiredness that came from a long day of work, but this was a lethargy she had never known. But when the nausea began, she knew with certainty. As her belly grew, so did her resentment of Sarah. She hated that she would be denied the child growing inside of her. She hated that she would return to the life she had before. But most of all, she hated that Sarah would get everything she wanted and Hagar again would be left with nothing.
Good morning, Hagar, I received word that you are now showing.
I am, lady, as you can see well.
I came to see you and see how you are progressing.
I am how you see, lady? The baby grows each day.
And the midwife says, the baby's healthy. Are you heeding everything? She says?
Hager's hatred of Sarah I could be contained no longer. Sarah came to her and asked these questions and similar ones almost every day. Hager's frustration at her fraud situation boiled over.
Why nothing but a mayor to you to be broken in bread. However you see fit, you will snatch this child of mine the moment it is free and claim it as your own. But why should you have a say at all? It is Abrahm who chose me, and it is I who was up to this task when you were not. Why should I not be.
Rewarded with that? Hagar stormed off before Sarah could open her mouth to say a word. Hagar's words hung in the air moments after she left, and Sarah I was rendered utterly speechless. Would this woman take her child? Would Abram in fact come to favor Hagar once she bore a child of his flesh? Fear surged through her veins and kicked up fury in its wake. Sarah I had done the noble thing. She sacrificed her pride in granting her husband this path toward a child, and this was to be how she was to be repaid. Her anger crackled toward her husband. He had, without a moment's hesitation, set her aside. The boldness of her handmaiden could be dealt with later, but first her husband. Sarah knew Abram would be heading out toward the fields to day. She marched back to their tent and cornered him as he prepared to leave.
Abram, Sir, I, what's wrong?
Tell me the truth? Have you given Hagar any reason to believe that she may keep our child?
What?
Of course not? Why would you ask me such a thing?
Have you told her that you prefer her to me?
Of course, not where is this coming from. I've only done what you've asked me to do, what I.
Asked you to do. But oh, how quickly you agreed. Not a moment's hesitation for your wife, not one moment to consider why I asked you to do it or how I felt about it.
Sarah, you asked me to do this. Why would you ask this of me if you didn't want it? I wanted to please you, so I did what you requested of me.
Oh is that why you did it to please me? That is why you swiftly and gingerly took the slave to your bed to please me?
Sure, Abram, you were so sure, you were so bold and confident with this plan. How was I to know you were holding back your true feelings? Was it a trap you laid for me? I've been trying desperately to be a better husband, a better man for you. I was moved that you were so invested in the promise. How God made us Ah, I thought this would make you happy. This business with Hagar will give us a child at last.
No, Abram, this business with Hagar will give you a child. It's your child, your promise your legacy, your divine calling with some god I have yet to hear from. Perhaps in the midst of it all, I would have a consolation prize, a husband who loves me and won't ship me off to Pharaoh or leave me into the arms of some slave.
Sir I, I am not leaving you.
I am not.
Whatever kindness you have shown this woman has made her hate me and desire you. This woman who should have been our ally has become my enemy. She hates me. You agreed to this plan, so I hold you responsible. What I had hoped would help has only come back to harm me. May God judge between.
Me and you, Sir I, these are strong words. You give me no choice but to give you justice. Do what you please with the girl. You can decide what is to be done with her.
Sarah I turned on her heel and left their tent. Satisfaction was not complete in her eyes, not even close, but at least she would have her justice. She found Hager and confronted her, rage roaring in her ears.
You there, Hagar, how dare you speak to me as you did earlier? Who do you think you are?
You have given your husband to me, and I have done what you could not. Why should my station not be elevated? Who is to say that Abram will not decide between us.
I am your lady, and you are mine to do with as I please. Even the child growing inside you is mine to do with as I please. I have given you nothing. You are nothing.
Sarah struck Hagar with her final words. Hagar fell to the ground, and Sarah felt the leash on her anger slip even further As she continued her assault on a defenseless Hagar. Over and over again, she yelled, you.
Are nothing, You are nothing, You are nothing.
Sarah was too enraged to know if she was yelling these insults at Hagar or herself. Panting and exhausted, SARAHI finally collapsed to her knees, trembling. The air between the two women was still taut, like the string on a bow. Haiger winced as she uncurled herself from the protective ball she had formed around her head and pregnant belly. She peered up at Sarah, tears brimming in her eyes. Sarah I was still panting and glaring at her, but still as death. Hager tentatively propped herself up with her elbow weighing how Sarah would respond to her movement. Sarah stared at her in lethal silence, but didn't move to strike or stop her. Haiger pushed herself to her feet, shaking. Sarah watched her but made no movement. Sensing this may be her only opportunity, Hager turned and stumbled away as quickly as she could. She did not want to allow her lady time to change her mind. Hager broke into a limping run as she fled from Abram and Saya's camp. She had no plan and nowhere to go, but instinctively ran east toward Egypt. Sarai stared after Hager for a long while until her limping figure disappeared from view on the horizon. When she was gone, regret and shame flooded Sarai, flashing out her fury. She hated Hagar, she hated Abram, but most of all, she hated herself. Hagar staggered along the road to shore. On the way to Egypt. She had covered miles and miles since her confrontation with SARAHI. Black and purple bruises flecked with a yellowy green began rising from her skin where Sarai had struck her. She wandered with nothing but the clothes on her back. Her stomach growled and her throat was dry. She hoped she would happen upon travelers who would take pity on her and give her shelter and protection, but she had seen no one on the road since she fled that morning. First buzzed in the back of her mind like a pest, and even the dull, throbbing headache could not be quieted. She saw a modest spring up ahead off the road and quickened her pace. She carefully navigated the steep drop off the road to access the trickling water. She protectively held her belly as she sidestepped down the hill. She collapsed to her knees, cupped her hands, and greedily dreamt the water from the stream. After several gasping gulps of water, she realized how quiet the world around her had become. The insects, birds, and even the breeze around her had ceased. She looked over her shoulder up toward the road and beheld an other worldly being staring at her. She yelped in surprise and fell backward, catching herself on her elbow.
Hagar, you do not know me, but you know the God of Israel. I serve I come to you now on his behalf.
Hagar was too stunned to say anything and dumbly gaped at the figure. The messenger came down the hill and stretched out his hand to Hagar. The gesture was so kind and so human that, despite the messenger's appearance, Hagar hesitantly took his hand, and he helped her to her feet.
Hagar, tell me where do you come from? And where are you going?
How is it that you know my name?
I know many things. You come from Egypt, and you are a handmaiden to Sarah. But now I ask you, so tell me where did you come from? And where are you going?
I am running away from my lady, said I.
The messenger smiled at Hagar. He seemed to take in her measure. Knew she should probably be afraid. That she was struck by the kindness of his presence. She could sense power as well, great power, but she knew instinctively that no harm would come to her.
Hagar, the God I spoke of, I am here to speak to you on his behalf. He would have me tell you two things. First, I would ask something of you. You are to go back to your lady and submit to her authority.
Hagar's eyes widened at this, but the messenger continued, second, I would give you something. Hagar's heart leaped to be given anything by such a figure of authority. She sucked in her breath. The God Most High will give you a great family. He will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too ready to count. The child growing in your wound now will be a son. You are to name aim him Ishmael. The God most High has seen everything that has happened to you. He has heard both the longings of your heart and seen the abuse that has befallen you. Hagar started at that. She was humbled to have drawn the attention of Abram's God.
I will tell you more about the son you will bear Ishmael. When he grows to be a man, he will be like a wild bulgie. His hands will be against everyone, and everyone's hands will be against him.
Hagar did not understand the full meaning of what the messenger was telling her, but she assumed that she would come to understand in time.
His great family will be settled, from Havilah to Shur and they will all be together.
Hagar was amazed at the words of the messenger. She wondered at the power and authority of his God.
I am honored you would come to me that your God even knows who I am. You have said his name is God most High, and I have called him the God of Abram. But now I will give him a new name. Your God has seen me something so few have done, so I would call him Eleroy, the God who sees.
Hagar did as the messenger of Elroy, as she named him bid. She returned to her lady Sarah and submitted herself to her authority. Sarah's anger had simmered, and an icy indifference settled in its place. She took Hagar back into her care to await the child's birth, but the rift between the women had been said. Abram had struggled with his decision as to what to do in the conflict between his wife and the would be mother of his child. When Hagar ran away due to Serah's harsh dealings with her, Abram was overcome with guilt. He felt that he had failed again. He cried out to his God about what to do or how to proceed, But when Hagar returned. He rejoiced and took it as a sign that he was to continue with the plan to adopt the child as his heir. When the day finally came for Hagar to bear her son, she sent word to Abram about the name.
Master Abram. Congratulations, Hagar has born your son.
That's wonderful news. Eliezer, thank you.
Yes, it is Master Abram. But there's more. What is it? Hagar has asked me to relay the message that the boy's name will be Ishmael. What did you say? Her name is to be Ishmael? Why would she ask for anything else? The name is to be Ishmael. Why would she ask for the name to be a Hebrew name? If anything, I would think she'd ask for one that's Egyptian.
The name means God hears.
Abram wondered at the name. He had thought that everything had been said right and that his God was affirming his decision. How strange that this significant name would come through the woman he and his wife had treated so badly. Abram could not shake the feeling that, in taking matters into their own hands, they had indeed fallen short.
When I first heard the story of Sarahi and Hagar. I was struck by its raw humanity. Here we have Sarai, a woman with deep aching desires, longing for a child, a legacy, and the love of her husband. And then there's Hagar, a servant caught in the middle of someone else's desperation. The whole narrative feels so raw, it feels so human. I feel the way of Sarai's hope turned to despair. Her dream is tangled and frustration. I feel Hagar's confusion and fear, thrust into a role she never even wanted. And through it all, I feel God's presence, not absent in the entire messy situation, but intimately involved. God heard Hagar's cries. God felt Sarai's pain. This story, with all of its imperfections and struggles, reminds me that God is there for us, not only in the easy times, but in the messy times, despite our humanity and our brokenness. Now, let's take a moment to explore the significance of Sarai and Hagar's names, names that are rich with meaning and insight. First, there's Sarai, which in Hebrew means my princess. Her name evokes images of nobility bearing and someone destined for greatness. Sarai carries the promise of what is to come the lineage of kings. Let's look a little closer. A princess holds great potential, but often has to wait for her kingdom and her future. Sarai's journey is marked by this tension between the future promise of royalty and the present reality of barrenness. Sarai is a woman caught between what is and what will be, struggling to hold on to faith in the face of long years of waiting. She's been promised that she will be a mother of the nations, but the promise has yet to be fulfilled. Sarai is caught in the in between, and that is where so many human mistakes can be made. In the margin between God's future promises and are current suffering. Then we have Hagar, whose name, literally in Hebrew, means flight. Her name tells a story of movement, of escape, of a journey from one place to another. Hagar's embodiment, of displacement, of being uprooted, of being cast into uncertainty. In flight, Hagar navigates the harsh realities of her existence, finding herself seen by God in the wilderness. It is in these names that we can understand the depth of their personal stories and what they're coming to teach us. Why are we so impatient? Why do we struggle with waiting? In our fast paced world. We're often told to take control, to make things happen to our own strength and our own terms, But all too often God's timing doesn't fit our schedules or plans. Isaiah forty thirty one says, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Waiting on God isn't passive. It's active, and it's about trust. It's about surrendering our timeline to God. And when we wait, we are acknowledging that God is God, He is perfect and well we are not just like Sarai. We face a choice to take matters into our own hands or to trust in God's perfect timing. I know it's easier said than done, but remember God's promises are never late, they are always right on time. And while we wait for him, God works on us and in us, preparing us for what's to come. But aside from what Sarai in Hagar's story tells us about our relationship with God, it also looks at some pretty profound moral and ethical issues. Abraham and Sarai's use of Hagar is a stark reminder of how humans often treat each other in their quest for what they believe is right. Think about it. Sarai offers Hagar to Abraham, not considering Hagar's voice, choice, or dignity. Hagar, a servant, finds herself used her body means to an end. It's a disturbing glimpse into the human tendency to use others for personal gain, and is not just an issue from the Bible, no, from the days of servants and enslavement, from times when such actions were more common. These same human tendencies are very much alive and well today. Unfortunately, we see such actions everywhere in the corridors of power, in the workplace, in our communities, and sometimes even in our homes. Humans have a dark tendency to exploit others while pursuing their own selfish goals. Convinced that the ends justify the means, Sarai and Abram's actions while driven by a deeply personal and painful longing crossed ethical boundaries. They inflicted harm on Hagar, causing strife and suffering. We would expect more from our matriarchs and patriarchs. Don't you think the great men and women of the Bible should be better examples? No, But, as we've already seen throughout Genesis, Jewish tradition doesn't consider our patriarchs and matriarchs have been perfect. Although they did exist on a much higher level and they were directly connected to God, they were also imperfect, just like us. And as this story about great people acting not so greatly points out our human imperfections, it also asks us to look at those who, like hug Our feelus, feel discarded and feel voiceless. The story reminds us both that we, even though we're imperfect, could still have a connection to God that's deep and real and meaningful. And it also reminds us of our call to see and treat every person as an image bearer of God, deserving of dignity and respect. Because even as Hagar was mistreated, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob saw her in distress, he didn't turn his eyes when Hagar fled into the wilderness feeling used and abandoned. God actually went to meet her.
There.
God saw Hagar, and he called her by name. God's tenderness towards Hagar is a powerful reminder of his heart for the marginalized, the used, and the abused. It shows us that no one is beyond his sight or a care in the vast expanse of human suffering. God's compassion reaches out to those who feel most forgotten, the very same people who the Fellowship works each day to help to bring food to and say you're not alone. We do that here in the Holy Land, across the former Soviet Union, and anywhere around the world where God's people need help. We help over two million people a year who feel alone, and we tell them God has not abandoned you nor forgotten do and either have we. There was a teacher from Nazareth who understood these principles that we see in Genesis sixteen. And to speak more on that is our good friend, Bishop Paulinier.
Thank you, yeah, El, You've done such a masterful job speaking to this chapter sixteen. Can you believe I can barely get past verse one because it's unfortunately such a common anguish for some women and couples to suffer.
It says that Sarah.
Could not conceive, she could not become pregnant. You look back at the book of Genesis when God speaks to Eve and he prophesies through her and says that ultimately deliverance is going to come through pre mensi, through conception, through a child, a baby who's heel will be pressed against the enemy's head and crush him. God had spoken prophetically to this seventy five year old Abraham's sixty five year old Sarah that through them would come a nursery. And to the Christians listening, now you understand that through the nursery would come the nation of Israel, and through the nation would come Jesus, and through Jesus we'd come his Church, and through his Church the ultimate manifestation of His kingdom. But we can't get out of verse one. She can't conceive, And it's a tragic motif or theme we keep running into in this Covenant conversation. Rebecca and Isaac couldn't conceive, and Jacob and his Rachel could not conceive, and Hannah and we get over to the Christian scriptures of the New Testament, and Elizabeth in her old age, and her husband and his old agent wanted a child, and they couldn't conceive. And in each one of these situations, their husband caressed them and braced them, their husband poured their own flesh, seeded themselves into their wife, and stelled their bodies betrayed them, and they could not conceive. And so I'm thinking sitting here now about something miraculous. Over in the Christian scriptures of a young Jewish girl named Mary. The Bible says that no man touch'd her, no man had embraced her, caressed her, no man had seeded his own flesh into her. But miraculously she conceiv'd and brought forth her son and laid him in a manger. We know his name to be Jesus. That whole scenario I can't conceive. Though I've been touch'd and Mary I have conceiv'd, yet no man has touched me the miracle. And I would say to those who are Christian who believe in Jesus, the only thing more miraculous than the virgin birth.
Is the new birth.
Almighty God, I thank you for the miraculous in your covenant conversations with your people in the Hebrew scriptures, in the Christian scriptures, and that all of us who believe in this one God of Israel, we rest in you and the promises you've spoken, and we know that with God, all.
Things are possible.
In the tension between the now and the not yet, let's remember to trust in the tension between the ends and the means. Let's remember justice in the tension between the known and the unknown. Let's remember to seek peace. Here's a final blessing for you. Ivareh Hashem vishmerechra ya heer hashempanave e lehra verron nera y sa haschempanave e lehra shllon. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
Amen. You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Eckstein Ad free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dot Com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger, and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kaylab Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yeiel Eckstein, please rate and leave a review,