In response to his plight, God replied, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body” (15:4). The Scripture continues to tell us, “Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be’” (15:5).
The Lord made Abram an incredible promise: his barren wife (16:1) would bear him a male heir, and his descendant would be as numerous as the stars. You would think that Abram and Sarai would have gained a newfound hope and trust in God’s enduring faithfulness; but on the contrary, in Genesis 16:1-8, we see how they responded in unbelief, taking matters into their own hands:
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.” So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
So, what’s wrong with the picture here? Keep in mind how the Lord had just promised Abram that he would have a child of his own flesh and blood; and yet, he went in to Hagar and had a child by her at Sarai’s suggestion. Both Abram and Sarai refused to trust God; thereby, committing sin.
We see that Hagar allowed Abram to come in to her (16:4), which was actually sin on her part; and when she conceived, Hagar began to despise her mistress Sarai, feeling superior to her (16:4-5); adding a prideful spirit to her growing list of sins. She then fled the scene after upsetting her mistress (16:6).
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar in the wilderness, He asked an important question: “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” (16:8). Hagar responded with a partial truth. She told Him only that she was running away from Sarai. She didn’t say, “I’m running away from my mistress, because I despised her.” Hagar tried to imply that Sarai had dealt unjustly with her; but she was on the run, because she had exalted herself above her mistress.
What the angel of the Lord was prompting from Hagar by asking, “Where have you come from?” was for her to reflect on her actions. He was asking her, “Where have you come from in your spiritual life?” This is a question that calls each of us to reflect on our sinful choices and behavior.
Did you know that Satan was once asked the same question that Hagar was asked? In the book of Job, the Lord inquired of the devil, “Where have you come from?” (1:7, NRSV). His reply was similar to Hagar’s; for he avoided the spiritual and convicting aspect of the question, and answered only that he was “going to and fro on the earth, and walking back and forth on it” (1:7, 2:2).
Going to and fro on the earth was actually an “appropriate” answer. You see, there are countless people wandering to and fro on the earth, lost in what they’re doing; and they can find no real meaning or purpose in life. Sin has resulted in numerous people losing sight of our ultimate purpose and reason why we were created; which is for the glorification of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus once said, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going” (John 8:14). Jesus is the only one who can truly know where He came from and where He’s going, because He is God incarnate and He knows no sin.
The second half of the angel’s question was “Where are you going?” He was asking, “How do you want this story to end?” “Will you continue down the same path, leading to destruction; or will you repent, change course, and live?”
All people are sinners, according to the Bible (Rm 3:10, 3:23). The Lord calls us to reflect on our life and look to see where we have come from – what particular sins we have committed. Many people wander through life to and fro like Satan, trapped in their sins. Whether you’re lost in sin, or confused in understanding God’s will for your life, you should stop and look back to see what has taken place.
If you turn to the Lord through His Son, Jesus Christ, then you will receive the forgiveness of sin, and find direction for your life. Jesus sees the beginning and the end. He sees where you have come from, and where you are going. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rv 21:6). Therefore, make sure that “where you are going” is founded in Him.