Wednesday Class -10_11_2023
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The class began with an overview of the quarter’s theme: encounters with God throughout Scripture, focusing first on Hagar’s story in Genesis 16. The teacher highlighted how Sarai, unable to bear children, suggested Abraham use Hagar as a surrogate, leading to Hagar’s pregnancy, Sarai’s contempt, and Hagar’s flight into the wilderness. There, the Angel of the Lord appeared at the well of Bir Lahai Roi, promised that Hagar’s offspring would become a great nation, and named the future son Ishmael. The discussion emphasized the patterns of human impatience and God’s sovereign purpose, noting that God can bless even those outside the covenant community. The conversation then shifted to Genesis 21, where Sarah, seeing Ishmael’s growth, demanded that Hagar and her son be sent away. Abraham was distressed, but God instructed him to obey Sarah while also affirming His promise to make a nation of Ishmael. The class reflected on why God allows such painful situations, concluding that while we may not know all reasons, God can use mistakes for His glory. The session encouraged trust in God’s overarching plan, especially when circumstances seem contradictory. Overall, the class reinforced that God sees the afflictions of the marginalized, works through unexpected people, and remains faithful to His promises, challenging believers to trust His timing and purpose.
Key Scriptures
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, 'Behold, now the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go into my servant; perhaps I may obtain children by her.' And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went into Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. And Sarai said to Abram, 'May the wrong done to me be on you. I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me.' But Abram said to Sarai, 'Your servant is in your power. Do to her as you please.' Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, 'Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?' She said, 'I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.' The angel of the Lord said to her, 'Return to your mistress and submit to her.' The angel of the Lord also said to her, 'I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for the multitude. And the angel of the Lord said to her, 'Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him. And he shall dwell at the edge of all his kinsmen.' And she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are a God of seeing,' for she said, 'Have I indeed seen him who sees me?' Therefore, the well was called Bir Lahai Roi, for it is said, 'The Lord sees.' And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.