And God heard the voice of the boy and the angel from God called unto Hagar from the heavens and said to her, “What is it to you, Hagar? Do not fear because God has heard the voice of the boy where he is at. Arise, lift the boy and strengthen him with your hand, because I will set him as a great nation” (Genesis 21:17–18).
This is the second time that Hagar has come into contact with the God of Abraham; the Angel of the LORD spoke to her at the time when she was running away from Sarai. Since Hagar had become pregnant, Sarai had looked down upon her and treated her in a harsh manner (Genesis 16:4–9). In this first encounter, God informs her that she is not to fear for the descendants of her son will increase (Genesis 16:10). She is instructed to name him Ishmael, for he will be like a wild donkey, and return to her mistress (Genesis 16:12).
Now an angel from God speaks with Hagar in her despair. Because Ishmael was mocking Isaac, Sarah had Abraham cast Hagar and her son out. She would not permit the son of her handmaiden to inherit with her son (Genesis 21:10). God instructed Abraham to heed the voice of his wife and send Hagar away. However, because Ishmael is from his seed, He also said He would make a nation from him (Genesis 21:13).
While Hagar and Ishmael were wandering in the desert, they eventually used up the water in their skin. In that area, running out of water meant certain death, so Hagar put her son under a shrub and left him, out of fear that he would die (Genesis 21:14–15). At this time Ishmael was approximately seventeen years old. Then an angel from God spoke to her, giving her reassurance and causing her to see a spring of water nearby (Genesis 21:19).
In Galatians 4:21–31, Paul uses the story of Sarah and Hagar as an allegory, comparing those out from faith with those under the law. Just as Hagar’s son persecuted the son of the promise, so too do those who are trying to be made justified before God by keeping the law persecute those who are out from faith (Galatians 4:29). Christians are not the offspring of the slave woman. The children of Hagar are those under the law from Mount Sinai and born into slavery (Galatians 4:24). Paul then refers to the two Jerusalems to show the difference between those under the Mosaic law and those under grace (Galatians 4:25–26). Since Christians are the children of the free woman, they should not subject themselves to the law. On the contrary, they are to hold firmly to the liberty which they have in Christ (Galatians 5:1). This liberty allows the Christian to live a righteous life without being bound by any part of the law which is used to determine righteousness. The Christian is righteous; hence, he must act in accordance with the person he is in Christ, living out this righteousness and not seeking his own, which is based on works of the law (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 4:24; Philippians 3:9).
