Hagar is hardly ever portrayed positively in most commentaries or spiritual books. Like many women, she too had her issues. Even the Bible doesn’t let us forget that she was expelled from Abraham’s home because of her son’s insolence; but she, too, nearly faced expulsion herself due to her own waywardness toward her mistress, Sarah.
For those who may need a quick refresher, Hagar was Sarah’s Egyptian servant living in the household of Abraham and Sarah. When Sarah struggled to bear a child, she offered Hagar to Abraham as a concubine, hoping to build a family through her. Hagar bore a son, Ishmael. Yet years later, when Sarah miraculously conceived and gave birth to Isaac, tensions rose in the household, and Hagar and Ishmael were eventually cast out (Genesis 16:1–6, 21:8–21).
Hagar: From Rejection to Redemption
That’s where I will begin Hagar’s story: as a castaway. Traditionally, when we think of the term castaway we think of someone stranded on a deserted island as a result of a shipwreck. Rarely do we think of someone exiled. But metaphorically, it can indeed describe someone who has been cast out of their home, community, or support system and left to figure things out on their own. That’s why I call Hagar a castaway.
There’s a sadness to Hagar’s life that pulls at the heartstrings. She was likely a part of the loot given to Abraham as he himself was being cast out of Egypt. If that wasn’t irony enough, she became part of Sarah’s brilliant plan to be used as a solution for her baroness and then discarded, like a castaway, when no longer needed.
It’s important to note that Hagar wasn’t just sent away—she was severed from stability, exiled, thrust into the wilderness, and left to survive with nothing but her faith and her child.
Cast out and alone with her son, she faced a new chapter in life with new challenges, including the harsh reality of her circumstances. Where would she find water? How would she feed her son? What future awaited them in this desolate place?
She knew she wasn’t perfect or innocent, but she had done nothing to deserve such harsh treatment—except follow the orders given to her, to bear a child for her master. Yet here she was, abandoned and alone, cast out as though she were nothing more than a burden.
It would do her no good to blame her mistress. She knew all too well that she was a constant reminder of Sarah’s impatience and lack of faith, and was tolerated only because of Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn.
Yet, as we often discover in life, the wilderness has its blessings. In the wilderness, Hagar found the beauty in being a castaway. She was finally free from living in the shadow of Sarah’s bitterness and from being treated with suspicion and mistrust. She took her lessons learned and even her quiet admiration of Sarah into the wilderness with her. But more importantly, she took her faith, which led her in her darkest hour to cry out to God, not just for herself, but for her son.
The God Who Found Hagar
God heard their cries, and the angel of the Lord appeared to her and said: “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 21:17-18, NKJV). The angel of God called her by her name, Hagar. That simple gesture acknowledged her not as a bondwoman, servant, or castaway, but as a woman, a mother, a person worthy of being seen and heard. God assured her that she and her son were not forgotten, and that her son Ishmael would be the father of a great nation. In that moment, Hagar realized that even though she had been cast aside by Abraham and Sarah, she had not been cast aside by God.
Yes, Hagar’s story is one of resilience and divine intervention. However, it is also a reminder of how God can transform our pain and rejection into blessings—for in Hagar’s moment of abandonment, God saw her predicament and provided for her and her son.
Hagar’s story also reminds us that even in the wilderness, even when we feel abandoned and cast out, God is there, watching over us with compassion and care.
Your Call to Order
Understand that your worth is not determined by your status in life or how someone sees you or treats you. Your worth comes from God, who has promised us that “There is hope for [our] future, declares the LORD…” (Jeremiah 31:17).
If you found this helpful, you might also enjoy my series: “Women of the Bible“
Power Verse
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
