Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The conflict between the queen and the mistress.
Thursday, November 29, 2001
Jealousy and irrationality go together; jealous people never think rationally or logically.
In her jealousy, Sarai lost all of her grace orientation – she is guilty of the most gross and unfair treatment of Hagar.
1. Sarai will learn, as she tries to force Hagar out of her life, that no believer can drive away his own mistakes and sins, and justify himself.
2. You can’t solve a problem by adding sin to sin; you have to break somewhere and rebound and change your attitude through doctrine.
3. The sin of adultery is not justifiable, but neither is the sin of arrogance in Hagar and jealousy in Sarai, so no one is right.
PRO 6:16-19 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
In stating her case for vindication and self-justification, Sarai inadvertently states her own condemnation.
When women are put in positions of rulership in a client nation, it is a sign that the client nation is under divine discipline, ISA 3:12.
GAL 4:16 Have I therefore become the enemy of the little darlings by telling them the truth?
PRO 17:28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is counted prudent.
JOB 13:5 “O that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom!”
1. Since Hagar was a slave and could only obey her mistress, she is not directly culpable.
2. Sarai, by calling her a slave, admits to a great inconsistency, for the slave girl supposedly has no right to refuse, no alleged volition in fornication.
The consenting parties are Sarai who made the proposition and Abram who obeyed the proposition.
3. Sarai had maintained a noble self-righteous attitude about fornication until jealousy was aroused by Hagar’s pregnancy and her arrogance about the future child.
4. Sarai goes from noble female, trying to do the best by her husband, to the role of martyr filled with a so-called noble self-sacrifice.
Abram is caught between a jealous woman and an arrogant woman, neither of which now has a capacity for true love.
While true love is not necessarily selfish, Sarai gives Abram to Hagar, and that is not true love.
EXO 34:14 for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God–
One is crafty but not smart (Hagar); one is truly smart but not crafty (Sarai).
Sex was designed as an expression of happiness that already exists between right man and right woman.
1. Self-pity produces pouting, sulking, moodiness, causing the one involved to be dead to reason, logic, common sense, rationality, and dead to a love that once existed.
2. Sarai became frustrated, filled with self-pity, and once she felt sorry for herself, she lost her love for her man.
Self-pity only intensifies any problem. Self-pity removes you from any possibility of a solution.
A person in self-pity has put themselves in that stage and only the same volition can bring them out of self-pity.
He has magnified himself totally out of proportion with everything in life.
There is no help for the person in self-pity apart from what he can do himself with his own volition, 1JO 1:9.
3. While Sarai is losing this great love she had for him, she’s also losing her reason, her logic, her common sense, her rationality.
Barrenness was considered a curse – pregnancy was overrated in the ancient world, GEN 20:18; 49:25; DEU 7:13; HOS 9:14.
The expansion of Hagar’s physical body because of her pregnancy is nothing compared to the expansion of her fat-headedness because of her arrogance.
Arrogance makes erroneous assumptions and then underrates everyone in their periphery.
The result of this affair, this daily routine of fornication, did not promote anyone involved; everyone was demoted.
Qal imperfect – shapat = the Lord will keep on judging in my favor now.
Self-righteousness is destructive in every sense of the word.
Sarai is just as wrong as Abram, but her jealousy and self-righteousness rationalized away her sinfulness and evil.
X fornicates with Y, and Z says, “I am righteous because I didn’t” – ignoring her jealousy, mental attitude sins, and sins of the tongue.