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SECTION X.

ABRAHAM AND HAGAR-CHARACTERISTICS OF

ISHMAEL.

And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

And he said, Hagar, whither wilt thou go? mistress Sarai.

Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and
And she said, I flee from the face of my

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. (Genesis xvi. 7—15.) THE character of Abraham would be very imperfectly reviewed, if we overlooked the faulty parts of it, which are plainly stated in Scripture. One of his errors, was the ill-advised connection which he formed with Hagar, the servant of Sarah; an Egyptian and a bond-woman. This connection he formed at the suggestion of Sarah herself. Their error (for both were to blame) sprang from their impatience; and that impatience from unbelief. Sarah

was barren, and Abraham therefore was childless. Instead of continuing to wait for God's promised blessing, they took crooked ways of their own devising, in order to obtain a posterity to Abraham. It is no uncommon thing for even good men to attempt to lead, instead of following, Providence.

Many evils arose from this step. The first, and most natural consequence was, that the peace of Abraham's house was for a while grievously disturbed. A son was at length born to him by Hagar; and hence followed another, though a remoter consequence, of an evil character: for the descendants of that son have ever since been the troublers of mankind, in all the countries where they dwell. Each of these two points will suggest to our minds some useful hints.-The allegorical use made of the history by St. Paul may more properly be considered in another place, when we come to review the character of Isaac.

1. First, let us observe the disturbance immediately occasioned in Abraham's own family.

Hagar, as soon as she had the prospect of bearing a child to Abraham, began to hold her head higher, and to behave herself insolently toward her mistress. She exemplified what Solomon has described as among the most intolerable evils in society: "For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: for a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat; for an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress." (Proverbs xxx.

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21-23.) Sarah vented her bitter complaints to Abraham and he, to rid himself of the difficulty, left Sarah to manage Hagar as she pleased. In consequence, Sarah dealt with her so hardly, that she fled, and went into the wilderness. Here the Lord interposed to settle this tiresome domestic strife: "The angel of the Lord (we read) found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands." (Genesis xvi. 7-9.) Submission is generally found to be the best rule. "Yielding pacifieth great offences."-Thus the family-trouble was, for a while, partially healed.

There is one very remarkable incident related by the sacred writer at this part of the history; which shows that some degree of religious knowledge and principle must have been instilled into the mind of Hagar; most probably by the example and counsels of Abraham. When He, who is called "the Angel," had addressed her, she perceived that it was the Lord, Jehovah, who had spoken: and, with a devoutness truly commendable, she called his Name, "THOU GOD seest me. And the fountain where she lay, (as it were, bewildered and lost,) was henceforward named, "Beer-lahai-roi :" which means, "The well of Him that liveth and seeth me.” How instructive are these unexpected incidents,

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occurring in the sacred narrative! Here we find a person, who had once probably been no better than a heathen, using language descriptive of two of the Divine Attributes, and addressing words of holy adoration to the Ever-living and All-seeing God: the God of her master Abraham! To what remarkable knowledge had she attained! What an unspeakable blessing is it, to belong to a religious household!

2. But there was another evil consequence of Abraham's conduct; and it is one which has affected the human race ever since, very extensively. Abraham thus became the parent of a son, named Ishmael; whose descendants have been a vexation to all who have had any kind of transactions with them; in fact, to all that have been neighbours to them. We cannot here enter minutely into the particulars of their history, which would easily fill volumes: but we may profitably study the prophecy which was on this occasion uttered to Hagar by the Angel; as the very terms, in which Ishmael and his posterity are described, will afford us some useful lessons. They teach, however, by the rule of contraries; showing us in Ishmael's character what to avoid, not what to imitate.

"He will be a wild man." Or, as the original signifies, "A wild-ass man:" that is, as wilful and obstinate, as the wild ass of the desert: utterly untamed and untameable.

"His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him: and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." That is, he will be a

quarrelsome and provoking character to all his neighbours. And there will be no getting rid of him. He will hover about, and often lodge among the people of other tribes and nations; yet always as an enemy, that cannot be brought to terms. This has been remarkably the case with the wandering Arabs, the children of the desert. They are to be found, scattered more or less in all the countries of the East. They never settle long in one place: their resort to towns and cities is only occasional or accidental their home is the wilderness.

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There is a moral in the history of the Arabs which is applicable to us all. For it is impossible to read this prophecy, without feeling, that it not only describes the peculiar character of one large portion of mankind; but it depicts, to a certain degree, human nature in general. "Vain man would be wise," says Job, "though man be born as a wild ass's colt:" (xi. 12.) There is in every man's heart, until he is changed by grace, enough of the Arab, enough of self-will, obstinacy, and folly, to liken him to the wild ass of the desert. Look at the case of children that are ill-trained: what wayward humours, what domineering, unkind dispositions do they soon display! That one temper, commonly called, "The spirit of contradiction," what a torment is it, both to the person who has it, and to all connected with him! In contemplating such cases-and they are, alas, too common-you discern at once the heart, the hand, and the tongue of Ishmael.

The descendants of this wild man have never yet

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