Adam and Abram

So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing [children].  Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.”  And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. Genesis 16:2

Listened To The Voice – Ah, now you see the connection.  Adam listened to the voice of his wife.  Something terrible happened.  Abram listened to the voice of his wife.  Something terrible happened.  The Hebrew phrase yishma lekol in this verse in not an accidental choice of words.  Look at Genesis 3:17.  God uses the same phrase when He confronts Adam.  Genesis deliberately recalls the fundamental disobedience of human beings in this story about the first parents of the faithful.  Apparently the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.  It looks like we can hardly claim Abram and Sarai were chosen for their righteousness.  They are acting just like Adam and Havvah.

This intentional similarity highlights another aspect of the story.  Hagar is the forbidden fruit!  Havvah recognized the forbidden fruit was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and could provide something that was missing.  Sarai sees Hagar in the same way.  Hagar has the potential to provide something missing.  So, Sarai takes and gives Hagar to Abram, in the same way (and with the same words) that Havvah took and gave the fruit to Adam.  And both men consume what their wives give them.  They don’t stand up against their wives.  They don’t say, “Wait.  This is not pleasing to YHWH.”  They don’t utter a word.  They just do what they’re told.  In the process, Abram treats Hagar just like a piece of fruit.

Of course, they do it willingly.  They aren’t compelled to eat.  They are complicit in the action.  But the story draws the parallel in ways we can’t miss.  Abram is Adam all over again.

Does Abram know God will provide the means of acquiring the promised blessing?  I should hope so.  God reiterated the blessing several times.  There is not a hint that any part of the blessing depends on Abram.  God is the initiator and the consummator of this promise.  Abram should have known that Sarai’s plan was flawed from the beginning.  Perhaps he did.  But Abram was like Adam.  The “fruit” looked good.  It promised to be enjoyable.  It promised to add something to his life.  So, he took and ate.

What’s the lesson here?  If you’re male, you probably thought, “Don’t listen to your wife!”  That would be a big mistake.  That’s not the lesson.  The lesson is about the mutual responsibilities between the ‘ezer and the ‘zakar.  Do you remember those words?  ‘Ezer is God’s designed spiritual guide, the one who listens most intently to the Spirit and directs the couple toward God’s purposes.  Havvah thought she could be better at this job if she just enlarged the fence around life.  Sarai thought she could be better at her job if she just managed the promise herself.  The zakar (male) is the one who remembers.  In these stories, both men forget that God is in charge.  So, what’s the lesson?  Once the pattern of self-reliance and self-sufficiency starts, it will expand along the same uncontrollable (even if unintentional) lines unless someone breaks the chain.  Adam affects Havvah.  Havvah affects Cain.  Cain affects Abel.  Abram affects Sarai.  Sarai affects Hagar.  And on it goes.

Are you breaking chains today?

Topical Index:  listened, Sarai, Abram, Adam, Havvah, Genesis 16:2, yishma lekol