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Think about all the stressful situations that Abraham, Sarai, and Hagar now faced from one sinful decision. Does Sarai have a right to be mad at Abraham and to despise Hagar? Should Abraham raise his child with Hagar? Will Abraham end up treating Sarai as a second priority if he commits to raising Ishmael with Hagar? Sometimes we fall into the trap of believing God puts us in situations where we must choose the “lesser of two sins.” In reality, this all started with not trusting God’s promises from the beginning.
Today, we can look back and understand that the battle between Jews and Arabs began with the sins of Abraham and Sarai trying to take matters into their own hands. The Arabs can trace their roots back to Ishmael while the Jews come from Isaac. Just think about the gravity of their one decision to try and “help God.”
“The wrong that they committed by Abram taking Sarai’s maid Hagar was a sin, and God treated it as such. But today we reverse the emphasis and say that taking a concubine is a sin, but we do not pay too much attention to the unbelief. Yet the unbelief was the major sin here; that is, it was lots blacker than the other.”
J. Vernon McGee