Sarai vs. Hagar

00:00:00 Speaker 1: So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her. You are a God of seeing Genesis sixteen thirteen. Dear Lord, thank you for being the God who sees. You saw Hagar in her distress. You see us in joy and in sorrow. You never turn away. You know every detail of our lives. You understand our fears, You know our hopes. You hear our cries in a world that often overlooks us. You are faithful forgive us when we seek approval from others. Teach us to rest in your watchful care. Help us to trust your compassion. Fill our hearts with peace, strengthen our souls with courage. May this truth guide us each day. You are the God who sees. You are the God who cares. Let us reflect your love to others. Help us see those who feel unseen. Give us compassion for the unheard. Use us to bring comfort and hope. May our lives show the world that you are near. Amen, Thank you for praying with me today. You're listening to the Chosen People. Remain here for a dramatic story inspired by the Bible. Be sure to leave a review and share your journey of faith today. 00:01:42 Speaker 2: Previously on the chosen people. 00:01:45 Speaker 3: You've drawn the attention of Pharaoh's officials, and because of that we should be prepared to tell them you're my sister, not my wife. Now this is for your protection as well as my own. If you've drawn the eye of a prominent Egyptian as your brother, my life would be spared. 00:02:06 Speaker 4: So you'd lie. 00:02:08 Speaker 3: It's not an outright lie. We do share a father, Abram. 00:02:13 Speaker 4: You would tell a half truth and deny me the protection of my husband. Lie to spare yourself and ship me off to an Egyptian warlord. 00:02:26 Speaker 5: My name is Hagar. Is there anything else I can get you? 00:02:30 Speaker 6: Master Abram, as my servant piqued your interest, consider her a part of my daddy, a gift for bringing me such a lovely wife. 00:02:43 Speaker 2: She fumed that the only kindness her husband seemingly had to spare was for some stranger and not his own wife. Abram couldn't bring himself to fully admit what had happened in Egypt, certainly not to Sarah, perhaps someday, but the alia still haunted him deeply. 00:03:03 Speaker 6: And you speak often for your legacy and the nation you are building. I do not mean to overreach, but how do you plan to secure your line of inheritance without a son or any children, for that matter, have you named an air? 00:03:18 Speaker 7: Abraham, Do not be anxious, and do not worry about the opinions of others. I have not forgotten about the promise I have made. 00:03:31 Speaker 3: You, God most High, I know what you have promised me. 00:03:36 Speaker 7: But how can you count the stars? Abram? You cannot, for there are too many. It is impossible. It is to be the same with your offspring. The great nation I shall make through your air would be as innumerable as the stars in the night sky. 00:03:57 Speaker 2: That night, under a canopy of stars and uncertainty, Sarai, despite her tears, felt comforted. Abram had failed her, But the God of Abram wouldn't. Saraye's hands tremored slightly as she grasped the clay pitcher. Whether from age or pure apprehension, she was not sure. That morning she had known. At daybreak, she opened her eyes to find the sun screaming through a jagged tear in the tent roof. She had watched the black goat hairs of the tent fabric slowly lose their luster and then deteriorate a little more each day, until a slender scene began to form. She eyed the scene every morning and evening, wondering when it would finally burst open. And today it finally happened. Yes, today was going to be the day. She felt the anxiety building in her bones and her patience some raveling like the fabric above her head. She could not let it go on a moment longer. Action had to be taken. 00:05:17 Speaker 4: Hagar, come here, Yes, Meridi, I must speak with my husband. But you are not dismissed yet. I will have need of you, so do not go far. 00:05:28 Speaker 2: Yes, Maldi ten years. That's what that hole in her tent had come to represent. These nomadic tents had become their home while they waited on a promise from Abram's god, her god too. She had seen his power when he rescued her from the hands of Pharaoh himself. But she wondered as the walls around her began to crumble and her body steadily declined of old age. If there had been some kind of mistake. Was there some sign or direction they had missed along the way. Incalculable scores of descendants and possession of this land were what was promised to Abram, But a nagging suspicion had begun to worm its way into her mind. Was she to be a part of this grand design? Was she perhaps the roadblock? Was she the hold up, the mistake? She pushed the thoughts away, stuffed them deep inside herself. 00:06:30 Speaker 7: Lady Sirrih, I received word that you sent for me. 00:06:34 Speaker 4: Yes, Eliezer, I did. I would like you to intercept my husband before he makes plans to join his friends for dinner this evening. I would like him to dine with me. I must speak with him. This is very important, Eliezer. 00:06:48 Speaker 7: Yes, Lady Sirrah, I understand. I will do as you ask. 00:06:53 Speaker 2: Sarah shakily set the pitcher down on the table and began gathering the cups and readying the table for their meal, losing herself once more in her brooding. Not having children had long set her apart. Other women simply didn't know what to talk to her about. Their whole worlds were oriented around their children, and men didn't quite know what to make of her either. She was the wife of a prominent clan leader, without the responsibilities of child rearing to occupy her time. It was a life of solitude she had never asked for. She had even lost her reluctant companion in Lot's wife when they decided to settle miles away in Sodom. Even more than the loneliness of her life and station, the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy gnawed at Serai. She had buried the wound of her infertility deep within herself long ago, but what she would never dare speak aloud was this. She had never felt like a whole person, and because of it, so she hid behind her mask of self sufficiency and duty. She ran her household, honored her husband, and oversaw their affairs. She was the portrait of her Hebrew wife. 00:08:16 Speaker 4: Lady Sarah, the meal is almost ready for you, and Master Abram, thank you Mare. 00:08:23 Speaker 2: With nothing else to nervously fill her time, she began to pace the length of the tent back and forth. For ten years. She wondered at the promise spoken over their lives. Fear that she had done something wrong, or perhaps had not done enough, manifested her creeping. 00:08:41 Speaker 7: Doubt in her heart. 00:08:43 Speaker 2: Old insecurities clawed their way to the surface, refusing to stay where she had long ago locked them away. They ate away at her faith. Like the fraying of their tent. They demanded action. They gave her a sense of urgency and need to take matters into her own hands. Maybe, just maybe she had to be the one to fix it. She refused to be the cause of failure. She could not stomach this being her shortcoming. An idea had taken root, and the more she stewed on it, the more sure she felt. 00:09:21 Speaker 7: Lady, sir I, I have found your husband. Will you be requiring anything else before I tell the servants you're ready for your meal? 00:09:30 Speaker 3: No? 00:09:30 Speaker 4: Thank you, Eliezer, that will be all. 00:09:34 Speaker 3: Sir I. I am always honored to dine with you, But what's with all the urgency informality? 00:09:41 Speaker 7: Are you well? 00:09:43 Speaker 4: Abram? I have something I need to discuss with you. 00:09:47 Speaker 2: Sarah paused as the servants brought in food and wine. She knew Abram could detect her nervousness immediately. After all, they had been married for over fifty years. God he respectfully held his silence and allowed her to take the time to prepare for what she had to say. Sarah I only resumed her conversation with her husband once the servants were gone. 00:10:13 Speaker 4: Abram, I have been giving this a lad of thought. It has been ten years since we arrived in Canaan, and God has promised you a mighty legacy and possession of this land. You told me that he confirmed this promise in the most binding method of our culture, through covenant. You said that your offspring would come from your flesh and blood. I have never been able to conceive, and in the ten years since we heard this promise, that hasn't changed. 00:10:43 Speaker 2: Abram reached over the table to grasp her trembling hand. Abram's touch did not ease her discomfort. It had been fifty years of reassuring glances, squeezes of the hand, and words of affection, but never once did Abe ever say the words she desperately longed for. You are enough for me. She swallowed, steeled herself, let go of her pride, and said. 00:11:12 Speaker 4: I would have you achieved this promise another way. I would present my maid to you so that you could conceive a child with her. The child would be of your flesh and blood, and you would only have to adopt him as your heir. In that way, we would achieve God's promise to us. We could build our family through this child you would conceive with another. 00:11:35 Speaker 3: Sorry, you would do that for us? 00:11:40 Speaker 4: I would it is the most logical path forward, and you would have the authority to make it so according to our laws. 00:11:49 Speaker 2: Sarah I watched as Abram considered her words. She knew the events in Egypt had affected him deeply. He had come very close to losing her entire He was as stubborn as she was in admitting his own failures. She supposed he found it easier to bury them as well. He had been doing his best to mend what had been lost. She could acknowledge that it had taken a great deal of time to walk back the trust between them. They had made progress, but Abram still seemed unsure at times about how to re engage, and she in turn did not know what to tell him or where to begin. 00:12:31 Speaker 3: Sorry, this offer is very generous. You have moved me greatly in your commitment to what our God has promised us. I will do what you have asked of me. I will accept. 00:12:45 Speaker 2: Sharp pangs of emotion welled up unexpectedly from within her. This wasn't what she wanted. Yes, this was what she had planned, and she thought she had the resolve to see it through. But it wasn't until now that she realized she didn't want him to grant her this request, and so readily. She knew her suggestion was logical and strategic. But what she had failed to consider was her desperate desire for validation. To her great surprise, she realized at this moment that she craved comfort, the very thing she could not bring herself to ask for outright. All she wanted was for him to tell her that she was a whole person, with or without a child, that she was enough, promise or no promise of a legacy. These thoughts screened at her from the depths of her very soul. She had tamped down those old hurts, but here they were threatening to burst out of her. At long last, she was right. She wasn't enough. Her husband's acceptance of her plan proved all her insecurities right. The realization stopped her in her try and rendered her silent. She had laid this trap for herself, and now she was snared like a rabbit. She had no choice but to go through with it. She could not now deny her husband the very solution he had been looking for. She could not fail him in this. She would not fail him in this, and so she stayed silent. Hagar now stood before her lady and her master. She had never held an audience with them both before. She had been given to Abram in Egypt, and he in turn gave her to his wife, Sarah. Hagar had been her maid ever since. 00:14:43 Speaker 4: Abram, I present you with Hagar, as you once gave her to me as a gift. I now present her to you so that we may build our family. 00:14:54 Speaker 2: Hagar blinked in surprise, but kept her head bowed politely. She peered up at her master and lady in the tense silence. This exchange seemed so formal, so restrained between them. Perhaps this was yet another strange custom these Hebrews held. Hagar had always found it strange that Abram had not taken an additional wife or concubine. She was equally surprised that Abram had not made advances toward her, as all her previous masters had done. All her life, Hagar had been a slave and came to understand that nothing, not even her own body, was her own. Hagar barely remembered the village she came from, or even the faces of the parents who sold her. All she remembered was that they told her it was a great honor to be selected for Pharaoh, but even that honor had been taken away from her when she was given away without a second. 00:15:55 Speaker 4: Thought, Hagar, you will go with my husband and lie with him until you can see the child. I will relieve you of your duties until the child is born. The child you bear him will become our heir. Do you understand what I am asking of you? 00:16:11 Speaker 5: Yes, Mylidia, I understand as you command me. I will do as you ask. 00:16:17 Speaker 2: And so Hager did as her lady instructed. That very night, she was escorted to her lord's tent. Her lady Sarah was there to open the entrance. As Hager entered, she saw her lady's face illuminated by torchlight. Hatred was painted on the creases of her eyes. Was that hatred toward her or perhaps to Abram. 00:16:44 Speaker 1: No. 00:16:45 Speaker 2: Hager had lived in hollow palaces long enough to recognize a woman who hated herself. Her night with Abram was a gentle and brief affair. She was not abused or belittled, omitted all. Hagar could not help but wonder if this was the beginning of something good for her. Perhaps she could be more than a slave. True to her word, Sarah I relieved Hagar from her duties, ensuring that she would be looked after for the duration of her pregnancy. For the first time in Hager's life, she had meals brought to her, She had someone else to mend and wash her clothes, and her living space was kept neat and clean. Most crucially, there was no one telling her what to do. To someone who had never had anything, this was everything she felt significant. It gave her a glimpse into a future where she wasn't a slave to the whims of others. She began to dream of things that had never been accessible to her before, a family, and perhaps even a legacy of her own. If Abraham and Sarah could hope for such a thing, why not her? Was she not bringing this about for them? In fact, they couldn't do this without her. If Abram could adopt her son, why could he not legitimize Hager as well. Time passed and the pains of pregnancy began. First, she noticed the fatigue. Hagar knew the tiredness that came from a long day of work, but this was a lethargy she had never known. But when the nausea began, she knew with certainty As her belly grew, so did her resentment of Sarah. She hated that she would be denied the child growing inside of her. She hated that she would return to the life she had before. But most of all, she hated that Sarah would get everything she wanted and Hagar again would be left with nothing. 00:18:55 Speaker 4: Good morning, Hagar, I received word that you are now showing. 00:19:00 Speaker 5: I am, lady, as you can see. 00:19:04 Speaker 4: Well. I came to see you and see how you are progressing. 00:19:09 Speaker 5: I am how you see, lady? The babe grows each day. 00:19:14 Speaker 4: And the midwife says, the baby's healthy. Are you heeding everything she says? 00:19:19 Speaker 2: Hager's hatred of Sarah could be contained no longer. Sarah came to her and asked these questions and similar ones almost every day. Haiger's frustration at her fraud situation boiled over. 00:19:33 Speaker 5: Am I nothing but a mayor to you to be broken in bread? However you see fit, you will snatch this child of mine the moment it is free and claim it as your own. But why should you have a say at all? It is a Brahm who chose me, and it is I who was up to this task when you were not. Why should I not be rewarded with that. 00:19:59 Speaker 2: Hey stormed off before Sarah could open her mouth to say a word. Hagar's words hung in the air moments after she left, and Sarah was rendered utterly speechless. Would this woman take her child? Would Abram in fact come to favor Hagar once she bore a child of his flesh? Fear surged through her veins and kicked up fury in its wake. Sarah I had done the noble thing. She sacrificed her pride in granting her husband this path toward a child, and this was to be how she was to be repaid. Her anger crackled toward her husband. He had, without a moment's hesitation, set her aside. The boldness of her handmaiden could be dealt with later, but first her husband. Sarah I knew Abram would be heading out toward the fields to day. She marched back to their tent and cornered him as he prepared to leave. 00:21:04 Speaker 3: Abram, Sarah, what's wrong? 00:21:07 Speaker 4: Tell me the truth? Have you given Hagar any reason to believe that she may keep our child? 00:21:14 Speaker 7: What? 00:21:15 Speaker 3: Of course not? Why would you ask me such a thing? 00:21:21 Speaker 4: Have you told her that you prefer her to. 00:21:24 Speaker 3: Me, of course. Not where is this coming from. I've only done what you've asked me to do, what I. 00:21:34 Speaker 4: Asked you to do. Ah, But oh, how quickly you agreed. Not a moment's hesitation for your wife, not one moment to consider why I asked you to do it or how I felt about it. 00:21:48 Speaker 3: Sarah, you asked me to do this? Why would you ask this of me if you didn't want it? I wanted to please you, so I did what you requested of me. 00:22:00 Speaker 4: Oh, is that why you did it to please me? That is why you swiftly and gingerly took the slave to your bed to please me. 00:22:11 Speaker 3: Sure, Abram, you were so sure, you were so bold and confident with this plan. How was I to know you were holding back your true feelings. Was it a trap you laid for me? I've been trying desperately to be a better husband, a better man for you. I was moved that you were so invested in the promise. How God made us Ah, I thought this would make you happy. This business with Hagar will give us a child at last. 00:22:46 Speaker 4: No, Abram, this business with Hagar will give you a child. It's your child, your promise, your legacy, your divine calling with some god I have yet to hear from. Perhaps in the midst of it all, I would have a consolation prize, a husband who loves me and won't ship me off to Pharaoh or leave me into the arms of some slave. 00:23:08 Speaker 3: Sir I, I am not leaving you. I am not. 00:23:12 Speaker 4: Whatever kindness you have shown this woman has made her hate me and desire you. This woman who should have been our ally has become my enemy. She hates me. You agreed to this plan, so I hold you responsible. What I had hoped would help has only come back to harm me. May God judge between me. 00:23:33 Speaker 3: And you, Sirai, these are strong words. You give me no choice but to give you justice. Do what you please with the girl. You can decide what is to be done with her. 00:23:51 Speaker 2: Sarah I turned on her heel and left their tent. Satisfaction was not complete in her eyes, not even close, but at least she would have her justice. She found Hagar and confronted her, rage roaring in her ears. 00:24:07 Speaker 4: You there, Hagar, how dare you speak to me as you did earlier? Who do you think you are? 00:24:14 Speaker 5: You have given your husband to me, and I have done what you could not. Why should my station not be elevated. Who is to say that Abram will not decide between us. 00:24:27 Speaker 4: I am your lady, and you are mine to do with as I please. Even the child growing inside you is mine to do with as I please. I have given you nothing. 00:24:39 Speaker 2: You are nothing, Sarah struck Hagar with her final words. Hagar fell to the ground, and Sarah felt the leash on her anger slip even further as she continued her assault on a defenseless Hagar. Over and over again, she yelled. 00:25:00 Speaker 4: You are nothing, You are nothing, You are nothing. 00:25:06 Speaker 2: Sarah I was too enraged to know if she was yelling these insults at Hagar or herself. Panting and exhausted, SARAHI finally collapsed to her knees, trembling. The air between the two women was still taught like the string on a bow. Hager winced as she uncurled herself from the protective ball she had formed around her head and pregnant belly. She peered up at Sarah tears brimming in her eyes. Sarah I was still panting and glaring at her, but still as death. Hagar tentatively propped herself up with her elbow, weighing how Sarah would respond to her movement. Sarah stared at her in lethal silence, but didn't move to strike or stop her. Hagar pushed herself to her feet, shaking. Sarah watched her but made no movement. Sensing this may be her only opportunity, Hagar turned and stumbled away as quickly as she could. She did not want to allow her lady time to change her mind. Hager broke into a limping run as she fled from Abram and Sarai's camp. She had no plan and nowhere to go, but instinctively ran east toward Egypt. SARAHI stared after Hager for a long while until her limping figure disappeared from view on the horizon. When she was gone, regret and shame flooded SARAHI, flashing out her fury. She hated Hagar, she hated Abram, but most of all, she hated herself. Hagar staggered along the road to shore. On the way to Egypt. She had covered miles and miles since her confrontation with Sarah. Back and purple bruises flecked with a yellowy green began rising from her skin where Sarah had struck her. She wandered with nothing but the clothes on her back. Her stomach growled and her throat was dry. She hoped she would happen upon travelers who would take pity on her and give her shelter and protection, but she had seen no one on the road since she fled that morning. Thirst buzzed in the back of her mind like a pest, and even the dull, throbbing headache could not be quieted. She saw a modest spring up ahead off the road and quickened her pace. She carefully navigated the steep drop off the road to access the trickling water. She protectively held her belly as she sidestepped down the hill. She collapsed to her knees, cupped her hands, and greedily drank the water from the stream. After several gasping gulps of water, she realized how quiet the world around her had become. The insects, birds, and even the breeze around her had ceased. She looked over her shoulder up toward the road and beheld an otherworldly being staring at her. She yelped in surprise and fell backward, catching herself on her elbows. 00:28:21 Speaker 7: Hagar, you do not know me, but you know the God of Israel, I serve I come to you now on his behalf. 00:28:29 Speaker 2: Hagar was too stunned to say anything and dumbly gaped at the figure. The messenger came down the hill and stretched out his hand to Hagar. The gesture was so kind and so human that, despite the messenger's appearance, Hagar hesitantly took his hand, and he helped her to her feet. 00:28:50 Speaker 7: Hagar, tell me where do you come from? And where are you going? 00:28:55 Speaker 5: Oh? Is it that you know my name? 00:28:57 Speaker 7: I know many things. You come from Egypt, and you are a handmaiden to Sarah. But now I ask you, so tell me where did you come from? And where are you going? 00:29:11 Speaker 5: I am running away from my lady, said I. 00:29:15 Speaker 2: The messenger smiled at Hagar. He seemed to take in her measure. Hagar knew she should probably be afraid. That she was struck by the kindness of his presence. She could sense power as well, great power, but she knew instinctively that no harm would come to her. 00:29:36 Speaker 7: Hagar, the God I spoke of, I am here to speak to you on his behalf. He would have me tell you two things. First, I would ask something of you. You are to go back to your lady and submit to her authority. 00:29:52 Speaker 2: Hagar's eyes widened at this, but the messenger. 00:29:56 Speaker 7: Continued, second, I would give you something. 00:30:00 Speaker 2: Hagar's heart leaped to be given anything by such a figure of authority. She sucked in her breath. The God Most High will give you a great family. He will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count. The child growing in your wound now will be a son. You are to name him Ishmael. The God most High has seen everything that has happened to you. He has heard both the longings of your heart and seen the abuse that has befallen you. Hagar started at that. She was humbled to have drawn the attention of Abram's God. 00:30:41 Speaker 7: I will tell you more about the son you will bear Ishmael. When he grows to be a man, he will be like a wild bulgy. His hands will be against every one, and every one's hands will be against him. 00:30:55 Speaker 2: Hagar did not understand the full meaning of what the messenger was telling her, but she assumed that she would come to understand in time. 00:31:04 Speaker 7: His great family will be settled from ha Allah to Shure, and they will all be together. 00:31:11 Speaker 2: Hager was amazed at the words of the messenger. She wondered at the power and authority of his God. 00:31:19 Speaker 5: I am honored that you would come to me that your God even knows who I am. You have said his name is God most High, and I have called him the God of Abram. But now I will give him a new name. Your God has seen me something so few have done, so I would call him Eleroy, the God who sees. 00:31:53 Speaker 2: Hager did as the messenger of Elroy, as she named him bid. She returned to her lady Serah and submitted herself to her authority. Cyah's anger had simmered and an icy indifference settled in its place. She took Hagar back into her care to await the child's birth, but the rift between the women had been set. Abram had struggled with his decision as to what to do in the conflict between his wife and the would be mother of his child. When Hagar ran away due to Serae's harsh dealings with her, Abram was overcome with guilt. He felt that he had failed again. He cried out to his God about what to do or how to proceed, But when Hagar returned. He rejoiced and took it as a sign that he was to continue with the plan to adopt the child as his heir. When the day finally came for Hagar to bear her son, she sent word to Abram about the. 00:32:53 Speaker 7: Name, Master Abram. Congratulations, Hagar has borne your son. 00:33:00 Speaker 3: That's wonderful news. Eliezer, thank you. 00:33:03 Speaker 7: Yes, it is Master Abram. But there's more. 00:33:07 Speaker 3: What is it? 00:33:08 Speaker 7: Hagar has asked me to relay the message that the boy's name would be Ishmael. 00:33:14 Speaker 3: What did you say? 00:33:15 Speaker 7: Her name is to be Ishmael? Why would she ask for anything else? Her name is to be Ishmael? Why would she ask for the name to be a Hebrew name? If anything, I would think she'd ask for one that's Egyptian. 00:33:27 Speaker 3: The name means god hears. 00:33:30 Speaker 2: Abram wondered at the name. He had thought that everything had been said right and that his God was affirming his decision. How strange that this significant name would come through the woman he and his wife had treated so badly. Abram could not shake the feeling that, in taking matters into their own hands, they had indeed fallen short. This prayed or comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People. Narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review,