The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
Genesis 16:7-8 (NIV)
When the angel first speaks to Hagar, he identifies her as “slave of Sarai,” and the rabbis debated over why this title is applied. Isn’t slavery bad?
It may be that the angel was telling her that she would be a slave forever, stating that this is her identity.
But there is another view, and it’s far more hopeful. After saying “slave of Sarai,” the angel draws a line in the sand:
Where have you come from?
Where are you going?
In these questions, perhaps clarity is given to us: the blessing Hagar is about to receive is not because of her status as an Egyptian, where hard labor and works defined her worth, but as her status as a member of the house of Abram. Of the blessings of God.
It’s awful that Sarai is harsh and cruel and that she chooses vengeance instead of grace, and that Abram says nothing. We can be that way at times.
Despite this, perhaps the angel is affirming Hagar’s proximity to God’s blessing. Perhaps it’s not about her her slave status.
If you’ve been mistreated by the people of God, but long to draw near to God anyway, perhaps the angel of God will come to you and ask you the same:
Where have you come from?
Where are you going?
God is with you.