神呼召亚伯拉罕以后，就给他应许，又藉着与他立约，坚立这应许。但亚伯拉罕领受了这约以后，接受他妻子的题议，用自己的肉体从夏甲生出后裔，结果就是以实玛利。在这里我们看见三件事：撒拉的题议，夏甲的权宜，并亚伯拉罕的肉体，因而生了以实玛利。
因亚伯拉罕使用肉体，神隐蔽了十三年
神不喜悦亚伯拉罕用夏甲生以实玛利。我们若比较十七章一节和十六章末节，就能看见这之间有十三年的时间，在那十三年中，亚伯拉罕的生活一无记载。亚伯拉罕八十六岁生以实玛利，十三年后，神才再向他显现。在这漫长的十三年中，亚伯拉罕这蒙神呼召的人，这凭信而活并学习认识恩典以达成神目的的人，失去了神的同在。
下埃及是外面的失败，但娶夏甲生以实玛利是里面的失败。里面的失败是更深的，因这不仅仅与环境有关，更与生命有关。娶夏甲生以实玛利不只是对错或犯罪的问题，乃是生命的问题。我们凭自己作的，无论是甚么，都不是生命。生命乃是神自己。生命乃是神在我们这人里面，作我们的所是。我们无论作甚么，都不该凭自己，乃该凭那作到我们里面之神的所是。我们凭自己无论作甚么，都不是生命，乃是死亡，因为那是我们天然己的结局。
在神的眼中，我们天然的己比罪更肮脏，更污秽。虽然罪在神面前是不洁的，但不如我们天然的己那样得罪神。罪只违反神的公义，我们天然的己却违反神自己。神要进到我们里面作我们的生命，作我们的一切，使我们能凭祂生活、工作并作一切。但当我们凭我们的己，天然的己行事时，就把神摆在一边。天然的己是违反神自己的。
神对亚伯拉罕的心意，乃是要把祂自己作到亚伯拉罕里面，使亚伯拉罕生出孩子，好达成神的目的。然而，亚伯拉罕却用他天然的力量生一个孩子。没有一件事比这种天然的作为更得罪神。对亚伯拉罕来说，娶夏甲并不很严重。他的妻子撒拉甚至题议这事，她认为既然亚伯拉罕老了，她的生育也断了，这样作会帮助亚伯拉罕生出后裔。但神曾应许他们要得一个儿子。他们不知道这事如何能实现，就采取权宜措施，利用埃及使女夏甲，生了一个孩子。他们不知道这事是极其得罪神，这对神乃是侮辱。所以，神向那亲爱的蒙召者隐蔽了十三年。亚伯拉罕十三年的生命浪费了，因为亚伯拉罕用天然的己行事。
请享受诗歌 (点击诗歌名）
Confirming the Divine Covenant with Circumcision — Gen 16:2
After God called Abraham, He gave him a promise and established this promise by making a covenant with him. However, after Abraham received this covenant, he accepted his wife’s proposal and used his own flesh to produce seed through Hagar, the result of which was Ishmael. Here we see three things: Sarah’s proposal, Hagar’s means, and Abraham’s flesh, which resulted in the birth of Ishmael.
Because Abraham Used the Flesh, God Hid Himself for Thirteen Years
God was not pleased with Abraham producing Ishmael using Hagar. If we compare chapter 17 verse one with the last verse of chapter 16, we can see that there was a period of thirteen years between them. In those thirteen years, there is no record of Abraham’s life. Abraham begot Ishmael at the age of eighty-six, and it was not until thirteen years later that God appeared to him again. During these long thirteen years, Abraham, the one called by God, the one living by faith and learning to know grace to accomplish God’s purpose, lost God’s presence.
Going down to Egypt was an outward failure, but marrying Hagar to produce Ishmael was an inward failure. The inward failure is deeper because it relates not merely to circumstances but to life. Marrying Hagar to produce Ishmael is not just a matter of right or wrong, or of committing a sin; it is a matter of life. Whatever we do by ourselves is not life. Life is God Himself. Life is God inside us, being our very person. Whatever we do, we should not do it by ourselves, but by the person of God wrought into us. Whatever we do by ourselves is not life, but death, because that is the issue of our natural self.
In the eyes of God, our natural self is dirtier and more defiled than sin. Although sin is unclean before God, it does not offend God as much as our natural self does. Sin only violates God’s righteousness, but our natural self violates God Himself. God wants to enter into us to be our life and our everything, enabling us to live, work and do everything by Him. But when we act by our self, our natural self, we set God aside. The natural self is against God Himself.
God’s intention with Abraham was to work Himself into Abraham so that Abraham would bring forth a child to accomplish God’s purpose. However, Abraham used his natural strength to produce a child. Nothing offends God more than this kind of natural doing. To Abraham, marrying Hagar was not very serious. His wife Sarah even proposed it; she thought that since Abraham was old and her childbearing had ceased, doing this would help Abraham produce seed. But God had promised that they would have a son. Not knowing how this could be realized, they adopted an expedient measure, using the Egyptian handmaid Hagar to produce a child. They did not know that this was extremely offensive to God; it was an insult to God. Therefore, God hid Himself from that dear called one for thirteen years. Thirteen years of Abraham’s life were wasted because Abraham acted by the natural self.