A Wild Man (Genesis 16)

 A Wild Man

[Gen 16:12 NKJV] 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand [shall be] against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."


Here the future child of Hagar is described by the Angel.

Ismael, the child in question, would not be the son of the promise. When Isaac was born, the true son of Abram, he came into conflict with Ismael. It was probably because of jealousy and a feeling of wanting to be seen and be the greatest. A similar trait can be found in Hagar who started to despise Sarai because she had a son now and Sarai didn’t.

The child and his descendants would have the effect of this in their character.

Ismael could have felt rejected, as if he was the lesser one and left  with the feeling of always having to proof he is the greater and better man compared to his brother Isaac for example.

It was this context that gave the ingredients for him to become the man God described.

He is described like a defiant wild man whose hand is against everyone and everyone against him. He is an independent fighter who is only concerned for his own honor. He would dwell in the presence of all his brethren, which gives the impression of a defiant character. 

The word ‘wild’ in this verse in Hebrew portrays the picture of a wild ass. That animal would kick everyone around itself in great restlessness. 

This is the character of Ismael and his descendents and it can show how long the effects of bad parental decisions and family problems can last. 

But this character trait is not a good thing. It is restless, highminded and does not have any of that humility of a Christian character.

There are those who have this trait in this same situation as Ismael. They may have been considered the ‘lesser’ by their parents or friends. They feel like they always have to prove themselves and their honor and yet they feel rejected. They become independent, defiant people who go against everyone.

It may be hard to reverse these thought patterns, but through Christ it is not impossible. They have to learn to rest a little and to be peacemakers. They need to realise that ‘being the greatest’ shouldn’t be our great passion. God loves us for who we are and we can appreciate what we have. Let us not fight for honor that will vanish anyway. 

Learn to love peace and compassion despite feeling like taking pride in being on top would satisfy this endless lust.

It will be hard to change this mindset to a lowly mind seeking the interests of others. But with a struggle and the power of the Holy Spirit it can become a character trait.

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