Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael

 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. ” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2)

Sarai makes the common mistake that all men make when they are considering their lot in the light of self instead of in the light of the plan and purpose of (as He had revealed time and again). When we fail to see that which occurs in life in that light, and instead interpret those occurrences in the limited and finite context of our own happenstance, we dramatically cripple our ability to rightly see and understand the workings of God our world. Here, like so many others, both before and since, Sarai interprets God as the cause of her "misfortune". Whether or not her condition actually IS a misfortune is another matter altogether.

There is a very, very large difference between God causing a thing and He not doing anything to forestall a thing. Men that are focused on self ace little ability to focus on anything else.

11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen. ” (Genesis 16:11-12)

The Covenant made with Hagar, and thus with Ishmael, is prophetic in at least two ways. First, it speaks of Ishmael's nature as a "wild donkey" of a man who will fit against every man and thus, as a result (or perhaps not) every man against him. Second, it is, indeed, a covenant. God did, indeed, listen to her affliction. As a result, He (God) has preserved her (and thus Ishmael) from destruction. Hagar knew this and thus called God "El Roi" or the The God Who Sees".

13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me. ” (Genesis 16:13)

Note at this point, she is worshipping and and calling on the Name of the One true and Living God. Departure from the Lord began to occur, apparently, during Ishmael's lifetime or shortly after. It is interesting to note that experiences such as these, wonderful experiences, that I'm sure Ishmael heard full expression of, are not sufficient to guarantee obedience. It takes more than seeing and hearing about what God has done to act as the foundation for a life of obedience and service. It takes redemption and regeneration. Though we see Hagar interacting with God, there is no evidence that Ishmael followed suit and was a redeemed man.