Men of Renown
Part xxxix
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The Sitting Women
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Mystery, Babylon The Great
The Woman
CONTINUES
in the Third and Last Woman
in the book of the Revelation

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4) And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

This series called Men of Renown will begin with these verses in Chapter 6 of the book of Genesis because it is the perfect scene setter for whatever and whoever follows that enables men of renown to act in conflict against God and His Word. Verses 4 and 5 are an accurate definition of men of renown.

   The game plan is to cover all SIX mentions of a woman, and the woman in Revelation Chapter 17 of Revelation.

1. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)
2. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: (Revelation 17:4)
3. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:6)
4. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:7)
5. And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. (Revelation 17:9)
6. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)

◆
The First Sitting Woman
Hagar/Agar

   Who was the first woman in scripture who was deliberately described by the Holy Spirit as sitting? Remember that the first mention of a word, an action or a precept carried through to the last mention of a word, action or precept is related to each other. Read the following verses in Genesis Chapter 16.

   The first woman in scripture described as sitting is the Egyptian maid of Sarai called Hagar in the Old Testament and Agar in the New Testament. The meaning within the name speaks volumes. Hagar/Agar means both ‘the ensnaring,‘ ‘the sojourner,‘ or ‘the stranger.‘ The New Testament refers to Hagar/Sarai and Abraham as an allegory in Galatians 4:24. An allegory is said to be symbolism in a fictional character; however, God the Holy Spirit introduces nonfictional characters as also being the basis for spiritual allegories. As God the Holy Spirit writes His book He allows us to see connections through symbolism, but to add actual personalities and individuals and intertwine them into allegorical figures is another evidence of the supernatural wonder of the greatness of our God. Before we step into the transparent pages of the living, breathing, men and women of the era of the ancients let us analyze what God has for us in the name of this woman called Hagar/Agar. Read the following sections specifically selected to show you the time, the conditions and the cultural environment around Hagar.

Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name [was] Hagar. (Genesis 16:1)
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2)
And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. (Genesis 16:3)
And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:4)
And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. (Genesis 16:8)
And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. (Genesis 16:15)
And Abram [was] fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. (Genesis 16:16)

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:9)

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave [it] unto Hagar, putting [it] on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. (Genesis 21:14)

And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he [is]. (Genesis 21:17)

Now these [are] the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: (Genesis 25:12)

   It was during the time when Abraham was in Egypt away from God that Hagar was acquired as a maid to Sarah. Slavery and the buying and selling of individuals for service to others was a common practice not to be judged according to our contemporary setting because our contemporary setting is NOT a good means to measure civil morality nor right or wrong. How can a current millennium or century judge a past millennium or century when the current century can’t see the faults and the lack of historical comprehension within its own time frame and therefore judge itself righteously? The cultural and social actions of the past are not of our concern in this article. Keep in mind ‘the woman sitteth.’ And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. (Genesis 16:3) The time spent in Egypt became very costly for Abraham. After leaving Egypt, and after ten years back in the land of Canaan, Sarai THEN gave Hagar to be a wife to Abraham. The number ten signifies God’s perfect Divine order had been accomplished. WOW . . . how could this signify God’s Divine and Perfect Order? Read on, my little pet.
   Sarai’s action was stimulated by her rebellion against God. She KNEW that it was God who had prevented her from bearing children, and yet, she was determined to go against the will of God, not understanding that God had His plan for her and His time for her. She did not seek God’s will, but she insisted on her own will and her time schedule. It was not the importance of motherhood, but it was her will against the will of God. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2)
   The first woman of rebelliousness was Eve, and the first man to HEARKEN to the first woman of rebelliousness was Adam. And the cost of her rebellion and his hearkening became the beginning of the end of the species of mankind. Hearkening became more than listening, it became, on the side of man, capitulation of authority, and on the side of the woman it became control. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (Genesis 3:17)
   Here is where God’s perfect Divine order comes into play. Approximately thirteen years after Hagar had given birth to Ishmael, the following occurred in the tent encampment city of Abraham.

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:9)
Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. (Genesis 21:10)
And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. (Genesis 21:11)
And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. (Genesis 21:12)
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. (Genesis 21:13)

   Later God told Abraham to HEARKEN to Sarah’s voice when Sarah demanded that Hagar and her son Ishmael be expelled from the presence of Isaac. Through these seemingly unimportant words in Genesis Chapter 21, verses 9 to 13 we have extremely important beginnings of what will later become the hope for mankind (the holy Seed) and the scourge and nemesis of Israel (the offspring of Ishmael). And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. (Genesis 16:12)

Side Note: Current events. The war over a land dispute. Although the people who currently dwell in the region of Gaza are NOT of the original Philistines; however, the offspring of Ishmael have kept the characteristics described by the Holy Spirit of God: a wildness of spirit, the inability to control themselves, their powerlessness to reason because of their hatred against EVERY MAN. The inhabitants of the area of Gaza today are NOT of one particular nation, but they are professional refugees encouraged through inbreeding from tribal isolation caused by millenniums of a society of a self-enforced closed system. (As the inbreeding of English/German aristocrats caused physical health problems in lines of royalty, so also the inbreeding of isolated eastern tribes caused diminished levels of intelligence. Now that statement will cause heart palpitations in some readers, the truth usually has that result.) Knowledge of history is important. Palestine is only the name of a geographical location IT IS NOT A NATION and NEVER HAS EVER BEEN A NATION. The palestinians of our era are NOT of the territory called Palestine, but they were originally (before 1948) from an unorganized nomadic peoples born from the family of Ishmael and intermixed with the offspring of Esau, Lot’s two sons (from incest) the fathers of the Moabites and the Ammonites (enemies of Israel), and the six sons of Abraham from his third wife Keturah, and the intermixing forced on these peoples by ancient tyrannical conquerors. (As feral cat’s multiple with lightning speed so too, the enemies of Israel quickly multiplied with the same wild, untamable spirit as feral cats.) However, the problem of the eastern Arab/Muslim world versus Israel stems from one root. It is the basic Cain Syndrome, brother against brother. To see the solution to a problem return to the beginning.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. (Genesis 4:3)
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: (Genesis 4:4)
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (Genesis 4:5)
And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (Genesis 4:6)
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (Genesis 4:7)
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (Genesis 4:8)
And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? (Genesis 4:9)
   Here is the basis of the Cain Syndrome, and it is the basis for the Arab/Muslim fanatical hatred against Israel. Genesis Chapter 4, verse 7, If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. Cain, being the first born, was considered to be the heir of the realm of Adam and Eve, the realm of thorns and thistles, the realm of the curse, but nevertheless, still a realm, a kingdom. However, because Cain refused to obey God, God refused to allow Cain to become the heir and to rule over his family and over his brother Abel. Heirship and worship were the two main points of contention between God and Cain. God rejected Cain’s form of worship and rejected Cain from the prominent position of leadership and Heirship. Cain became so enraged with God that he transferred his wrath to the brother who was accepted by God to be the heir. Here it is folks, the TRUE cause of the Arab/Muslim/ Israeli conflict. The western mind just cannot seem to comprehend such hatred as this perpetual generational hatred.
The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know [it]: the prophet [is] a fool, the spiritual man [is] mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. (Hosea 9:7)
Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed [the blood of] the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time [that their] iniquity [had] an end: (Ezekiel 35:5)
   The western mind seeks assimilation, compromise, and words of a treaty, but this generational hatred has gone beyond recovery; consequently, the eastern mind will only accept total inhalation of Israel as a nation. By the way, there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim extremist in the eastern world because the moderate Muslim usually finances the extremist. And the moderate Muslim FEARS the extremist . . . and rightly so. 
   The following verses of Psalm 25 and Psalm 109 were written to describe both Israel and the prophetic Messiah. Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. (Psalm 25:19) They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. (Psalm 109:3)
   This issue of hatred for Israel has been previously addressed in prior articles. It is not beating the same drum, but it is unveiling different drums. Do you know why there are many different of drums used in a symphony? Simply because the composer needed to hear more than mere rhythm, broader tones reveal emotion, and shorter, higher tones resemble the beat of language. As there are many reasons for the use of many drums, there are also many reasons to sound the elements of truth in many different words. When I first began to write this article the war between Israel and so-called ‘palestine’ began. Many peoples of this globe have sided with either Israel or with the palestinians. Propaganda, lack of the knowledge of history, the exchange of money, political grandstanding, and controlled emotionalism from those of influence has caused hatred to advance beyond common sense. I have heard some very stupid remarks from some very stupid people without ANY comprehension of history. Let us examine one such stupid false lie: “Israel never had any claim over Gaza, Israel never ruled over the territory of Gaza.” WRONG. Biblical history documents the following:
   In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: (Genesis 15:18) The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, (Genesis 15:19) And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, (Genesis 15:20) And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (Genesis 15:21)
  Notice, that the land of the Canaanites was given by God to Abraham in a covenant. And what is in the land of the Canaanites? GAZA. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. (Genesis 10:19) Then under the reign of king Solomon it is historically documented that the nation of Israel extended from the Euphrates river all the way to the land of the Philistines (Gaza) to the border of Egypt and what is on the border of Egypt? Gaza. And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. (2nd Chronicles 9:26) And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. (1st Kings 4:21) Before the reign of the kings of Israel, it is historically documented that the tribe of Judah (1425 B.C.) TOOK the region of Gaza BEFORE the foundation of Muslimism (570–632 A. D.) Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. (Judges 1:18) And their possessions and habitations [were], Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof: (1st Chronicles 7:28) Secular history also documents the history of this region of Gaza. CLICK HERE for an outline of the secular history of Palestine as a nation. 

   This is only a small part of the documentation of the land of Israel, in fact, very few nations have the history of Israel, and fewer yet had their borders so well documented and recorded as the borders of Israel in the Bible. ♦ End of Side Note: Current events. The war over a land dispute. 

   To follow the history of a people descended from the three sons of Noah: Ham, Shem and Japheth are a study of sin itself: the inherent sin nature of man and the depraved roots of evil that formed from one central tree. (Another example of two branches from one tree: from the original tree of the knowledge of good and evil.)

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:4)
And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. (Genesis 16:5)
But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. (Genesis 16:6)
And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. (Genesis 16:7)
And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. (Genesis 16:8)
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. (Genesis 16:9)
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. (Genesis 16:10)
And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. (Genesis 16:11)
And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. (Genesis 16:12)

  We also see God’s foreknowledge in action and His election accomplished. God’s grace to the graceless and His mercy to those of who show no mercy is evident in the birth of two different seeds from the same root: Ishamel and Isaac. (This concept of two seeds from the same root whether human or nonhuman can be traced back to the tree in the paradise of God in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.) God the Holy Spirit also lays the foundation of the spiritual element of the free and the bond in the bondwoman Hagar.

Side Note: Bondwoman. The word bondwoman is documented six (6) times in scripture: three times in the Old Testament and three times in the New Testament. Also notice that we also have another number within the number six: the number four (4). The word bondwoman is mentioned four (4) times in each section. Coincidence. The number six is the number of man, and the number four is the earth number, thus the word bondwoman shows the state of man (the number six) and the state of the world (the number four) is under the bondage of sin and death. The world and those who dwell on the earth are enslaved in sin and under The Law of Sin and Death.

GENESIS- OLD TESTAMENT
1. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, [even] with Isaac. (Genesis 21:10)
2. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. (Genesis 21:12)
3. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he [is] thy seed. (Genesis 21:13)

GALATIANS – NEW TESTAMENT

1. But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise. (Galatians 4:23)
2. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. (Galatians 4:30)
3. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. (Galatians 4:31)
Our supernatural God draws His hidden allegorical theme out into the open through His spiritual supernatural numbering system. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is beyond the range of God’s instruction to His people and to the people of unbelief. ◆ End of Side Note: Bondwoman.

   As I write this article, the date is October 31, 2023, I do not know the date when the article will end, but for your understanding, I place the date so that you might see the war between Israel and her enemies, for she has had many enemies. Not all of Israel’s enemies hide in bomb cluttered tunnels and missile filled bunkers beneath the bloody sands of Gaza, but Israel’s allies hide their treachery behind smiles, money and rhetorical doublespeak nonsense.
   The nation of the United States has not only been overcome by an obvious and conspicuous coup d’état on November 3, 2020, but the enemies of the people of the United States are also the enemies of Israel, plotting and planning the elimination of many eastern nations (including the destruction and slaughter of Israelites) using Israel as their reason and excuse to engage in war. The madness of war merchandising has become the pathway for the regime of The Beast to acquire power over the world and to sit on the throne of God in Jerusalem as God. Why do you think that the Uniparty of the Congress of the United States loves war? War is the ultimate means to acquire wealth. The person who holds the greatest wealth at death WINS the game called . . . The Challenge of the Gilded Illusive Carrot.
   Back to she SAT DOWN . . . And she went, and sat her down over against [him] a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against [him], and lift up her voice, and wept. (Genesis 21:16) God deliberately used this bondwoman, Hagar, to show the tragedy of being under bondage to another. God’s goodness and mercy are also revealed not only to this tragic figure of a woman away from her own people and nation, cast away into a desert wilderness, but God’s goodness and mercy extended to His friend, Abraham, whose heart was broken when he cast away his son Ishmael and his mother Hagar. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. (Genesis 21:12) And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. Genesis 21:13) There are many spiritual lessons and allegories in this forced separation as there are also many lessons and allegories in the name of Hagar. The meaning within the name speaks volumes. Hagar/Agar means both ‘the ensnaring,’ ‘the sojourner,‘ or ‘the stranger.’ There are two roots as there are two roads in Hagar. She was a stranger and a sojourner in this world of thorns and thistles. In one road we see a victim of society and circumstances. However, in the other road in Hagar we have an ensnaring, an entrapment and an inescapable entanglement. All the eastern troubles from the eastern nations originated with Hagar and her son, Ishmael. CLICK HERE for Ishmael.

   Let us go forward from SHE SAT DOWN in Genesis 12:16 to the book of Galatians in the New Testament in Chapter 4 to the spiritual reason for the allegory about Hagar and the bondwoman.

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? (Galatians 4:21)
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. (Galatians 4:22)
But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. (Galatians 4:23)
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. (Galatians 4:24)
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (Galatians 4:25)
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26)
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. (Galatians 4:27)
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. (Galatians 4:28)
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (Galatians 4:29)
Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. (Galatians 4:30)
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. (Galatians 4:31)

   Hagar, ‘the ensnaring,‘ and ‘the stranger,’ symbolically became the Law that ensnared mankind, the bondwoman, the enslaved woman, and the woman who represented the natural person: the person of the flesh versus the spiritual person. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants. Two roads, two covenants: the Law and the Promise. In the road of Promise we have the seed of FAITH.  Two realms: the realm of the natural, and the realm of the supernatural. It is at this point in time through Hagar and Ishmael that God draws out the physical, the natural and the flesh in action against His chosen seed in the nation of Israel BEFORE the birth of the nation through the birth of His spiritual seed, Isaac. It is through Hagar and Ishmael that the battle begins to destroy a nation not yet born. It is through Hagar and Ishmael that the seeds of generational hatred began to germinate. Why does the world hate the Jews? Why does the Arab world hate the Jews? It began at the point of separation from the camp of Abraham. The children of the bondwoman cannot coexist with the children of the freewoman.
   The woman Hagar was much more than a stranger within the encampment of Abraham, she also displayed a heart that found pleasure in taunting her mistress Sarah and ridiculing Isaac, the heir apparent, the seed of promise, and in these characteristics, she brought the seeds of corruption into the faithful band of servants who were born in Abraham’s camp. The following verses are given to disclose the character of Hagar. Note the words despised, mocking, persecution.

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. (Genesis 16:4)
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:9)
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (Galatians 4:29)

   It should be obvious that these two male children of Abraham would never be able to coexist in the same camp, especially when the eldest produced in his progeny the same characteristics that he himself possessed. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. (Genesis 16:12) Yes, Hagar was an ensnarement . . . a greater tragedy than forced separation was sure to happen between the older and stronger lad Ishmael and the child Isaac. Could God have stopped this inevitable tragedy? Yes, He could and He did. God used the first principle that He instituted in scripture: the principle of separation. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:4)
   (The political gurus who create problems state that the solution to their problem (the nation of Israel) can be resolved with a two-state solution: Gaza only for the haters of Israel, and Israel for all who wish to settle in Israel.) The two-state solution is no solution, it is capitulation for Israel. To those who advocate a two-state solution, try living next door to a neighbor whose only goal in life is to see you die.
   Back to Hagar . . . A mothers’ influence should never be underestimated. Where did Ishmael learn to mock, where did Ishmael learn to despise, where did Ishmael learn to persecute? Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Mini Side Note: Satan knows scripture better than most Christians and far better than unbelievers. Proverbs 22:6 is a principle that many Christians have relegated to others, and it is also the main principle employed by haters of God to create social confusion and to aid in the elimination of the Bible and the truth contained therein. To change a nation, first change the children. To remove the word of God from a nation, first remove the word of God from the children. To Instill confusion and hatred in a culture, first instill confusion and hatred in the children.
   One of my many pet peeves in the visible Church-going-community is their insistence of game playing (talking down to children) instead of Bible teaching. Put away your little puppets, and your childish cartoons, and actually TEACH FROM THE BIBLE. Your children are NOT stupid, therefore, do not force them to sink to your level of spiritual understanding. Knowledge can be easily acquired, but understanding of knowledge can ONLY come from the Holy Spirit of God. You (the visible Church-going-community) have no understanding because you have not asked for understanding. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) ♦ End of Mini Side Note.

    Back to SHE SAT DOWN . . . And she went, and sat her down over against [him] a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against [him], and lift up her voice, and wept. (Genesis 21:16) Notice how the Holy Spirit of God describes where Hagar sat . . . sat her down over against [him] a good way off . . . and again . . . And she sat over against [him]. Don’t you find this double description interesting? Well, I do, and again, notice this phrase . . . a good way off. Through the lense of the natural world, Hagar did not want to see the death of her son, and she did not want her son to see her weeping. However, through the lense of the supernatural world, God connects the future of the men of Ishmael (And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren) to the LAST WOMAN SITTING. Remember that the Law of First Mention never fails to set the theme from that point to the last mention. The phrase a good way off is only recorded twice in the entire Bible. The first time a good way off is the distance that Hagar placed between her and her son. So what . . .  and how does this relate to the second documentation of a good way off? The last time that we see this phrase of a good way off is in the New Testament when a herd of swine a good way off (Matthew 8:30) became possessed with devils and plunged into the sea and drowned. Understand the connection to the End of Satan’s world when the devils cried, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29) In Hagar we have the distance of the natural world ending, and in the swine, we have the natural world controlled by the supernatural spiritual realm where distance seems like a mirage in the eyes of the viewer. From Hagar it was yet a good way off to the culmination of Ishmael’s hatred when the world through The Beast (the devil manifested in The Beast) will come against the nation of Israel in the last battle before the millennium kingdom. From the event of the drowning of the possessed swine with devils it was yet a good way off until the devil himself and his followers would be cast into the lake of fire.
    How does Hagar sitting a good way off connect to And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. (Revelation 17:9)? And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18) As we spread the massive sheet of time (a good way off) before us there are many degrees of parallelism between these two women: Hagar (Genesis 16, 18, 21) and the woman sitting in Revelation 17:18). But there are also many degrees of parallelism between Ishmael and Israel. Israel was born from a nation of twelve tribes. Ishmael was also blessed by God in twelve princes. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (Genesis 17:20) However, Israel would be blessed as no other nation because God has set His heart of His people as no other people before or since. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:6)

And what one nation in the earth [is] like thy people, [even] like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, [from] the nations and their gods? (2nd Samuel 7:23)

   As Israel was formed to be a kingdom of priests among the kingdom of Satan, the rebellion in the heavenly realm was instituted by Satan to be a kingdom of rogue angels in the holy kingdom of the priests of God.
   And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. (Genesis 21:19) As Hagar was the first woman at the well, so in John Chapter 4, we have the last woman at the well in Samaria. As Hagar was there at the well because of her position as a bondwoman, the woman of Samaria was also at the well because of her position as a bondwoman to sin. The woman of Samaria met the True Isaac of Israel, the True Seed of Promise, the Gift of God at the well; while Hagar’s eyes were opened to SEE and to be refreshed ONLY. The woman of Samaria received life everlasting, while Hagar only received the extension of earthly life. The first woman at the well only saw the well of water as survival, while the last woman at the well saw the Messiah, the Christ. The last woman at the well asked the Lord Jesus Christ. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? (John 4:12) Yes, He was greater than Jacob, for He was the True Isaac, the True Promised Seed of God to Israel. There are more degrees of contrast and parallels in Hagar and Ishmael with the sitting women of scripture.
   These two peoples: Ishmael and Israel were both made into nations in the wilderness, the wilderness of Paran. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. (Genesis 21:20) And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:21) These two peoples, the people of Ishmael and the people of Isaac (Israel) were two separate seeds from the same root tree. Similar yet different. Close yet distant. Brothers yet enemies. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. (Galatians 4:28) But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (Galatians 4:29) The woman who first is noted in scripture as sitting AND her son spiritually represents those who persecute the people born of the Spirit of God. So, the last woman in scripture who is noted for sitting over the seven mountains of power and over THE GREAT CITY known as Babylon and her children persecute the people born of the Spirit of God. Through the writings of Paul, breathed by the Spirit of God, we are informed that WE, as Isaac, are the children of promise, and because we are the children of promise we, as Isaac, experience persecution.
   The following is another connection from the 12th Chapter of the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ to the first book Genesis. BEFORE Israel became a nation through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the pains of birthing process became evident in Ishmael as the rival and opponent of the promised seed of Isaac.

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: (Revelation 12:1)
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. (Revelation 12:2)
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. (Revelation 12:3)
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. (Revelation 12:4)

   Before Isaac was born, Satan was setting up his set up through Hagar and Ishmael to entangle God’s seed of promise with violence and persecution . . . . and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born . . . And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. (CLICK HERE for more about Satan’s attack on the people of Isarel.) Notice where the spiritual and physical summation of the history of the nation of Israel is found . . . in the number 12 of course. Twelve represents the nation of Israel as well as the Church. Hagar was Satan’s tool to counter God’s plan for a holy nation and a kingdom of priests from ever coming into existence. From the very beginning Satan hated Israel because the earth was the last place in the supernatural and tangible universe that he had control over. The earth belonged to Satan, it was and is his domain, this is his kingdom . . . and he planned to have a kingdom of priests for himself, his priests, his ministers, a worship center around the man of his choosing, the man of sin, The Beast on God’s throne in Jerusalem. God’s nation, Israel, had to be annihilated by any means and by every means. (Those who crusade against Israel are tools and fools of Satan.) Israel may be wounded and she may be bloodied BUT she will NEVER be totally destroyed . . . one third will survive . . . one third will go into the millennial kingdom as prophesied in both the Old and New Testaments.
   The Israel of today is NOT a holy nation, nor can it be considered to be a righteous nation for its rulers and leaders are of the same ilk of those in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ and before the days of Christ. But it is a nation where the glory of God departed, it is a nation temporarily rejected by a righteous God. It is a nation under judgment as ALL nations are under the judgment of God. Israel is no different today from all the nations that surround it. This is a point where many of the haters of Israel cannot comprehend, that what Israel is today is not what Israel will become when God imparts His Spirit, restores their souls, regenerates their hearts and reveals Himself as their Redeemer. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. (Psalm 122:6) When the Holy Spirit breathed these words into the heart of the psalmist it was to instruct Israel that peace would come to Jerusalem when the Prince of Peace comes to Jerusalem. Those who hate Israel, hate God. The true spiritual Israel is yet to be revealed in God’s time frame. Those who believe that Israel can be defeated and removed from the earth FIGHT AGAINST GOD. One of the many proofs of the reality of God IS the existence of Israel in the land.

  Hagar and her sitting connect to THAT GREAT CITY, the city of physical and spiritual bondage. Remember that through God’s mercy to her, Hagar was the mother of twelve princes and a great nation through Ishmael. Great is not the same as ‘good’ but it indicates greatness in power and longevity. As THAT GREAT CITY is Babylon, Hagar can be said to be the mother of spiritual bondage as Babylon that great city. As the first woman of the flesh or the natural woman sat (Hagar) so also the last woman of spiritual bondage sits; consequently, what the Spirit of God desires that we should understand about Hagar is that she represents bondage, enslavement, entanglement where the spirit of wildness was born in the wilderness encouraged and influenced by Hagar’s spirit of who survived in a wilderness.

And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. (Genesis 21:17)
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. (Genesis 21:18)
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. (Genesis 21:19)
And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. (Genesis 21:20)
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:21)

  The first woman who SAT was eventually blessed by God because of God’s mercy to Abraham. Through Hagar we see the entanglement and battle of persecution at its infancy against the seed of promise, Isaac. Through Hagar we see God’s mercy. Through Hagar we see the battle lines drawn in the sands of the wilderness of Paran. Through Hagar we see the character of the enemies of Israel. Through Hagar we see the sovereignty of God in action. Through Hagar we see the beginning of the perpetual struggle that Israel will always be surrounded with . . .ceaseless violence . . . and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

   One of the greatest parts of teaching scripture is that there is no end. No matter which thread you pull or which path you follow there is no end. We are currently into the thirty-ninth article and there is no end in sight. The next article will be the fortieth article, if it is God’s will, and only if God wills it to be so. Through the last woman (And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH, Revelation 17:5) we are following the woman sitteth.

   Juggling was never something that I could do at all . . . but I never had a problem when placed in a maze garden. I remember as a child (a thousand years ago) I frequently played in a maze garden on the Du Pont Estate in Bermuda as my uncle was the estate manager, the gardener’s un-welcomed advisor, the aviary protector, a deep sea fishing boat captain (a self-proclaimed authority on the rich fishing fields off the Grand Banks), and a kind and experienced hardened ice-cream maker who could turn the crank faster than any other person. Sweet memories of the odor from the maze garden mingled with the sea spray on the grass under my feet while peacocks strutted behind as we roamed through the twists and turns of my soon to end idyllic playground preparing me later as an adult to stroll through the pages of the greatest and immense beauty of the maze called the word of God. So, here we are coming to the end of one trail and turning the corner to venture into another trail of Women in Scripture Who Sat . . . Rachel, the Second Woman Who Sat will follow God willing.

Men of renown is a companion piece to Giants in the Earth series.

© Copyright 2023, Mary Haigh

October 31, 2023, at 2:36 PM (EST)
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)