# 131 Submit To Authorities

The Book of Genesis Day 131 Ge 16:6 So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please." And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. 7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." 9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." Sarai has dealt so harshly with Hagar that she decides to break the law and flee from her presence. The angel of the Lord catches up with her by the spring on the way to Shur, which means she was probably on her way back to Egypt. By the way, this is no ordinary angel, this is the angel of the Lord, and it is as if the Lord were speaking Himself. He even asks God-like questions! “Hagar, where have you come from? Where are you going?” How often do we find that line of questioning in the Bible? “Adam where are you?” “Cain, where is your brother?” Questions that God already knows the answers to. He just wants us to respond to them, because it forces us to stop and think. Hagar responds to part one of the question. “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” Did I hear the word, “mistress?” That tells me that Hagar is fleeing from someone who has legal authority over her! And how does the angel of the Lord respond to that? The angel says, “Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand.” One can almost hear Hagar protest, “Me? Submit to her! She has made my life miserable!” But as we shall see, that is Sarai’s problem, not Hagar’s. The writer of Hebrews tells us in Heb 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” God’s Word is consistent in this matter of submission to authority, (See Rom 13:1-7) Unless we are being asked to directly disobey God, we are to submit to those who have been placed in authority over us. If there is maltreatment or abuse of authority, that authority will have to give an account to God! But if we rebel, it becomes our problem. Pray: Father thank you for the authorities, from parents to teachers to pastors to civil servants. Help us to learn to live godly lives under them in accordance with Your will.