Here's her story -- Genesis 16.
The first part of this story makes me very angry. Sarai is absolutely dreadful to Hagar, and Abram is not much better -- some might say worse.
The part I love begins where the angel of the Lord (God in earthly form) meets Hagar by a spring or well of water. He addresses her this way:
Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?
The wording of the question seems significant. "Where have you come from and where are you going?" is a way of saying, "Tell Me the truth about yourself." This is always God's request when He meets with us.
Hagar is profoundly affected by her meeting with the Lord. He has met her where she is -- running away from abuse, but running where?
Seeing God face-to-face marks her forever. Yet what transforms her even more is that God has seen her. He knows and loves her deeply, and what's more, He respects her. This might not sound remarkable to someone who has always had a network of love and respect, but to someone who has been disregarded or mistreated, it may amount to being valued for the first time.
The Lord tells Hagar to return home and submit herself to Sarai's authority.
On the surface, it appears He is sending her back to an abusive situation, but He is returning her to security. And by telling her to submit herself to Sarai's authority, He is giving Hagar a means to try to cope with Sarai, who strikes me as someone who demands predictability and who wants to feel that she's in control of her world. Backwards as it may appear, God is in a sense giving Hagar the upper hand -- asking her to be the one who sets the tone of calm and respect in the relationship.
Next, the Lord tells Hagar
I will greatly multiply your descendants
so that they will be too many to count.
Lest anyone think God sees women as less significant than men, note that this wording is parallel to what God said to Abraham on more than one occasion. And He speaks to a woman about her descendants, in a culture completely focused on the male line. He truly sees her. So much so that she gives Him a new name -- the God who sees.
Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. (Genesis 16:13-14)
The name of the well, Beer-lahai-roi, means "the well of the living one who sees me."
A week or two ago I noticed something else interesting. Hagar's story has a P.S., and it's a healing one. Genesis 25:1-18 describes the end of Abraham's life, then lists the offspring of Ishmael, the child Hagar bore to Abraham. The part that caught my eye was this (verses 8-11):
Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people. Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife. It came about after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac lived by Beer-lahai-roi.
"Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him." For some reason, this speaks volumes to me. Two sons so divided in history that the world still feels the anguish of it today, yet in scripture, at least for a moment, united as true brothers.
"And Isaac lived by Beer-lahai-roi." Coincidence, perhaps. But I doubt it. I suspect this is God's footnote.
The Lord weaves unity from brokenness.