AELW3:55
"This little section is intended to describe not only the perils of marriage and of the household but also the trials.
Abraham went through a trial concerning his servant Eliezer, and no one was able to relieve him of that trial except God through His Word. Here Sarah goes through a trial, and the Lord comforts her through her husband. Therefore the Lord is at hand to oversee and direct marriages and households. He shows that He takes delight in that game, so to speak, of human relations.
In the household, quarrels and disputes arise between husband and wife. In the state the peace is disturbed in various ways. In the church sects are established. The result is that he who observes these things rather carefully almost begins to despair of a happy outcome.
But these accounts teach and admonish us to be prepared to bear troubles and to overcome them with patience, and not to be among those who want to be husbands or rulers of the state without having any trials; for these are futile thoughts of people who know nothing about this life.
If you are a husband, it is impossible for you not to have either a Hagar or a troublesome Eliezer in your home.
A similar situation obtains in church government, where disturbances are caused by sects and other offenses. Therefore let us remember this example, and let us, too, together with faithful Abraham, trust in God and, as much as is possible, preserve harmony. Since we must live among ungrateful and wicked people, no place will fail to present occasions for discord and trouble"
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