The story of Hagar just won't leave me...I studied Genesis 16:1-16 and Genesis 21:8-20 back in June...and here I am in September still thinking about her.
Hagar, the Egyptian handmaiden, brought back from Egypt after Abram's reckless trip there during the famine in Canaan (Gen. 12). She now finds herself right in the middle of Abram & Sarai's drama. She becomes pregnant by Abram (at Sarai's insistence) and eventually runs away because she is being mistreated by Sarai. There in the desert Hagar has an encounter which is quite surprising...she has an encounter with God.
Why is that surprising? It's surprising because everything was wrong with Hagar. She was the wrong sex (females were not valued in that day), she was a servant (a female AND a servant!!!), she was the wrong race (Egyptian) which led to her having the wrong religion (she worshiped the pagan gods of Egypt), and finally she had a wrong attitude. Chapter 16:4 tells us that when she realized she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
And yet, in spite of all that, "the angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert" (16:4). I struggle to find words to express how spectacular this is. This God who is so holy, so just, so righteous, so above all that we can know and understand, sought out a pagan female runaway with a bad attitude! In doing so, he touched her life and blessed her, and also gave us a glimpse into His beautiful character.
Hagar's response is beautiful and two-fold. First ~ "She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees me [and lived].'" Sounds a little bit like worship to me. What other response is there when you have been confronted by El Roi ... the God who Sees??? Second ~ She obeys. Confrontation by God requires both worship and obedience. God told Hagar to go back to her mistress and [humbly] submit to her. Wow! That's a difficult mission He sent her on! And yet she did. That's what a confrontation with God will do...it will enable and strengthen us to be obedient to His instructions. Even in this, God lets us get another quick peek at His character. He sends Hagar back into difficult circumstances...but not alone. God names her child "Ishmael" ~ God hears. He sends her back with a constant reminder of their desert encounter. Every time she said her child's name...every time she held him...every time she comforted him...called him for dinner...reprimanded him...she was reminded of the God who hears and sees. No matter how difficult her circumstances were she now had an ever-present reminder of El Roi!
Just like Hagar, we find ourselves in circumstances that are painful and difficult. We ask to have them removed from our lives, but often God, in His Sovereign wisdom, doesn't remove these circumstances but instead he asks us to "humbly" submit. We can find encouragement in seeing God's compassion with Hagar that He has that same compassion with us. He strengthened and enabled Hagar to go back into her difficult circumstances and He does the same for us. He hears us and He sees us and He is with us in all circumstances. And He enables us to be obedient to His call in our life to humbly submit.
I am comforted by Hagar's encounter. I am comforted because I am like Hagar...I've gotten it all wrong. Deep down inside I know that on my very best day...I'm still not enough. Like Hagar I struggle with idolatry, pride, sinful attitudes in my heart that more often than not, lead to sinful actions. Hagar's story teaches me that it's not about me. It's not about who I am. It's not about what I've done (good or bad). It's about who God is. It's about what God has done! He is the God who sees me. He is the God who came to me and touched me and blessed me. He is the God who opened my eyes so that I could see the God who sees me. And isn't that the message of the gospel? It's because of Jesus Christ and His life, His death, and His resurrection, and the work of His Spirit in my life that I, like Hagar, completely unworthy, have been confronted by El Roi in the desert and now can say that I have seen the God who sees me!
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." (2 Cor. 9:15)
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