Today we conclude our study of the Lord's conversation with Hagar in the wilderness.
Yesterday we closed with Him telling her that her descendants would be too numerous to count. "The angel of the Lord also said to her: 'You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.'" (Genesis 16:11) The name "Ishmael" means "God will hear". Hagar, alone and heartbroken and frightened in the desert, thought no one cared about her. She thought no one heard the sound of her weeping and that they wouldn't help her even if they did. But God heard her cries and knew what was in her heart. He saw her circumstances. He came down in person to prove to her that He knew her name, that her problems mattered to Him, and that He loved her. Every time Hagar says her son's name, it will be a reminder to her that God is aware of everything that happens to her and that He cares.
"He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (Genesis 16:12) Ishmael is not the son promised to Abram by God. He is not going to be Abram's heir or the one to carry on the family line. He is not going to be of the bloodline of the coming Messiah. God is still going to bless him and make a great nation of him because nothing that has happened to his mother has been her fault. She can't help it that she was used in Sarai's ill-advised plan to obtain a son through a surrogate mother. She can't help it that Abram took her as his second wife long enough to conceive a child with her. Hagar is the victim in this story and the Lord knows it. He promised her yesterday that her son will be the father of many descendants.
It is believed that Ishmael was the ancestor of several Arabic tribes, and if this is so, then the prophecy has already come true. For example, Mohammad claimed to be a descendant of Ishmael, although his claim cannot be proven because not enough is known about the genealogy between Ishmael and Mohammad. The lineage can't be accurately traced and there are some scholars of today who don't believe the two men were connected genetically at all. But, assuming Mohammed was correct, then the Lord's prophecy regarding Ishmael has certainly come true, for his hand is against "his brothers" (the Jewish people). Ishmael and Abram's son Isaac were half brothers, but there's no loving relationship today between the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac. Indeed, most of Israel's neighbors would love to see her wiped from the face of the earth. In our world today, the United States is the best friend the nation of Israel has, and heaven help us if that ever changes, because the Lord said to Abram in regard to his descendants, "I will bless those you bless, and whoever curses you I will curse." (Genesis 12:3a) If we ever turn our hand against Israel, God may turn His hand against us and remove from us the great blessings He's granted our nation.
Now Hagar gives a name to the Lord. She is the only woman in the entire Bible who does this. "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.'" (Genesis 16:13) Her statement lends further credence to the theory that any time we see "the angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament, this is a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ. She says she has seen the Lord, and she is referring to "the angel of the Lord" who sought her in the desert to tell her He cares.
The name she gives Him is "El Roi" in Hebrew and it simply means "The God who sees me." Hagar doesn't merely mean that the Lord is aware of her as He looks down on the earth from the heavens. She means He really sees her. He sees all the way into her heart and mind and soul. He sees her circumstances. Sometimes we go through periods in life when we feel unseen and uncared for. Sometimes we're the victims of someone else's mistreatment or mistake. We can begin to feel like we are unseen, unheard, and uncared for. But the Lord says to us the same thing He said to Hagar, "I hear you." And we can say to Him what Hagar said, "You see me and You've allowed me to see You." The Lord wants a two-way relationship with us. He hears what we have to say and He wants us to hear what He has to say. He sees us and He wants to make Himself known to us so that we can "see" Him. On what must have been one of the worst days of her life, the Lord proves these things to Hagar.
Because in this desert place the Lord saw Hagar and Hagar saw Him, the well there was given a special name of memorial. "That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered." (Genesis 16:14) This means "well of the living One who sees me".
How many times has the Lord refreshed you in the desert places of life? How many times has He stepped in to remind you He sees you and hears you? He's done this too many times in my life to count. Our lesson on Hagar is a timely one for me. There's a particular situation that's been going on for years that is beginning to trouble me more than ever lately. I think soon there will be some changes in this situation, but I find myself worrying about whether these will be welcome or unwelcome changes for me. I've been praying about this and trying to remind myself that the Lord knows everything about my circumstances, that He has seen and heard everything, and that He's going to step in. I feel like I am the victim in this particular story. He knows it. And as He did with Hagar, I think at the right time and in the right way He will take action.
The Lord told Hagar in yesterday's passage to return to the household of Abram of Sarai, and she does. "So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had born. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael." (Genesis 16:15-16) How did Abram know his son was supposed to be named Ishmael? I think Hagar told him what the Lord said to her and Abram listened. Maybe for the first time since Hagar has known Abram, he actually listened to what she (a slave girl) had to say. Not only did the Lord show her He cares about what she has to say, but He's opened Abram's ears to her voice as well. This chapter ends on a positive note for everyone involved, but that's through no efforts of their own. It's because the Lord stepped into what was a human-made mess and started sorting things out.
No comments:
Post a Comment