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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
When is the last time you felt God was FAR away, and you seemed either lost in the crowd of 7.5 billion people on our planet, or so insignificant, surely God was not paying any attention to you or your situation?
As we contemplate the best pathway OUT of the fog of these past several Coronavirus months, or any troubling time in which you and I may find ourselves, this week we’re considering the second step which is the EMPATHY of God. It’s important we counter the feelings of lostness or even despair with the TRUTH of God’s complete awareness of every detail of what’s happening in our lives! Let’s travel to the middle east, down in the south of Israel, the dry desert area. Genesis 16 gives us the account of a very important event which took place there, so significant, the person we’re about to meet actually gave God a new name!
Sari, Abram’s wife, was in a dark place. She had been unable to bear children her entire life. But God had promised she and Abram that an entire nation of people would be their descendants, but of course that would mean they’d need to have at least one child…and soon, since they were both quite old. Years passed and nothing happened. Have you ever run out of patience with God?
In her despair, Sari said to her husband “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maidservant Hagar, perhaps I can build a family, through her.” (Gen. 16:2) Oh my! Do you see Sari blaming God for her despair and then, taking matters into her own hands, developed a ‘plan B’ to help bring about God’s promise? That’s dangerous friends. Psalm 37 gives us this good advice for times such as this: “Do not fret… Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him… do not fret, it only leads to evil.” (Ps. 37:7)
Sadly the Bible says “Abram agreed to what Sari said…” You see Abram too had grown impatient with God. So, as was the custom of that time, in that part of the world, Hagar, the Egyptian servant of Sari, became a second wife to Abram and she became pregnant. But jealousy arose between these two women, as we might expect, and soon life became unbearable for Hagar, and she was driven out by Sari. With nothing but the clothes on her back and probably a flask of water, Hagar left Abram’s tents, not having anywhere to go, feeling all alone, and rejected for her obedience to her master.
The hot, barren desert can be a terrible place in any circumstances, but can you imagine the despair pregnant Hagar felt? Look at what happened next: “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert…and said ‘Hagar, servant of Sari, where have you come from and where are you going?” (Gen. 16:7,8) Who is this “Angel of the LORD”? You may notice three times this angel is referred to that way in this story. Most Bible scholars believe this is an Old Testament appearance of the second person of the Godhead, the Son of God, Jesus. Of course, this is centuries before He would be born in a human body in Bethlehem, but we know Jesus, as God, is eternal.
You notice ‘the Angel of the LORD’ called Hagar by name, spoke to her in her own language, and knew she was a servant of Sari! Therefore we must assume He also knew all the circumstances which had caused Hagar to be out there in that hot desert alone. Sometimes God asks us such questions not to inform Him, but to provide us the opportunity to think and declare what is actually going on in our hearts and minds!
As you read the story you’ll see the “Angel of the LORD” gave Hagar instructions and also several promises! She was to return to Abram and Sari, for that is where she’d be cared for and deliver her baby safely. She was going to have a son, and the ‘Angel of the LORD’ picked a special name for that boy… Ishmael. Do you know the meaning of that name? It means “God hears”!! Sadly, the ‘Angel of the LORD” also predicted life for this boy would be difficult, in part because the boy was a man-made interference in God’s perfect plan. The result of impatience. It would be a lesson for all of us through the generations. Don’t try to manipulate God or His purposes.
Now look closely at Hagar’s response to this unexpected, remarkable, radical encounter with the “Angel of the LORD”. “She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,’ (Jehovah Lahai Roi) ‘for I have now seen the One who sees me.” Hagar was overwhelmed with the reality that the God who made her, and sustained her life every day, was also watching over her and understood her desperate circumstances! And more than that, this great, loving God came to meet her in the desert, speak words of instruction and promise to her, and assure her that she was not alone in her suffering. God Almighty, the God who holds the Universe together, saw her, cared deeply about her, and had come to encourage her in her desperate, desert place! Now my friends, grab that and hold on tightly, because God said in Malachi 3:6 “I the LORD do not change.”!
The last few verses of this powerful story tell us Hagar did return to Abram and Sari, and they did care for her and she did deliver a baby boy: “So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael. Abram was 86 yrs old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.” (Gen. 16:15,16) That tells me when Hagar stumbled back into camp, exhausted and thirsty from her desert trip, she explained to Abram that God had met her out there…and Abram was so moved by God interest in Hagar, that he cared for Hagar and was obedient by naming the child exactly as the “Angel of the LORD” had instructed. It was a turning point for Abram and his family.
What about you my friends, today…where-ever you are in the world. Do you know “Jehovah LaHai Roi”, the God who sees you? I urge us all to take time right now and worship Him. . . I found a great song to help you: “If it matters to you, it matters to The Master”.
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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