The God Who Sees and Hears Me

A Christian thought to ponder...

How many of you believe that God sees you and hears your cries and pleas for help? The Bible reminds us time and time again that our best recourse in times of trials is to place our hope and trust in Him. To call out to Him. 

In Genesis 16, we learn about the servant Hagar. Some would believe that there is no lesson or truth to be learned in this part of scripture, but I tend to disagree. After all, why would God include Hagar in Scripture, if there was nothing to be learned or to be remembered?  I find this part of scripture very enlightening and valuable in teaching us to place our hope and trust in God. 

Genesis 16 

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

We do not fully know what was the customs of during Abram's time as far as the treatment of servants and the servants' roles, but when one reads the passage, it is easy to assume that Sarai was a little too harsh with Hagar. Perhaps she let her emotions control her, which would explain such harsh treatment against Hagar. However, Hagar was no innocent in the situation, and her contempt towards Sarai showed a lack of respect towards her mistress. Her treatment of her mistress was wrong. But, Sarai showed little faith or trust in God when she asked Abram to lie with her servant. In fact, neither Abram nor Sarai trusted God in giving them a son, for they took matters into their own hands by involving Hagar even though God told them that they would have a child. God tells them in Genesis 15 that they will have a son.

Genesis 15

4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

Abram and Sarai focused on themselves, their needs, their desires, and their timing. Instead, they should have focused on trusting God and His promises and His perfect timing. As a result, Ishmael was born a wild donkey man whose hand would be against everyone, and he would live in hostility toward all his brothers.

Hagar's son's name, Ishmael, means, "God hears," a reminder not only to Hagar then but to all of us that despite all of our troubles, and afflictions God hears our pleas, our cries, and our prayers. Even though God sent Hagar back to Abram and Sarai, she now had God, Abram's God, to see her through difficult times. Because God looked after Hagar, she did something no one else in all of Scripture ever did. She gave God a new name, “God who sees.” ~ ’El ro’i. God sees you. Hagar witnessed God's mercy, love, and promise. A promise that He would multiply her offspring. She would have more descendants than she could ever count. Hagar humbly submitted to God by obeying Him and recognizing that He was in control, and so she returned to Sarai and submitted to her. 

In Genesis 21, we see Sarah's emotions take hold of her heart, and she tells Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out when she sees Ishmael laughing. Cast out into the wilderness of Beersheba with little water and bread, Hagar and Ishmael cry out. They are dying from thirst. God hears their voices and saw Hagar's tears. He rescues her and Ishmael by showing her a well so that they may have water. 

Genesis 21

8 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

God heard their cries, and He saved them. God is our Rescuer, and He sees what you are going through. God hears our cries and pleas. He is merciful and loving. Let Him take the helm and place your hope and faith in Him. He doesn't promise we will not experience problems, but God does promise to work all things for our good and His will. He will never leave us or forsake us. Seek Him. Cry out to Him. He sees and hears you.

O ’El ro’i,

You are the God who sees us. You are our Rescuer. We can trust that you will care for us and help us when times seem grave. Thank you for the reminder in the passage of Genesis 16 and 21 about Hagar. A woman harshly treated and cast out but who showed us how You are the God who sees. We are so thankful for this passage that shows us how you are faithful, true, caring, loving, and how You keep your promises. Hagar found hope in Your promises. She found her Rescuer. You opened her eyes, and she saw Your mercy and love. Help us to place our hope and trust in You, in good times or bad times. 

Amen.

Pray you all have a blessed week!

Carol