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 NIV
The story of Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl that Abram and Sarai blatantly used in an attempt to make God’s promises come true in their own time and way, has always been a challenging one for me. Probably like many of you, I am a champion for the underdog, and I really struggle when people do wrong things and seem to get away with it. They appear to go on their merry way and recover well, while the person they hurt or abused must deal with the results of choices they did not make. That is the genesis of the story of Hagar, but, like many stories on social media, if you think Abram and Sarai did not have consequences, you’re just seeing their highlight reels. They suffered many natural consequences of their choice. And God did not forget Hagar.
So – a quick rundown of the story. Sarai and Abram had no children and were past childbearing age. They doubted God’s ability to follow through on His promises to give them a child and decided to help Him. Because of the culture of the day, a slave was theirs to manage as they chose, so Sarai chose her as her husband’s second wife. This old man slept with this young woman, took away her ability to be a genuinely loved wife with another man, and she became pregnant with his child. Genesis 16 says when she discovered she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Can you blame her? Sarai couldn’t miss the hateful looks and she complained to Abram, blaming him for the pregnancy. She said her misery was his fault. Hmmm. Doesn’t this sound familiar? From the beginning in the garden, right up to today, we make foolish, sinful decisions but seem to find ways to blame others instead of taking responsibility.
Abram didn’t defend Hagar or view her as his wife. He told Sarai, “She’s your slave. Do with her what you want.” So, she did. She mistreated her so badly that Hagar ran away into the desert and would have died there. But God pursued her. He sent an angel who comforted her and made her promises about her son, His care for both of them and His love and protection in their future. In amazed gratitude, this young girl who knew nothing but the cold, unfeeling, and angry gods of the Egyptians, said, “You are the God who sees me! I have now seen the One who sees me!” She went back to Sarai and delivered her son. God kept His word to her.
This name she gave to God in the Hebrew is El Roi – the God who sees me. God not only seeks you, but He knows where you are. No matter what has happened to you, or what you have done to yourself, God seeks you, sees you, loves you, and wants to do something great in you and for you.
- El Roi, You see me! Thank You! I want to follow You with my life.