Abram had been on the land God
promised for ten years and he is prospering. But the
second part of God's covenant to him has not happened. He had no children, let alone innumerable descendants. He was 85 and his wife was 75. They reasoned that God was not meeting their
need. Times of little faith or loss of faith in God causes us to be vulnerable to selfish,
silly and even satanically influenced decisions.
So, Sarai and Abram decided not to wait on God. Instead, they took matters into their own
hands. Hagar was an Egyptian servant to
Sarai, who was probably given to them by Pharaoh in chapter 12. It turned out to be one bad decision followed
by another, as now this pregnant servant was abused. Hagar fled.
The angel of the
LORD appears to her. This is a preincarnate
appearance of Jesus Himself!
Do not miss the character of God displayed toward Hagar.
1. The LORD found her.
It is a picture of God pursuing those who need Him.
2. The LORD questioned her.
Doesn't He already know the answer?
Yes. But will she listen to His
voice and respond? God wants us to admit or confess the truth of our condition back to Him.
3. She responded. She
confessed that she was running from her problems. It is most often a turning point in one's
life, when they can admit this. Running
from issues, rather than facing them, only worsens the situation. In addition, no one can out run God.
4. The LORD's message to her was to turn around. The word repent means to turn. It is a turn from going the wrong direction
and turning to God's way for life.
5. The LORD made a promise to her and described a future for
her descendants. He did not have to do
this. It is called grace. When God made the promise to all of us of
eternal life through faith in Jesus, it was solely provided to us by His grace.
6. The result was a personal relationship with the God of
heaven and earth. Surely, she had
witnessed Abram's worship, but now this relationship has become hers. She had her own encounter with the living
God. Ishmael means "God
hears". Then, she declared,
"You are a God of seeing." God
sees. More than that, "Truly here I
have seen him who looks after me."
God cares.
This same One pursues us today, to show His grace, as He
hears, sees, and cares about the needs in our lives.
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