God Sees You (Genesis 16)
It feels as if I discuss hard times a lot in sermons. Well, it’s because Scripture talks a lot about hard times. And for good reason. We are humans and we have to deal with hard times. And if we’re not careful then we will end up sounding and acting like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.
I loved reading those books with the kids. And Eeyore was hilarious, in a tragic sort of way.
“Good morning, Eeyore,” said Pooh.
“Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning, which I doubt,” said he.
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.”
“Can’t all what?” said Pooh, rubbing his nose.
“Gaiety. Song-and-dance. Here we go round the mulberry bush.”
If we were to go through all of life’s hardships without understanding that God saw us and cared for us then we would be very tempted to live life like Eeyore thinking nothing good would ever happen and always waiting for something worse to take place. As funny as Eeyore is we should not live like him. And if we understand God’s love and care for us then we won’t live like him.
This week we are going to cover the same passage of Scripture as last week, only this time we will look at it from the perspective of Hagar. Last week we focused almost exclusively upon Abram and Sarai. We saw the turmoil that their decisions brought to them and God’s grace toward them.
Today we see a woman in turmoil and how God saw her and met her in the wilderness. In this story we see a beautiful picture of God’s grace and mercy toward His people. God sees you and gives you grace.
I know that there are many struggles among us here today. The sorrows and troubles of life can at times seem to pin us down. But we do not lose hope, for we understand that God loves us and cares for us. He sees us and cares. God sees you and gives you grace.
God Sees You, Even If You Think You’re A Nobody (1-6)
If there was ever a nobody, it would be this slave girl in a foreign land. Hagar was a slave from Egypt (Genesis 16:1). She was very likely, as I mentioned in the last sermon, given to them during Abram’s foolish behavior in Egypt as a bride price for Sarai when he claimed to be her brother rather than her husband. And she had no say in the things that would now take place. She had no input as to whether or not she would participate in this surrogate pregnancy plot that was conjured up by Sarai and agreed to by Abram (Genesis 16:2-4). And the child would not even be her own. This would be Sarai’s way of providing a child for her and Abram. And even after the plan worked, she had no say in how Sarai treated her. Sarai treated her poorly out of jealousy toward Hagar and her ability to conceive…and likely the relations with her husband. (Genesis 16:6). And Hagar ran (Genesis 16:6).
Hagar is now a pregnant slave woman on the run. And she was running back to Egypt. She would likely be a slave there too, but at least she wouldn’t be under the jealous and angry care of Sarai. But the Lord took notice of her.
The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness on the way back to Egypt (Genesis 16:7). And this is significant.
The “Angel of the Lord” is undoubtedly God Himself. This is the Preincarnate Jesus who appeared to Haggar. Now, why do I say this. Well, “The Angel of the Lord” did not seem to be delivering a message from another. He seemed to be delivering a message of what He was going to do (Genesis 16:10). Then we have this statement in Verse 13 that makes no sense unless this is God Himself appearing to her. It says, “so she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing” (Genesis 16:13). And Hagar also understood herself to have “seen Him who looks after” her (Genesis 16:13).
And the reason I say this is the preincarnate Jesus is because God the Son seems to be the person of the Trinity that is revealed to people most often. The same person of the Trinity that would later take on human flesh and dwell among us, appeared to saints in the Old Testament.
Hagar was a slave from Egypt who was used by Sarai and Abram for the purpose of having a child. Then Sarai mistreated her and she fled. God Himself came to her in her time of need. She didn’t utter a prayer to the Lord, but He came to her in her time of need.
I don’t know what you are going through in this moment. Any number of sorrows could be troubling you right now. And it seems to me that everyone in this room is dealing with something right now, or has recently.
Here is what I want you to know, Christian, God hears you and God sees you. You are not outside of His gaze. You have not ventured into uncharted waters. God hears you and God sees you.
Whether it’s illnesses that have struck you or a loved one, the death of a loved one, financial hardships, family feuds, God sees you and God hears you.
When we see God attend to Hagar in her sorrow, we are struck with the understanding that God hears us and God sees us. We are not alone in our suffering and our sorrow. God cares for His people. All of His people.
Because of our place in history, and our inability to discuss slavery without thinking of the American version of slavery, this passage is difficult for us to read. Even though her slavery had fundamental differences to what happened in America, Hagar was a slave. She was a servant who had likely been given to Abram and Sarai in Egypt. This was very different from what went on in America. The British in Barbados seem to have changed the nature of slavery. At that time, it became race based and much more brutal. And this was passed on to Americans. All of this is true. Slavery in America was much more brutal than slavery that was oftentimes practiced in other parts of the world. So don’t think that her enslavement was exactly like what you’ve seen on a TV show about the Civil War.
But I don’t want the apologetic discussion on slavery that we seem to often have to take away from her stature in society. She was not someone who was wealthy or elite. She was not a celebrity in her day. She did not have a large following. She didn’t really have anything. As is obvious from the discussion with Abram and Sarai, she doesn’t even really have control over what she does with her body.
And let us consider what this means about reaching out to people in our community. We want the gospel to spread over this city. We want everyone, from the person everyone listens to, to the person everyone ignores to come to the saving knowledge of Christ in this place. There are people here, in this city, who don’t have a thing, that need to hear the message of God’s grace and mercy. There are wrecked homes, wrecked families, and wrecked lives, they need to be reached with the love and grace of God found only in Jesus Christ. We need to be ready to accept and love God’s people wherever they be found. We need to have God’s mind on this matter.
She was a nobody. But she was a nobody who was part of the blessed household of Abram, the household that God had chosen. And God would take care of her.
God Sees Your Hardship And Cares (7-14)
This is a picture of desperation. She is a pregnant woman who has escaped from her home and is travelling the road back to Egypt. And she has now stopped to refresh herself at the well.
Take this picture in. Think about your own experiences. I do not believe that there was a single time in either of my wife’s pregnancies that she would have thought doing this was okay.
But here, God meets her in the middle of her hardship. She is on the run from Sarai, by herself, and on the road back to Egypt when God comes to meet her. And He gave to her tremendous promises concerning her offspring.
Most commentators before recent days understand that this was the Pre-Incarnate Jesus who met her by the well. And there is good reason for this being the case. I agree with them. For there is no doubt that this is God who has come to meet with her. She is told to call the boy Ishmael, which means God hears. Then she rejoices and says, “You are a God of seeing…Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.” (Genesis 16:13). And after everything took place, she called the well that the Lord met her at, “the well of the Living One who sees me” (Genesis 16:14).
Hagar was in desperate need. And God came to her. God loved her and God cared for her.
I might be the last person that should deliver this message to you right now, for I so often fail at what I am about to tell you to do. But we must not lose sight of the fact that God loves us and cares for us.
When sorrows rise, it becomes rather easy to lose sight of the fact that God cares for us. I am guilty of forgetting. When hardship strikes us, we sometimes lose our footing. We forget where we are and forget whose we are. And we also forget that He cares for us.
We sometimes begin to ask why God would allow such a thing to happen. And think that He is working things out in this manner because He does not love us or care for us. But that is not the case.
The most repeated command in the Bible is to not be afraid. Yes, it comes to us as a command, but it also comes to us as a word of comfort to a soul wearied by the circumstances of life. The reason we are not to fear is that God is with us and He cares for us. We have already seen that the promises given to Abram are given to us, God’s people. We are grafted into this covenant with Abram (Romans 11:11). And we are now partakers of the covenant with Abram (Galatians 3:29). Therefore, these words are for you, Christian. Take them to heart.
“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:8-10 ESV)
Be not dismayed in the middle of your hardship. God sees you. And God cares for you. Life may get dark and the way forward may look treacherous. But God cares for us and that is enough. It is enough for me to know that God Himself is for me. It is enough for me to know that God loves me and cares for me. It is enough for me to know that God will uphold me with His “righteous right hand”.
God Sees You, And Sent His Son To Bring You To Himself
This last observation from the text is one that is a struggle to understand because of where we are in history. Hagar could not maker her own decisions for herself. She was part of Abram’s household, a slave given to them by Pharaoh. She was not able to just up and leave. It was not allowed.
Furthermore, if she were to leave, then she would be leaving that place of God’s blessing. God gave numerous promises to Abram. And if she were to leave, then she would be leaving all of that behind.
So the Lord came to her and asked here where she had come from and where she was going (Genesis 16:8). She was leaving the mistreatment of Sarai, but also leaving the family where God’s special presence dwelt. She had struck it out on her own, away from God’s promises and away from God’s blessings. Yes, we understand her situation and have a lot of sympathy for her in that moment. But she was leaving behind the great and glorious promises and that blessed household.
Again, the “angel of the Lord” is believed to be the preincarnate Christ. This is God the Son before the Incarnation, come to deliver a message of grace and mercy to Hagar. She was to go back to Sarai, that place where she belonged. And he made glorious promises for her child. He would make a great nation of the son she carried.
She rejoiced at the message of the Lord and returned to Sarai. She was lost and wandering in desperation. Now she went back to Sarai and rejoiced as she went.
We understand that we were all at one time sinners who were in need of a Savior. That is the condition that we are all born in (Romans 3:23). We have all earned for ourselves God’s wrath and justice. We have all wandered like sheep and gone our own way (Isaiah 53). We were all at one time far from God, far from His promises.
“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands– remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:11-12 ESV)
We understand that we are all at one time sinners who are in need of a Savior, Romans 3:23. We are the lost and wandering sheep of Isaiah 53.
And God came to us. God the Son came to Earth. He took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He came to us. And He lived and He died for us. He fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf. He died as the substitute for sinners. And three days later, He rose from the grave. Jesus completely accomplished our right standing with God.
We were lost and wandering sinners on the path to destruction and Jesus came to save us. And our response to this is to turn from ruling our lives and trust the Savior. That’s called repentance and faith. All those who receive Christ, are brought into the covenant with Abram and receive eternal life.
I also understand that there are people who might have been hurt by people in a church, and possibly even this one. They can feel a lot like Hagar, abused by the people that were supposed to be treating them otherwise. It hurt, and possibly they are wandering far off. We want them to come back. If they just can’t come back to this church, then another one. God has poured out His blessings upon the Church and to wander away from that place is to wander in the wilderness.
And Christian, this is where our peace is found as well. How often are we tempted to despair because of our own guilt and shame? How often does our own guilt and shame weigh us down?
How often are we tempted to lie in the dump rather than look to Christ who made an end to all our sin and shame?
“When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
“From Before The Throne of God Above”
Conclusion
The sorrows and troubles of life can at times seem to pin us down and there seems to be no way out. But we do not lose hope, for we understand that God loves us and cares for us. He sees us and cares.
God sees you and gives you grace. I don’t know what you are going through in this moment. But know that in this moment, God sees you and gives you grace.
If you are a believer, God has already redeemed you. He has already brought you into His family. And He has already delivered to you grace upon grace that you desperately need to remember.
If you are not a believer here today, then look to Christ. Look upon Him who comes to the weary downcast. He has come to redeem. He has come to save. And He will give to you grace. Turn from ruling your own life and trust in Him. God sees you and gives you grace.
R. Dwain Minor