22 – Of Hagar and Humanity

Galen

Aug 8

Pieter Thijs: Hagar in the desert , circa 1674

Abram replied to Sarai, "Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her. The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. He said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She replied, "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai." Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment." The Angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count." … So, she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, "In this place, have I actually seen the One who sees me?" – Genesis 16

This is such a heartbreaking, but beautiful, story! Hagar, through no fault of her own, was in a country that wasn't hers and as a servant, was dependent on Abraham and Sarah for her existence. Yet, Sarah grew jealous and kicked her out into the barren wilderness…to die. Not a very gracious act by Sarah.

And there by a spring where she was waiting to die, she was found. This confused, rejected, kicked-out mother to one of the children of the father of the faithful was seen by God.

You may not realize it, but Hagar is the first person recorded in the Hebrew scriptures to name God, calling him "the One who sees".

Humans should take comfort in knowing that there is a God who sees. He sees the brokenhearted, the rejected, the outcast, the despised…and he comes to them in their greatest need.

Perhaps you are feeling rejected right now. Perhaps a spouse has abandoned you, or your children have walked away not only from what you taught them but from you as well. Perhaps you were passed over for that promotion and feel worthless.

Remember the Egyptian who was in the foreign land that named God. I encourage you to remember his name: The God Who Sees. He sees you. He comes to you. He will never leave you or forsake you though everyone and everything else does. Why? Because he is God…and he let himself be seen by the rejected Hagar and he will let you see him, too. Hagar is the perfect representative of humanity, seen by the one who became human so we could see him.

PRAYER: Thank you for seeing us in our rejected brokenness and for caring that our emotions are shattered. Help us remember that you are the One who sees and wants to reveal himself to us! In your name, Amen.

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