YOU ARE THE GOD WHO SEES ME
Genesis 16
Key Verse: 16:13
“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.’”
Good morning! Happy New Year! This is the first Sunday worship service in 2024. We got the first snow. In chapter 15 God gave Abram audio-visual education by showing him the descendants like the stars in the sky. Why? Abram was in a deep sense of loss and fear because he made many enemies to rescue Lot from the POW camp. At the same time, there was no sign of having a son God promised to him even though 10 years had passed since he heard God’s call and obeyed his call. I like chapter 15 greatly because God assures me that he is my shield and great reward when I am fearful for my future. I love chapter 17 when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah and transformed Abraham to be faithful and blameless person. However, I don’t like chapter 16. Why did the author of Genesis write this chapter between two great chapters? Bible writers do not hide any human mistakes and write the stories as they are because they wrote them inspired by the Holy Spirit. I realize this chapter gives me a spiritual lesson to learn that God sees everything and takes care of us despite our problem and unbelief. Sarai became impatient in chapter 16 and made a human decision to produce a son through his Egyptian slave named Hagar. Though God promised to give her son through her body, she did not wait for God’s timing. She made a costly mistake and tried to correct the problem by mistreating Hagar. But it was too late. The birth of Ishmael resulted, and Ishmael became the ancestor of the Arab. Her human mistake brought eternal consequences that still cause division and hostility and pain and war between the Jews and the Arabs. We all have our own Hagar and Ishmael. Let’s learn how our human decision can cause a painful impact to our life and others. I pray that God may open our spiritual eyes to meet God who sees us every moment of our life.
PART 1 PERHAPS I CAN BUILD A FAMILY THROUGH HER (1-7)
Look at verse 1. “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.” In chapter 15 Abraham believed in the promise of God and was restored spiritually fully. But Sarah was not on the same page as Abraham spiritually. Sarah was depressed because she did not produce any son for Abraham. Sarah was very sorry and ashamed that she could bear Abram no child. She loved Abram and knew how much he wanted a son. She became fatalistic about herself and decided to make a sacrifice that is hard for any woman to make. She felt that she had to do something to solve their no son problem. What was her solution? Look at verses 2-3 ” so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. “What can we learn from Sarah’s mistakes?
First, she became impatient. God promised to give her a son. But she said, “The Lord has kept me from having children.” She rationalized that it was God who prevented her from having children. She demonstrated her impatience waiting for God’s time. She wanted to bypass God’s plan and implemented her plan. Waiting God’s time requires a lot of prayers and patience. Hagar was Sarah’s immediate and visible solution. Sarah wanted to have a quick solution instead of waiting for God’s time. Here we learn that a quick solution is not a solution at all. It creates more problems later. It is very important to wait for God’s timing in our spiritual life. Sarah’s impatience resulted in the birth of Ishmael who divided the world between the Muslims and the Christians. We all need to wait for God/s timing in graduation, marriage, and job. God blesses those who wait and trust his word of promise. We should not repeat Sarah’s impatience problem but wait for God in our decision-making time. There is no quick solution in God’s work, and it takes time for God to fulfill his promise. Therefore, we must wait for God’s time. It took 25 years for God to give Abraham the covenant son Isaac. God trained Abraham to grow as a blameless and holy man of God to inherit God’s blessings as the father of faith for all Christians. Good things happen when we wait for God’s timing. Dre waited for his graduation, and he will get his doctoral degree and a good job because he waited patiently serving God as a presider. Franco waited for God’s time for his graduation and God even will provide a job in the hospital. Praise God who blesses those who are waiting for his time patiently. In his mission life M. Joshua confronted deportation because he did not get his green card. He had a spiritual crisis to pack everything and return to Korea. But instead of panicking, he waited for God’s time with a lot of prayer support, and he prayed early morning, “Father, grant me a green card.” God heard his prayer and gave him green card and a fulltime job at campus. In his time God sent him to UD as a pioneering missionary for campus mission.
Second, she compromised. She did unthinkable things. How did she think about giving her slave to become Abraham’s wife? When people are desperate, they do the unthinkable. Sarah gave her slave woman to Abraham to produce a son. She missed the big picture. She did not see the conflict between her and Hagar when Hagar became pregnant. She compromised her relationship with Abraham by giving him another wife. Hagar was alternative plan not God’s plan. Hagar was a convenient solution because she was visible and immediate. She compromised by choosing an alternative plan out of her convenience. When we compromise, we ruin our relationship before God. Her compromise brought family division and blaming game in the family. We need to maintain a pure relationship between husband and wife. We need to worship God with all our heart and soul and strength. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24b, “You cannot serve both God and money.” Money can steal our heart from God, and we compromise our relationship with God conveniently. We must love God wholeheartedly without any compromise.
Third, she calculated. She said, “Perhaps I can build a family through her.” She was not sure but said, “perhaps.” The word, “perhaps’ does not come from faith. She lacked faith in God but calculated that Hagan might provide a son. She did not trust God for building a family but relied on Hagar who was young and beautiful physically. She depended on Hagar instead of depending on God. Though she built a family through Hagar but caused a big headache because of Ishmael who threatened Isaac later. She created more problems instead of solving the problems when she made a human calculation. Her human calculation came from her lack of prayers and unbelief. We need to spend time with God through prayers when we make important decision like marriage and job and future life. We need to build our family through the promise of God. God has a plan to build our family through faith in God’s promises. We need to follow God’s plan rather than following our calculated human plan. We can prevent disasters later by following God’s leading in our marriages. We live in Macdonald culture. We love Macdonald because the food is ready and convenient. We hate waiting so Macdonald makes money and it is everywhere. “Quick” is our culture. We also live in the smartphone culture. We can be connected to the whole world within a second. I was able to join UD Sunday worship in the remote mountain in Korea. What a convenience it was! Everyone is used to hurrying up things and finishes things quickly and conveniently. But God’s work does not work that way. We need to ask God with prayers and wait for his time to receive what we asked for. God is not Macdonald or smartphone. We need to learn how to wait for God’s time to receive God’s blessings.
Look at verses 4-5. “He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
How did Abraham respond to Sarah’s suggestion? Abram agreed to what Sarai said; he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. Abram should have prayed about this; he should have listened to God’s voice instead of the voice of his wife. But because he was impatient, and he wanted to satisfy his own desire to have a son, he accepted Sarai’s suggestions. He did not wait on God but used human means to solve his problem. We are responsible for our actions, even if someone else gives unwise counsel. There will be no excuses saying, “I forgot about God’s promise, and I made a mistake.” Each one is responsible for their decisions before God no matter what. We must pray first before we make a major decision and be responsible for our decisions after that. There is no escape when we have bad results.
What were the consequences of their compromised solution? This decision brought grief to their household. After Hagar became pregnant, she became proud and began to look down on her mistress, Sarai. When Sarai complained to Abram, he said, “She’s your servant; do whatever you think best.” Abram did not try to mediate between two women. He restored spiritual order in his home and made it clear that his wife Sarai was the mistress of the home. It was the right thing for Abraham to respect Sarah as his wife. He did not side with Hagar because she was pregnant. Abraham was a good husband. Husband must regard his wife as joint heirs of God. A spirit-filled husband loves his wife not because for what she can do for him but because of what he can do for her. Though Sarah made a mistake, Abraham did not blame her and treated her as his beloved wife. So, Sarai treated Hagar harshly, and Hagar fled into the desert. Peaceful family of God became a battle ground between two women. Sarah blamed Abraham though she was the source of the problem. What a tragedy! How sorrowful Abram would have been if Hagar carried his child perished in the desert. But God helped Hagar.
PART 2 THE ONE WHO SEES ME (7-15)
How did God solve this terrible disastrous problem for Abraham and Sarah?
First, God helped Hagar. Look at verse 7-8. “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.” God dispatched the angel of the Lord to find the running away Hagar from Sarah. God decided to help Abraham get out of this terrible situation. It was necessary to find Hagar first. It is interesting to see the question of the angel, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” The angel reminded Hagar of her identity. She had a humble position as slave of Sarai. Now she was running away from her position. Someday we must answer the angel’s question, “Where have you come from and where are you going?” We must know where we come from and where we are going. We all are from God and will return to God at the end of our life because he is our creator God. When we know our true origin and destination, we can be humble and give thanks to God and follow his will. Hagar forgot who she was and despised her mistress when she became pregnant. Now the angel made Hagar know her real identity and gave her directions. Look at verses 9-10. “Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” This was the right direction for Hagar to submit to her mistress. In addition, the angel promised that her descendants will increase too numerous to count. The angel assured the future of her descendants. What are the details of God’s plan for a son born through Hagar? Look at verses 11-12. “The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward[b] all his brothers.” The boy’s name will be Ishmael which means “The Lord has heard of your misery.” Ishmael’s future was not a good one. He will live in hostility toward all his brothers. I am not sure if this was a blessing or a curse. Spiritually speaking, Ishmael was the product of human mistakes and unbelief. Ishmael could not be the covenant son, but God would bless him. His birth changed the world with turmoil and wars and hostility. Look at verses 13-14. 13 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[c] the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi[d]; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
What did Hagar learn from the birth of Ishmael? She learned that God heard her humble cry. Though she was in a desperate situation in the desert running away from her mistress, God saw her misery and saved her from her misery. How great is our God who sees and cares about one lonely slave woman. We know that God sees our misery because he watches us 24/7. God saw the misery of Israel and sent Moses in Exodus 3. Hagar met the God of Abram personally. She believed his promise and obeyed his command, and he took care of her and of Ishmael. Ishmael was a child of impatience (which is unbelief), compromise and human calculations. He was a son of the flesh. He could not be the inheritor of God’s eternal covenant. He brought human joy and sorrow to Abram, and tension and unrest to Abram’s household. God did not stop Abram from following his own way. He did not abandon him, either. He stooped to Abram’s weakness and cared for him and his family and waited on his own time. Look at verses 15-16. “So, Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.” Chapter 16 ended with the birth of Ishmael and God had another plan for Abraham to grow in faithfulness and blameless character.
In conclusion, we have our own Hagar which is the product of impatience, compromise, human calculations, and unbelief. We make mistakes relying on Hagar for solutions. How many times we have done foolish things or counseled others to do foolish things! God helped Abram. He lifted his burden of sin and helped him to continue to grow in his holiness by faith in God’s covenant promise. In the same way, God helped us to grow in his image through we did many foolish decisions with impatience and human thinking out of convenience. One time Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive others who sin against him. He put the limit saying, “Up to seven times.” (Matt 18:21) Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matt. 18:22) Indeed, Jesus forgave our foolish sins many times and he paid the price of our sins on the cross. He said in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus lifted our burdens of sin and opened the way to follow him without condition. Let’s forgive others who hurt us and sin against us unconditionally. In 2024 we can grow in the love of Jesus and ask God’s mercy to bless UD ministry with our kneeling down prayers. I know God will hear our humble cry and answer our prayers for 5 undergraduate students. Amen!!
Many times, we do not know who we are and where we came from and where we are going. We need to make decisions with prayers and live by faith. Many times, we are foolish like Abraham and Sarah making decisions depending on human thinking and impatience. I pray that we all may wait of God’s time in our decision-making time. Let’s experience God who hears our humble prayers. Let’s trust God’s promises and wait for the God’s time so that God may fulfill his promise in his time frame. May God bless the new year 2014 so that we may wait for God’s blessings while we follow his words daily. Let’s read the key verse 13. “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.’”