"The angel of the LORD said to [Hagar], 'Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.' Then he added, 'I will give you more descendants than you can count.'
"And the angel also said, 'You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means "God hears"), for the LORD has heard your cry of distress. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.'
"Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, 'You are the God who sees me.' She also said, 'Have I truly seen the One who sees me?' So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means 'well of the Living One who sees me'). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered."
There is yet more to glean about grace from this story of Hagar. Note that after God revealed himself to her as the God who sees her, she focused on that revelation and must have told others about it. After all, a well was named after her words, and the story has been passed down to this day. And why did God reveal what kind of man Ishmael would turn out to be? Could it be so that she wouldn't blame herself or anyone else for how he turned out? The subject of grace is sprinkled throughout her story. Revel in it, as Hagar did.
No comments:
Post a Comment