The God Who Looks After Me

Genesis 16:1-16 English Standard Version

Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.

Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

Genesis 16:4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

Genesis 16:5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”

Genesis 16:6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

Genesis 16:7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

Genesis 16:8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”

Genesis 16:9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”

Genesis 16:10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”

Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction.

Genesis 16:12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

Background.

In Genesis 12:1-3, God calls Abram to go to the land God will show him – the promised land.

Included in that promise, is a promise that Abram and his wife Sarai would have a multitude of descendants – at the time of the promise, they had none.

They have spent ten years traversing the land God promised them without owning any of it and no offspring.

In the Ancient Near East, having children was very important, so much so, that culture said that if a wife did not produce a child after two years of marriage, the husband could take a second wife to produce offspring.

The Biblical narrative that we read takes place ten years after their journey began.

Observations

1.) We often suffer from our ownchoices, the choices of others, and/or our response to those choices (Genesis 16:1-4).

a. Hagar was powerless; she had no choice in the matter.

i. Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.

ii. Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lordhas prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

iii. Genesis 16:3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

iv. Genesis 16:4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

2.) We often are running from _____ rather than running to _____ (Genesis 16:7-8).

a. Genesis 16:7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

b. Genesis 16:8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”

3.) We often see God in the most unlikely of places – here (Genesis 16:13).

a. Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

Applications

1.) Do the right thing (Genesis 16:9).

a. Genesis 16:9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”

i. Don’t blame others.

1. Sarai blamed others – Abram & God

a. Genesis 16:5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”

b. Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

2. Trust God for His timing – God confirms His promise to Sarai in the next chapter (Genesis 17:19).

b. Don’t be passive.

i. Abram was passive.

1. Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lordhas prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

2. Genesis 16:3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

a. Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

b. Genesis 3:17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

3. Genesis 16:6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

c. Don’t respond badly.

i. Hagar looked with contempt.

1. Genesis 16:4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

ii. Trust God’s plan for your life.

1. Genesis 16:10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”

2. Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction.

2.) Tell others your “I Saw God” Story (Genesis 16:13-16).

a. Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

b. Genesis 16:14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; [bee ehr-luh HIGH-roy] it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

c. Genesis 16:15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

d. Genesis 16:16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the Lordwho spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”