BWV #35 The God Who Hears

INTRODUCTION Genesis 16:1-16.

Tonight we come to a chapter that reveals a side of YHWH that has up to this point been somewhat hidden.

The focus of YHWH in the book of Genesis has been on key and important individuals.

At this point you might be inclined to think that YHWH only involves Himself in the big things of life

Chapter 16 proves otherwise.

God cares and is involved in all the affairs of humanity, the great and the small.

We call it providence when God intervenes to bring about His will.

Listen to how the Puritans who framed the Westminster confession defined providence.

God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel fo His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy.

That pretty well describes the sovereign providence of God in the world.

YHWH is concerned about all things.

At the end of the Millennial reign of Christ at the Great White Throne judgment, the great and the small will all stand before God.

And books will be opened that contain all the deeds of all, and they, the great and the small, and all in between shall be judged according to their deeds.

Everything will matter.

YHWH is a God who knows all things, He is omniscient.

Chapter 16 introduces us to two new names for God.

El-Roi the God who hears.

Ishmael, the God who sees.

He sees and hears all things, nothing escapes His piercing eye or His perceiving ear.

His grace, and His judgment, extend to all people.

Not just the important ones like Abram, but to us all.

We see this and much more in this momentous chapter.

The Abrahamic covenant weaves its way throughout all the pages of scripture.

First it is promised in Genesis 12.

But again after many years Abram is really no closer to seeing the reality of the promise.

Second, in chapter 15, YHWH affirms the covenant.

That is really important that we see that.

Abram had arrived in the land that was promised.

But the land is full of peoples, some of them hostile, most of them vile.

On top of that, there is military pressure from far away lands.

Abram was surely beginning to wonder, how will I possess this land.

We saw the Lord’s answer to that question.

Also in chapter 15 the question is, what about descendents?

Abram knows their condition, they are beyond the ability to bear children.

Will a slave I own be my heir?

YHWH’s response is no, it won’t be a slave you own.

It will be from your own loins.

Third, now in chapter 16, the question of a son comes up again, and again the covenant is affirmed.

Abram has been in the land 10 years, and still no heir.

The Lord reassures Abram of many many descendents.

So what we see in the flow, kind of mixed into the details of life, is the promise given by YHWH.

The promise questioned even doubted by Abram.

And then the promise restated and assured by YHWH.

He is a patient God.

Fourth, every mention of Christ is a reminder that the Abrahamic Covenant is being fulfilled.

It is very difficult for me to say one part is being fulfilled, but other parts aren’t.

YHWH is faithful and will fulfill the entire covenant.

A CRITICAL ATTITUDE

One of the biggest problems God’s people have is impatience.

We want what we want, right now, yesterday if possible.

Even when it has been promised by YHWH, we are like children before Christmas, trying to get a peak inside the package, we just cant wait.

This is where we find Abram and Sarai.

It has been many years since they left Ur and recieved the promise of the Covenant.

Abram was to be the father of a great nation, many nations in fact.

But now, after 10 years in the land walking with God, they are still childless.

Sarai has developed, really they both have developed a critical attitude.

In eastern cultures, and especially in that day, having children was very important.

Children provided a labor source, someone to care for you in your old age.

Children were a status symbol.

The couple with many children were assumed to have been greatly blessed by the gods, in this case YHWH.

Likewise, to have no children, was to be cursed by Him.

You see this in verse 2, “YHWH has shut my womb from bearing children.”

It was especially a shame to the wife if she bore her husband no children.

Women weren’t real high on the social ladder, and their main purpose in that culture was to have children.

It must be remembered that YHWH has promised them descendents that would number as the stars in the sky and the dust of the earth.

They would have understood that promise to include at least a son, but in reality hoping for many sons.

Yes there would be daughters, but the focus would be on a son.

For a son carries on the family name.

This was a patriarchal society, sons mattered, sons were ones future.

So implied in the promise of numerous descendents, it the idea of a son.

And it was an embarrassment to the woman, a big embarrassment if she had no children.

Sarai is feeling the pressure.

Sarai and Abram are agreed on one thing, God is the problem.

In chapter 15 Abram said to YHWH, Genesis 15:3

Genesis 15:3 LSB

And Abram said, “Since You have given no seed to me, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”

Those words, “Since you” are very telling.

Now in chapter 16, Sarai makes a similar statement.

Genesis 16:2 LSB

So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, Yahweh has shut my womb from bearing children. Please go in to my servant-woman; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

YHWH has shut my womb.

So they are agreed, the absence of children is the fault of YHWH.

This understanding, and even the blame, isn’t all bad.

At least they are beginning to see and understand the sovereignty of God over their life.

This is a great truth that so few ever truly come to grips with.

Most of the world’s people have some kind of warped understanding to why things are the way they are.

The naturalist explains all of life in naturalistic terms.

You have no children, well, your sperm count is low, your diet is deficient, or your lady parts are functioning properly.

But that ignores the reality that there is a God who created you and holds the very atoms in your body together and in harmony.

The pagan religionists are closer to right, it is the fault of the gods.

But, their gods are capricious and fickle.

They are unpredictable and flighty.

They are just as likely to bless you as harm you for no real reason.

The Hindu people covet prayer, they are a spiritual people.

And one very effective question is to ask them, does your god answer prayer.

They almost never say yes.

Which is true, for their god does not exist.

The portrait of YHWH in the Bible is of a sovereign providential all powerful being who not only created, but controls the details of His creation.

If Christ were to ever stop controlling, the very atoms themselves will erupt in a nuclear holocaust, because it is Jesus that holds them together.

Colossians 1:15–17 LSB

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together.

In Him, Jesus Christ, the eternally existent second person of the Trinity, all things hold together.

So Abram and Sarai are correct, YHWH is the reason they have no children.

The Psalmist affirms this Psalm 127:3

Psalm 127:3–5 LSB

Behold, children are an inheritance of Yahweh, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with enemies in the gate.

But YHWH is not a problem, He has a purpose.

A COOPERATIVE HAND

In the last half of verse 2, Sarai offers a helping hand.

YHWH hasn’t delivered on His promise, take my servant Hagar and obtain children through her.

Again, we want what we want right now.

Patience isn’t man’s strong suit.

Which is why of course part of our spiritual training is to learn to wait on the Lord.

We don’t just see a helping hand here, but an arrogance that says I know better than YHWH.

YHWH promised a child, He had not delivered on the promise, so now let me tell you what to do.

And Abram listened to his wife Sarai.

This is a huge statement.

Abram is the second time man fails in this way, and the consequences are disastrous.

Adam to listened to his wife, and the whole human race fell.

Abram listens to his wife, and still to this day the descendents of Ishmael are a thorn in Israel’s side.

Now lest you think I am picking on women, let me say that is not the point.

It is not that she is a woman.

The point is that Adam and Abram listened to another voice that wasn’t YHWH’s.

Fast forward several hundred years and we see the son of Solomon making the same mistake.

He listens to a group of young advisors and the results then are equally disastrous.

The nation splits and is forever weaker.

So the point is not that we listen to the voice of our wives and that gets us into trouble.

The point is, we listen to a voice that speaks in opposition to God and that can come from anyone.

Sarai’s solution is to help YWHW get this covenant rolling.

Take may Servant.

Abram did just that.

But notice how involved Sarai is in the whole process.

She took Hagar and gave her to Abram.

Notice the Spirit of God adds some key words I just intentionally left out, “her husband”.

What goes around comes around I guess.

Abram threw Sarai under the bus and their marriage was violated by Pharoah as he took Sarai as his own wife.

Now, their marriage is violated when she gives Hagar to Abram.

This ordeal with Hagar demonstrates how worldly and pragmatic even God’s people can be.

Pragmatism assesses a situation and looks for a solution that works.

That is the only criteria, will it work.

Thus Sarai looks at Hagar, she is young, she can have children, this is pragmatic.

This demonstrates the influence of the world, because this is exactly how the culture of that day functioned.

Men had many wives, and often concubines and servant girls that they had sexual relations with and produced many offspring.

Remember Jacob?

Two wives, two concubines, and 12 sons.

That was common.

David had wives and concubines, and committed adultery.

My point is this, the culture was patriarchal, and men took for themselves whom they desired.

I want to say again as I have said many times, be careful about building your doctrine from narratives.

Just because Abram, Jacob, and David did something in the scripture, does not make it right.

We must compare their actions with other scriptures of instruction before we pass judgment upon the morality of an action.

So not only do we see Sarai and Abram trying to help the plan of God along, but they do so in sinful ways.

This idea of pragmatism really bothers me, because it is the human way of doing things.

We see pragmatism today infecting churches every where.

We have received the Great Commission to go and make disciples.

But their are right ways and worldly ways that compete for how we do that.

I remember talking to a man in Colorado who was originally from Louisiana but was then in NWA.

He was a pastor, and had started a church in NWA.

I asked why NWA and his response was very pragmatic.

He hired a “Christian” research group to help him pick the best location for a church.

They chose NWA.

In our discussion, it was all about demographics and projections for the region.

There was not one mention of God’s will, God’s call, God’s plan or anything spiritual..

The decision was made on purely pragmatic issues.

This is why so many church have turned to entertainment to draw a crowd to church.

It works, and if it works, then it must be right.

Churches all across America do all kinds of things to try and attract a crowd.

In their mind, they are fulfilling the Great Commission.

In my mind, when we turn from worship to entertainment, when we offer enticements to draw them in, then we have taken the path of Abram and Sarai.

We have usurped the role of God.

That is really what I see here.

They have the promise of God.

But they have decided to take matters into their own hand rather than wait for YHWH.

They are impatient, I mean come on, it has been 10 years.

Abram and Sarai had developed a critical attitude, a cooperative plan, and now they will reap catastrophic results.

That is pretty common when you head out on your own and fail to follow patiently God’s leading.

CATASTROPHIC RESULTS

First, the plan worked, Hagar did indeed get pregnant, she conceived.

But Sarai was now contemptible in her sight.

Sarai had hatched this plan to give Abram and heir.

It is likely she planned on raising the child, but we cannot be dogmatic.

But what she did not foresee, was the attitude that would arise in her servant Hagar.

Hagar now saw Sarai as an inferior woman.

I can have children, I have conceived by your husband, I am a better woman than you.

Folks, never underestimate the pressure of others.

For some people, and psychologists call them High Self Monitors, how other view them is of the utmost importance to them.

I would say Sarai is a high self monitor.

It can and does affect both genders, but more so the female persuasion.

High self monitors can be more vulnerable to peer pressure, and to the opinions of others.

Hagar now thinks herself better than Sarai, and Sarai is devastated, humiliated, shamed.

In verse 5 we see some strange words, so let me interpret.

In her mind, Sarai had come up with a good solution to the problem.

But now, she is being wronged by Hagar who looks down on her.

This is the intent behind the word violence in verse 5.

Violence means malicious intentions.

Hagar now has malicious intentions toward Sarai.

It is quite reasonable to assume that Hagar may be thinking, I am now the matriarch in the family.

I am superior to Sarai.

Sarai feels she is being wronged, and she demands that Abram take the blame and the shame.

Her emotions are getting the best of her.

And I don’t mean that wrongly, just as fact.

Women are typically more emotional than men, it is the way YHWH created them.

That is not bad, there is a need for emotions at times.

Men need that balance, for we tend to be on the other end of the extreme.

Men are more rational during times of stress and upheaval, and we see that in Abram’s response.

Abrams response is straight forward.

First, Sarai, you are still in charge, your servant woman is in your hand.

She is in your hand simply means you have control, and you can act accordingly.

Second, Sarai, do what you think best.

Whoops, that is what started this whole affair.

When we lean on our own understanding and do what we think best rather than what God has said, then we are headed for trouble.

Third, Sarai sins against Hagar.

Sarai made the plan, did her part to execute the plan, and now she is angry and mean.

She sins against an innocent woman who had so say in the matter.

It is not as if Hagar could have refused.

The word “afflicted” mean to force to submit, to bow before.

This is typical when we fly solo apart from the guiding hand of our Savior.

The plans of man look good in his sight.

Proverbs 21:2 LSB

Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, But Yahweh weighs the hearts.

Seemed like a good thing, but ended in disaster for Sarai, and Hagar.

The oppression of Sarai drives Hagar to flee.

Hagar feels it is better to be on your own in the wilderness than back home under Sarai.

The point here is this, sin impacts those around us, even those who are innocent.

Sin rarely effects only the one who commits it.

Sin has cause Sarai grief, Hagar grief, and as we shall see, long term grief for the descendents of Abram.

We shall see how this decision by this one couple is going to result in conflict between the descendents of Ishmael and Abram until this very day.

Sarai is mean, Hagar flees, and now YHWH sends comfort.

THE COMFORT OF YHWH

Comfort for Hagar comes in the form of the Angel of the Lord.

The message from YHWH is pretty simple and straight forward, much like Abram, only righteous.

Abram basically said you are the boss, do what you want.

There was not considerations of love, compassion or kindness, just do as you please.

Boy did Sarai do so.

But the message from YHWH is do what is right.

First, you belong to Sarai your mistress, go home.

Go back where you belong.

We struggle with this because of our anti slavery sensibilities.

But, even Paul sends a runaway slave back to his master in the NT book of Philemon.

The Lord is more concerned with what is going on in you, than outside of you.

Second, humble yourself under Sarai.

Gulp.

You probably found yourself cheering for Hagar the innocent underdog in this case.

But again, the Lord is most concerned that all concerned do what is right.

The moral of the story here, one wrong does not warrant another on the victims part.

The abortionist is wrong, but that gives us no right to bring harm to them in any way, other than to peacefully intervene in the lives of those who would have an abortion.

We can destroy the industry and profits by reaching out in love with the gospel, but never through violence or hatred.

What we see in this is the Lord’s concern for the person of Hagar, an insignificant servant in the eyes of the world.

Do as you will to her Sarai, she is just a servant, that was Abram’s attitude.

But in God’s eye, she is not insignificant.

Therefore we are beginning to see a side of God we have never seen.

I don’t have time in this lesson to begin to discuss the merits of the Angel of the Lord, but we shall do so next time, so hold that thought.

But we will explore some of His advise.

YHWH proves he cares in multiple ways, all found in the message delivered by the Angel of the Lord unto Hagar.

First, your seed shall be greatly multiplied.

In fact, the descendents of this servant slave girl will be too many to count.

Note the similarity to the Abrahamic promise.

The descendents of Hagar are the twelves sons of Ishmael, or tribes, that became the Arab nations and the original foundation for the Muslim faith.

Currently there are over 1.9 Billion Muslims in the world, almost 25% of the worlds population.

That is just the number who are alive today.

Their totality is virtually unknowable, as the scripture says.

Second, name the child Ishmael.

Ishmael is more than a name, it is a testimony.

The word mean a God who hears.

Hagar was in distress, we can assume her emotional distress was expressed in crying and tears.

At any rate, YHWH has heard your affliction.

So we know in some manner she expresses herself audibly, and YHWH has heard.

He has heard the cries of a lowly servant, and has sent One to her aid.

YHWH has a sense of humor.

Sometimes He names people just to remind them, I am who I am.

Sarai will laugh at God for declaring she will have a child in old age.

YHWH names the child, Isaac, which means laughter.

This would be a continual reminder that Sarai did not believe.

In a positive way, Hagar’s child will be Ishmael, the God who hears, to remind her that in her time of affliction, YHWH heard.

Last, Hagar calls upon the Lord with this title, El-Roi, the God who sees.

You are a God who sees.

And we know that to be true.

David said in Psalm 139:7-10

Psalm 139:7–10 LSB

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I lift up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

The answer is nowhere.

YHWH sees all, hears all, and knows all.

He heard her cries, He saw her in distress beside the spring.

He knew the issues that she faced, every detail, nothing was hidden from Him.

CONCLUSION

He is more than an all knowing God, He is a God of compassion and grace.

It is one thing to be aware of a situation.

I am aware that Christian’s are dying in Nigeria for example, but have done very little to change that.

That is true of us all in a lot of ways.

Simply put, the problems in the world are too much and too big for us.

But not God.

He not hears, but responds.

And in that we see His grace and compassion.

YHWH did not need to intervene in Hagar’s life, by grace He chose to.

She was a sinner, in rebellion against her master, she did not deserve His intervention any more than you or I did.

The one thing she did deserve was death.

YHWH would have been justified had He let this sinner perish in the wilderness.

But by grace He intervened.

YHWH is a compassionate God.

He proves so when He comes to her aid.

She was going to die in the wilderness, or perhaps fall victim to with wickedness that pervaded the culture.

The very best place for her was under the protection of her master Abram.

For that was the one place where God was working intently to change a man.

Abram and Sarai are by no means perfect, but they are growing, and will continue to grow.

And for this pregnant girl, that was her place, for now.

Last, YHWH is sovereign.

Children come from Him, Ishmael then is from God, part of His plan.

It is hard for us to comprehend how this could be part of His plan in light of how it plays out.

Paul Washer preached a sermon, and as I listened I observed that over the years I had preached the same thing.

He said that false teachers are YHWH’s judgment upon unbelievers.

False teachers are immensely popular, simply because they tell people what they want to hear.

That is judgment.

Well, I would argue that YHWH allowing the formation of false religions in equally His judgment.

A works based system is what people want.

And YHWH has merely said fine, have it your way.

Man’s way is not the best way, but it is just that, what man desires.

Man rejects God for that simple reason, it is not what he wants.

In addition to that, YHWH uses the enemies of Israel again and again to force Israel to lean on Him for their deliverance.