Genesis 16 · Series: Who Is My Neighbour?
“You are the God who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)
Continuing our series “Who Is My Neighbour?”, Pastor Duli Asi turns to the story of Hagar on this Communion Sunday. God had promised Abram and Sarai a son, but as the years passed with no child, they took matters into their own hands. Under heavy cultural pressure, Sarai gave her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram. When Hagar conceived, the household fell into conflict, and Hagar, a foreigner and a servant with no one to protect her, fled into the desert.
There, by a spring on the road to Shur, the angel of the Lord found her. He called her by name, asked where she had come from and where she was going, and gave her a promise and a future. Hagar, unseen and treated as nobody, gave God a name: El Roi, the God who sees me.
Pastor Duli shows that impatience and unbelief lead us to take the “second option” instead of waiting on God’s promise, and the results can be painful. Yet God sees us in our most difficult and vulnerable moments. He is El Roi, who sees, and El Shaddai, God Almighty, for whom nothing is too difficult. The covenant God made with Abraham, and walked through alone, is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose body was broken and blood poured out for us. The service closes with the Lord’s Supper.
Reflect this week
- Where are you tempted to “help God” instead of waiting on His timing?
- Do you feel unseen right now? How does El Roi speak to you in that place?
- Who is the “Hagar” around you, someone overlooked, whom you could see and care for?
Key scriptures: Genesis 16 · 2 Kings 5:1–15 · Genesis 15 · Genesis 17 · Genesis 30:3–5 · Luke 1:24–25 · Isaiah 55:8–9 · Isaiah 40:31 · Zechariah 4:6 · Hebrews 1:1–2 · Matthew 26:26–29 · Psalm 22:1–2 · Ephesians 3:20–21