El Roi!

Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?”        Gen. 16:13

El Roi is the Hebrew word for God of seeing.   This is the name that Hagar gave to God when He      rescued her. Hagar was the handmaiden of Abram’s wife, Sarai. She had given her to her husband to  conceive a child since we thought she was barren. However, as you would expect, everything did not     turn out well. After becoming pregnant with Abram’s child, Hagar looked contemptuously at Sarai. Sarai was not going to stand for it and demanded Abram    do something. But Abram put it back on Sarai and she treated Hagar so harshly that she fled (Gen. 16:3-6).

Hagar, alone and pregnant, must have felt fear and anxiety about her and her child’s future. Scripture tells us that the angel of the Lord found her. Biblical scholars identify the angel of the Lord here as the pre-incarnate Christ. Jesus asks her where have you come from and where are you going. Obviously, God already knew the answer because He is sovereign. He allows Hagar to respond. The Angel of the Lord tells   her to go back and submit to Sarai.

Because He saw her in a time of distress when she was hiding and journeying in the wilderness,  Hagar acknowledged Him as El Roi, that is, “the God      of Seeing,” or “the God Who Sees”. What a tremendous promise for us today. God sees you. He sees you in    your time of distress and in your time of need. He will never leave you or forsake you (Hew.13:5-6).

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark