“The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless … Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.’ Now the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them… Your offspring will be that numerous” (Genesis 15:1-5)
Abraham had obediently followed God to Canaan. He believed God. He trusted Him. But there was a problem… a big problem. Abraham was eighty-five years old (Genesis 16:16), and if he was going to be the father of a great nation, he needed at least one son.
Obviously, Abraham must have thought that God needed a little help. So, Abraham and Sarah concocted a plan. At Sarah’s suggestion, Abraham took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, as another wife (Genesis 6). And that created another issue… Pretty soon, Sarah and Hagar were squabbling! “Sarah mistreated her so much that she ran away” (Genesis 16:6).
“The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness … ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority…” (Genesis 16:7–10).
Who was the “angel of the Lord”? Is this the same “angel of the Lord” that appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2)? Is this the One that said, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground… I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:5-6)? Are these Christophanies? I think so.
By the “spring in the wilderness,” runaway Hagar met the pre-incarnate Jesus. He commanded, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority” (Genesis 16:9) and promised, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count… You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction” (Genesis 16:10-11).
Worshipfully, Hagar “named the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are El-roi,’ for she said, ‘In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?’ ” (Genesis 16:13).
Hagar saw the pre-incarnate Jesus… the One Who Sees!
Have you ever felt like Hagar? Desperate. Abused. Alone. Jesus is the One Who Sees!
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
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