By Brenda Cannon Henley
In recent weeks preceding the holidays, I penned three stories or articles about Hagar. We learned she was the handmaid of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, in Old Testament scripture, and we noted several times that the Abrahamic Covenant is still very important to us in this day and age. Much historical information has been shared down through the ages about this couple and Hagar, an Egyptian slave woman. I confess my attitude and general feelings about Hagar changed while doing this particular study in my Bible. I had realized for years that she played a vital role in history, but I had not grasped that she saw God in a rather astounding way. Jeff Elkins has written about Hagar and I gleaned much from his work. I do have personal permission to quote Jeff through my dear friend, Crystal Rawls, who was a classmate of Jeff’s at Baylor in Texas.

God promised Sarah when she was quite old and past child bearing age that she would have a child with her husband, Abraham, and that their seed would grow and grow and be more than the stars in the sky or the sand of the sea. Sarah, as many humans do, got frustrated as time marched on and she grew older, and she hatched a plan to “help God out.”

Stop right here…God does not need our help except to be obedient to His Word and live right. When we attempt to aid or circumvent His plan for our lives, we are out of line and usually end up in deep trouble.

Sarah convinced Abraham that in order to get the job done and to reach their goal, he should let her bring her handmaid or slave to his tent where he would lay with her and impregnant the younger woman.

Abraham relented and the deed was done. Hagar was pregnant and Sarah turned against her. A woman’s jealousy, especially concerning the man they love, seldom knows rational bounds. Hagar soon found it impossible to live with the couple and fled into the desert to mourn. Here she was a slave girl far from home, pregnant, and frightened.

But God still had a plan for Hagar and for Sarah and Abraham.

While Hagar was in the desert, God sent an angel to minister to her. There, by a spring of water, she was reached by an angel of the Lord who told her to return home. The angel promised her she would have many descendants through her son, Ishmael even though he would grow up to be “a donkey and a wild ass of a man,” and in constant struggle with all other men. The angel added that her son’s life would not always be easy, but that God would bless him.

In the midst of a hurtful crisis pregnancy, God sees Hagar wandering in the desert, alone and frightened, bearing her unborn child, and offers hope.

Hagar, a slave woman, pregnant by her master, without home, husband, or honor, is the first person in the Bible to name God. She hears his words and declares that God sees her and cares for her.

The pregnant Hagar encounters an angel who gives her instruction and assures her that her son will live and be known. In response, Hagar becomes the only character in the Bible to name God: El Roi, “the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

As we enter into a new year, may I remind you that God does, in fact, see each of us and that He cares deeply about each of us. I would say to God that we each will claim and remember that “God sees us,” as our strengthening motto or phrase of encouragement throughout the coming 12 months. These nine letters can and will change our lives if we let them.

Happy New Year 2023!

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at 409 781 8788, or
[email protected]

[BCH: Jan-3-2023]