Gênesis 16

Gênesis 16

Spurgeon - Thou God seest me. When no eye seeth you except the eye of God, when darkness covers you, when you are shut up from the observation of mortals, even then be ye like Jesus Christ. Remember His ardent piety, His secret devotion—how, after laboriously preaching the whole day, He stole away in the midnight shades to cry for help from His God. Recollect how His entire life was constantly sustained by fresh inspirations of the Holy Spirit, derived by prayer. Take care of your secret life; let it be such that you will not be ashamed to read it at the last great day. Adrian Rogers - Our God is: The God of strength - Elohim. The God of sovereignty - Jehovah. The God of superiority - Adonai. The God of sufficiency - El Shaddai. The God of supremacy - El Elyon. The God of stability - El Olam. The God of sympathy - El Roi. And all of these names are made known unto us in that one beautiful name - JESUS. El Roi - He is the God of sympathy. He sees. He knows. God sees you. You don't have any heartache, you don't have any pain, you don't have any trouble that He doesn't know of. In Psalm 33:18, 19, "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, and upon them that hope in His mercy." Did you know that God sees you right now? God knows your very thoughts. God knows your heartache. God knows your imaginations right now. God is there and Jesus is our El Roi, because what does the Bible teach us in the Book of Hebrews? We do not have a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows. He cares. His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me. El Roi [Hagar] called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” —Genesis 16:13 Today's Scripture : Genesis 16:7-13 Many locator devices are on the market today that promise to help us keep track of elderly parents, children, wallets, pets, parolees, even potential kidnapping victims. As useful as these gadgets are, they would have done Hagar no good. No one seemed to care enough about Hagar and her unborn child to monitor their well-being in the desert. No one but El Roi—Hebrew for “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees” (Gen. 16:13). Hagar served Sarai, Abram’s wife. Sarai felt like a weak link in the chain of God’s promise to bless Abram with many descendants. She was barren, so she told Abram to sleep with her maidservant and build a family through her. This ill-advised suggestion—born amid intense cultural pressures to provide an heir—led to nothing but trouble. When Hagar became pregnant, she despised Sarai for her inability to have children. Then Sarai treated Hagar so badly that she ran away. There in the desert, feeling the misery of her past and the uncertainty of her future, Hagar met God, who saw her and took care of her. If God sees the sparrow’s fall, Paints the lilies short and tall, Gives the skies their azure hue, Will He not then care for you? —Anon. Keep your eyes on the Lord; He never takes His eyes off you. Naming God I have now seen the One who sees me. Genesis 16:13 Today's Scripture : Genesis 16:1–13 In his book The God I Don’t Understand, Christopher Wright observes that an unlikely person is one of the first to give God a name. It’s Hagar! Hagar’s story provides a disturbingly honest look at human history. It’s been years since God told Abram and Sarai they would have a son, and Sarai has only grown older and more impatient. In order to “help” God, she resorts to a custom of the day. She gives her slave, Hagar, to her husband, and Hagar becomes pregnant. Predictably, dissension arises. Sarai mistreats Hagar, who runs away. Alone in the desert, she meets the angel of the Lord, who makes a promise strikingly similar to one God had made earlier—to Abram (see Gen. 15:5). “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count” (16:10). The angel names Hagar’s son Ishmael, which means “God hears” (v. 11). In response, this slave from a culture with multiple gods that could neither see nor hear gives God the name “You are the God who sees me” (v. 13). Lord, You didn’t sugarcoat the story of Your people in the Bible and yet You loved them—as You love us—in spite of all the dirt and drama. You are the God who sees us, and yet we can still run to You. Read about some of the names that Jesus is given. See The Amazing Names of the Messiah. God sees us with eyes of compassion. I See You I have now seen the One who sees me. Genesis 16:13 Today's Scripture : Genesis 16:1–13 “I see you,” a friend said in an online writers’ group where we support and encourage each other. Having felt stressed and anxious, I experienced a sense of peace and well-being with her words. She “saw” me—my hopes, fears, struggles, and dreams—and loved me. When I heard my friend’s simple but powerful encouragement, I thought of Hagar, a slave in Abram’s household. After many years of Sarai and Abram still longing for an heir, Sarai followed the custom of the culture and told her husband to conceive through Hagar. But when Hagar became pregnant, she treated Sarai with contempt. When Sarai mistreated her in return, Hagar fled far away to the desert. The Lord saw Hagar in her pain and confusion, and He blessed her with the promise that she would be the mother of many descendants. After the encounter, Hagar called the Lord “El Roi,” which means “the God who sees me” (Gen. 16:13), for she knew she wasn’t alone or abandoned. Father God, just as You saw Hagar in her distress, so You see those who are hurting, fleeing oppression, and afraid. Please send them help and encouragement. To know that God sees us gives us comfort and confidence. James Smith - My Father sees me! "The One who sees me!" Genesis 16:13 The eye of the Lord is upon the righteous, and His ear is open unto their cry. God sees everything—but He observes His people with special attention. His eye has been upon me this day! He has seen every movement of my mind, and every action of my body. His eye is upon me now, and will be through the dark watches of the night. But it is a comfortable thought, that He who sees me always—loves me most! He loves me, notwithstanding all that He sees amiss in me. Let us ever cherish the thought: "My Father sees me! I am under His eye! He sees all I do, all I suffer, all my desires. Nothing can conceal the least circumstance from His eye. He sees me—when I see not Him. He sees me in the furnace—and is with me. He sees me in the battle—and gives me the shield of His salvation. He sees me when my foot is slipping—and often has the hand of His mercy caught me and held me up! He see me when tempted to sin—when giving way to fear—or when yielding to the world!" Let me call to mind this solemn fact: My God sees me! If I sin—it must be immediately under His eye! If I yield to temptation—it must be in His presence! David