************ Sermon on Genesis 16:11,13 ************
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on October 17, 1999
Genesis 16
Genesis 16:11,13
"The God Who Sees and Hears"
Introduction
Topic: God
Subtopic: Omniscience
Index:
Date: 2/1999.101
Title: The Father's Eyes
Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.
Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played. This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.
It was this way in grade school, in high school, and even in college: he never missed a practice and he never got to play because he was smaller than every other member on the team. He was kept on simply because he was an inspiration to the other members of the team.
At the end of his senior football season as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?" The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday."
Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.
"Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today." said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game.
But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go in."
Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph.
The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you never heard!
Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?"
He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?' The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"
Unlike the athlete's father, God always sees us – and hears us too. He has never missed a single game. He sees and hears everything. He sees everything we do, hears everything we say. He sees the trials of His children and hears their cries for help.
This is the message that comes through in the second half of Genesis 16 – that God sees and hears.
I The Angel of the Lord Sees and Hears Hagar
A You know what happened in the first half of the chapter – Abram decided to do God's work for Him. God promised him a son and after ten years Abram was tired of waiting upon the Lord. So, with Sarai's blessing, he slept with her Egyptian servant, Hagar, who soon became pregnant with a son.
Very quickly, however, the home became a place of strife; Hagar despised Sarai and was cast out to the wilderness. The plan that Abram put in motion for the accomplishing of God's saving design and purpose not only failed to do what he had reckoned, but actually made matters a whole lot worse.
That is always what happens when we try to work out salvation for ourselves, instead of relying on the promises of God. Salvation is to be by faith in Christ and not by works. That is the point Paul makes in Galatians 4 as he distinguishes between Hagar and Sarah. No matter what we do to make ourselves acceptable to God, we always fail. Salvation, you see, is only of God. Abram tried to do it himself, and brought disaster, strife and heartbreak into his household. Had he listened to God, waiting on God's time and on God's word, things might have been a whole lot better.
So Genesis 16 teaches us, as I said the last time, that God builds the church His way and in His time. He builds it through Abram and Sarai – as an act of divine grace and power – and not through Abram and Hagar – as an act of human power and might and achievement.
B This does not mean, however, that God has forgotten Hagar. In fact, God sees and hears her too. There, in the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord met her, spoke to her, and gave her great promises.
I want you to notice that the promises God made to Hagar are very similar to the promises God made to Abram. Both are promised a son (Gen 16:11; 15:4). Both are promised numerous descendants. To Hagar God said, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count" (Gen 16:10). To Abram God said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them ... So shall your offspring be" (Gen 15:5).
But there are also some differences in the promises. It becomes clear that Ishmael is not the child of the promise – instead, that honor belongs to Isaac, a child yet to be born. Furthermore, Abram is told that through his son Isaac he will be a blessing to all nations (Gen 12:2). This is nowhere said about Hagar's son, Ishmael. Instead,
(Gen 16:12) "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
We still see this today, don't we, in the hatred many of the Arabs (who are descendants of Ishmael) have for the Jews (who are descendants of Isaac). What is especially sad about this hatred is that Arabs and Jews are both physical children of Abram.
C The incident in front of us is the first mention of the Angel of the Lord in the Bible. The Angel of the Lord is an interesting and intriguing figure. Sometimes the Angel speaks as the servant of the Lord; sometimes he speaks as the Lord Himself. No created angel has the authority to speak as God. This was no created angel, but what Isaiah describes as the Angel of his Presence (Is 63:9). This was Jesus Christ, the only One in the Scriptures Who can speak as God and also as the Servant of God. In the Old Testament, Jesus took the form of an Angel on several occasions (Gen 22:11, Ex 3:2, etc), and revealed Himself to His people.
In the person of the Angel of the Lord we see the grace of God reaching even to Hagar so she was not left without comfort and hope in her sad condition.
D It is in this situation that Hagar gives God a name: "You are the God who sees me ... I have now seen the One who sees me" (Gen 16:13). Here we see Hagar responding to God's grace.
I want you to notice that God, out of grace, made the first move. He came to Hagar. He heard her cries and saw her tears. And then she responded by giving God the name she would always know Him by – "the God who sees me."
What we see here is in perfect harmony with the Gospel. If we love God, it is because He first loved us. If we come to God, it is because He first came to us. If we see God, it is because He first saw us. If we hear God, it is because He has first heard us.
In this light consider the name Hagar is to give to her son. He is to be called "Ishmael" – which means "God hears."
In this light consider also the name of the well: "Beer Lahoi Roi" which means "well of the Living One who sees me." This well, this place, this sacred spot becomes Hagar's memorial; this well is a testimony to all who pass by of the God Who sees and hears His children.
II God Sees and Hears All Men
A As we look at Rahab at "Beer Lahoi Roi" we see displayed the great truth that God sees and hears all men. Hagar is in the desert and the Angel of the Lord found her.
This should not surprise us. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible the word used for God (Theos) comes from the word "to see" (Theisthai). In other words, God is acknowledged as the all-seeing One, the One Whose eye takes in the whole universe at a glance, the One Whose knowledge extends far beyond that of any human. God is an Omniscient God. Take away that fact and He is no longer God. It is as impossible to conceive of a God Who did not see everything as it is to conceive of a round square.
We further know from Scripture that God is everywhere. And, if God is everywhere, then He must see everything. There is not a particle of the entire universe that is not filled with God and His presence. I think here of the words of the Psalmist:
(Ps 139:7-12) Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? (8) If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (9) If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, (10) even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (11) If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," (12) even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
There is nowhere we can go to escape the presence of God. In other words, He sees us everywhere and hears us everywhere even as He saw and heard Hagar in the desert.
God not only sees and hears, but He sees and hears a thing before it happens. Why, for instance, did the Angel of the Lord find Hagar near a spring in the desert? Why did he ask, "where have you come from, and where are you going?" Is it because he did not know? Of course not! Notice, he calls her "Hagar, servant of Sarai." He knows her name before she says it to him. He knows the answers to his questions before he asks them. In fact, he was there waiting to reveal himself to her before she even got there. Again I think of the words of the Psalmist:
(Ps 139:4) Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
God sees completely what was happening with Hagar before it even happened. Likewise, he sees what will happen tomorrow, and next week, and next year, and even a thousand years from now – if the second coming has not happened yet.
B Now comes the point of this sermon: the God Who saw and heard Hagar sees and hears you and me too. And He does so personally.
I have a hard time grasping this. As a human, I can give full and perfect attention to only one person at a time. But the infinite mind of God is able to grasp a million, a billion, persons at once and yet focus on one person – as He did with Hagar – as if there was no one else but that one person.
Not only that, but God sees and hears everything about you. He does not merely note your actions, your appearance, your words, but even your thoughts. God has a window into every person's heart through which He looks. He does not need you to tell Him what you are thinking about – He can see that. Again, I think of the words of the Psalmist:
(Ps 139:1-3) O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. (2) You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. (3) You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, God is examining you. He sees and hears you entirely – even as He saw and heard Hagar.
What comes to mind when you think of being searched? When the police search someone, it usually involves patting them down to see if they have something in their possession they should not: illegal drugs, concealed weapons, incriminating evidence, etc. When a doctor searches someone, he or she might use a scanner or a stethoscope or even a small camera to go inside of us and look around. Is there a disease or a tumor or an extra organ that needs to be removed! But when God searches, He looks directly at the soul and the heart and what He sees there tells Him everything there is to know about us. He searches us; He knows us. Like a mother knows the cry of her child above all others. Like a couple knows the meaning in each other's eyes. Like a child knows his father's voice.
Finally, let me add that God also sees and hears you constantly. There is never a time when He doesn't see and hear. The National Security Agency has spy satellites in space that can look over a man's shoulder and make out the words of the book or paper he is reading. Other satellites can see through darkness and cloud. Still other satellites can look deep into the oceans or even the depths of earth. But still, if you wish, you can remove yourself to a location where the NSA cannot see what you are doing. But no such escape is possible from God. It wasn't possible for Hagar and it isn't possible for you or me either.
III The Comfort of an All Seeing and Hearing God
A "The God who sees me." What comfort and strength God's people can get from this.
So many times God's people pray without hearing an answer. They pray for healing. They pray for a lost family member to be saved. They pray for an end to conflict. They pray that a marriage may be saved. Let me assure you that God sees and hears your prayers.
There are times when we don't even know how or what to pray. Our thoughts are a jumble. The tears roll down our cheeks. A sigh escapes from our lips. But God sees and hears.
"The God who sees me." Many times God's people are filled with doubt, anxiety, fear, and despair. But don't give up. God sees and hears. And, out of grace, He will relieve you even as He relieved Hagar and gave her comfort and consolation.
"The God who sees me." Maybe you have been cruelly hurt by someone. Maybe rumors and gossip and lies are being said about you. God sees and hears and He knows the truth.
B "The God who sees me." This may give comfort to God's children but it should also strike fear into the hearts of the ungodly. If you do not yet know Christ, let me tell you that God knows and sees all your sin. Let me tell you that you need to repent. Let me tell you God would be more than justified in condemning you to the eternal fires of hell.
But if you come to God in Christ, if you repent of your sins and ask for Jesus to fill your heart, then the God Who sees and hears will forgive.
Conclusion
"The God who sees me." He sees me. He sees you. Out of grace this God makes the first move. Out of grace He keeps His eye on me and you. Out of grace He keeps His ear tuned to me and to you.