Hagar in the Desert

Instead of the familiar story of Sodom and Gomorrah, I'll focus on Hagar and Ishmael in the desert after being ordered to leave Abraham's family. In a patriarchal society, that had to be terrifying, since not only didn't she have a man to protect her, she had a son to care for. I will admit that if I was told to leave and given one skin of water, a desert probably wouldn't be my first choice of destinations, but she probably didn't have a wealth of options.

We see in 21:15 that the food and water ran out and she was waiting for death. At that point, God intervenes and takes care of her and Ishmael, since he had promised that Ishmael would also be the father of a great nation. We're not told if Hagar prayed or cried out to God, but the point is clear either way--God's will WILL be done no matter what.

One thing we will notice time and time again in our time in Genesis is how often the Lord or his angels made contact with the folks of that time. Just in today's passage alone, we have:

1. The angels at Sodom and Gomorrah 

2. God to Abimelech in a dream (20:3)

3. God to Abimelech again in a dream (20:6-7)

4. God to Abraham about Hagar and Ishmael (21:12-13)

5. God to Hagar as described above

The common misconception is that God no longer visits us today, and I could be wrong, but I strongly disagree with this notion. I'll develop this theme as the year goes by, but I'll start by stating the obvious--with the Bible, the gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, why do we need a visit from God? Hasn't he left us his word, which should be all we need? Indeed, I'd argue that time spent in God's word IS a visit from God, and we're privileged to have that to refer to when we want. 

If you go in the Church Library, you'll find my hands-down favorite devotion books as a kid. We used them in the school, and I strongly suspect they hold up well today. They're called "Little Visits With God and "More Little Visits With God." The titles say it all--God is and always will be with us, and the fact that it isn't a corporeal presence that we can touch and feel shouldn't be an impediment. God had to appear to Hagar because she DIDN'T have the advantage of the knowledge and relationship Abraham had with God. In 21st Century America, we can't claim that with a straight face. As I will repeat over and over throughout the year, our excuses won't be enough. Think about the excuses we've heard so far this year:

1. Adam blames Eve for eating the fruit (3:12)

2. Eve blames the serpent (3:13)

3. Abel to God regarding Cain (4:9)

4. Everything Job's friends said

None of them worked then, nor will our new and novel ones be any better. Stay in God's word.

Scott