God Sees the Forgotten: Hagar's Journey of Hope

Alone in the scorching Wilderness she staggered forward each step heavier than the last haven't you ever felt completely unseen like you didn't matter the people you trust turn against you you have nowhere left to run who will save you the sun was merciless the wind whispered no Comfort she had no home no f future only the weight of betrayal pressing down on her and yet someone was watching a presence unseen yet undeniable was this the end or was it the beginning of something far greater this is the Bible story of Hagar and the god that sees in the end we learn about six powerful lessons from this story that could change our lives forever [00:02:12]

Before her name would be etched into history before she would encounter the God who sees all Hagar was just a servant an Egyptian by birth she had been taken from her Homeland brought into the house of Abram and Sarah she was a stranger in a foreign land a possession rather than a person she had no say in her Destiny now Sarai had grown weary of waiting God had promised her husband Abram descendants as numerous as the Stars he took him outside and said look up at the sky and count the Stars if indeed you can count them then he said to him so shall your Offspring be Genesis 155 [00:73:52]

Yet her arms remained empty no child no air just Silence from heaven then one night a decision was made the Lord has kept me from bearing children Sarai said go sleep with my servant perhaps I can build a family through her Genesis 16:2 a command not a request did Hagar hesitate did she dare refuse it didn't matter she had no voice in the matter no power no choice and so she was given to Abram everything had changed no longer just a servant Hagar now carried the child of Abram The Heir the promise Sarai had waited for but through another woman [00:124:96]

At first there was silence then glances then a shift Hagar once invisible oh now walked with her head high hadn't she succeeded where Sarai had failed she was no longer just a servant she was a mother to be but in her confidence a dangerous tension grew when she saw that she was pregnant she began to despise her mistress Genesis 164 Sarai saw it felt it and her pain turned to Fury May the wrong done to me be upon you Sarai cried to Abram I put my servant into your arms and now that she knows she is pregnant she despises me Genesis 165 [00:180:36]

Abram would not take sides she is your servant do with her as you see fit Genesis 166 and with those words Hagar's suffering began harsh treatment cruelty in glance and in tasks days turned into torment until one day Hagar ran the desert stretches before her Footsteps in the sand her breath is ragged alone pregnant afraid the Wilderness swallows her whole but she is not alone someone is watching someone sees the desert is endless heat ripples over the sand Hagar stumbles her breath shallow her her strength is failing she clutches her stomach shielding the life within her [00:227:79]

She has run far but where can she go she is alone or so she thinks Hagar had fled from the torment of Sarai but she had run straight into another kind of danger emptiness thirst and the unknown Hagar servant of Sarai where have you come from and where are you going Genesis 16 eight she gasps looking around nothing but sand and sky but she is not alone a figure stands near the spring where she has collapsed a presence unlike anything she has ever encountered this is no ordinary traveler this is the Angel of the Lord and he knows her name [00:278:80]

No one had ever called her by name in this way before to Abram and Sarai she was just a servant to the world she was nothing but to God she was seen she was known and now she was being called go back to your mistress and submit to her the angel says Genesis 169 return to the suffering to the cruelty but then the promise I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count Genesis 1610 you will give birth to a son you shall name him ishmail for the Lord has heard your Affliction Genesis 16 11 [00:323:03]

For the first time Hagar realizes the truth she is not forgotten God had seen her pain God had heard her cries overcome she Whispers the name that will be remembered for generations to come you are Elroy she says the God who sees me she gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her you are the God who sees me for she said I have now seen the one who sees me that is why the well was called beer laahi Roy it is still there between cadesh and bered Genesis 1613 and 14 [00:372:91]

Tears glisten in her eyes pagar returned to Abram's Camp as a woman who had met the God who sees time passes Hagar's belly grows then one night her cries pierce the Stillness a child is born a son just as God had said Abram holds the newborn in his arms and with that the child is given a name that will forever bear the mark of divine intervention ishma God hears at last Abram had a son a boy of his own flesh flesh could he be the heir of promise but the answer would not come yet [00:411:91]

So Hagar bore Abram a son and Abram gave the name ishmail to the son she had borne Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore him ishmail Genesis 161 15-16 for 13 years Ishmael grew under his father's care strong Fierce a son of the desert the first born of Abram and then then everything changed Abram now 99 years old standing before the almighty no longer shall your name be Abram but your name shall be Abraham and Sarai you shall call her Sarah and I will bless her and she shall give birth to her son [00:457:96]

Abraham fell face down he laughed and said to himself will a son be born to a man a 100 years old will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90 and Abraham said to God if only Ishmael might live under your blessing Genesis 17171 18 in that moment the course of history was sealed Ishmael was blessed but not chosen and as for Ishmael I have heard you I will surely bless him I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase inre his numbers he will be the father of 12 rulers and I will make him into a great nation [00:503:03]

But my Covenant I will establish with Isaac whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year Genesis 1720 to 21 and as God said Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac whom God has chosen to establish his Covenant with after his birth a storm began to brew no longer was Ishmael the promised one no longer was Hagar secure and on this day it all came crashing down the child Isaac grew and was weaned and on the day he was weaned Abraham held a great feast [00:548:80]

But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking a single moment a single action and it was enough to ignite a fire that had been smoldering for years she turns to Abraham her voice sharp unwavering get rid of that slave woman and her son she demands for that woman's son will never share in The Inheritance with my son Isaac Genesis 2110 the words strike like a blade Abraham's heart wavers he loves Ishmael this is his son his flesh and blood [00:591:36]

But Sarah's command is clear and deep inside Abraham knows this is more than just jealousy this is God's plan unfolding but God said to him do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman I will make the son of the slave into a nation also because he is your Offspring Genesis 2112 to13 early the next morning Abraham took some food and a of water and gave them to Hagar and then sent her off with the boy she went on her way and wandered in the desert of beers sheiba [00:633:00]

With each step a question pounds in her mind God do you still see me the desert is merciless the sun burns like fire and the sand shifts beneath weary feet Hagar presses forward but with each step the burden grows heavier her Provisions so little to begin with dwindle quickly when the water in the skin was gone she put the boy under one of the bushes then she went off and sat down about a bow shot away for she thought I cannot watch the boy die and as she sat there she began to sob [00:673:68]

God heard the boy crying and the angel of God Called to Hagar from heaven and said to her what is the matter Hagar do not be afraid God has heard the boy crying as he lies there lift the boy up and take him by the hand for I will make him into a great nation Genesis 217-18 the Wilderness did not claim them God had seen them God had heard them and now God would establish them the well they had discovered had become their Refuge a place of survival a place of New Beginning [00:713:04]

But the Wilderness is no easy home Ishmael grows not in luxury but in hardship the son of the servant becomes the son of the desert God was with the boy as he grew up he lived in the desert and became an Archer while he was living in the desert of pan his mother got a wife for him from Egypt Genesis 21:20 to 21 and so a new chapter begins a new family a new people from ishmael's Sons will come 12 rulers from ishmael's descendants will come Nations [00:753:48]

This is no longer a place of Exile it is a place of Destiny these are the names of the sons of Ishmael who became the 12 tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps listed in the order of their birth nabal the first born of Ishmael Kadar Adil mibsam mishma Duma Massa Hadad TMA jur nafish and kadema Ishmael lived 137 years he breathed his last and died and he was gathered to his people his descendants settled in the area from Hava to Shure near the eastern border of Egypt as you go toward Asher and they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them Genesis 251 12-16 [00:792:51]

But what of Hagar the God who sees has never left her and now God's hand rests on the future of her people the Wilderness that once threatened to consume her is now the very land in which her people thrive in the end it was never about the land it was about the God who sees Hagar's Legacy though often overlooked by the world was written into the fabric of God's great plan the Bible does not provide a specific account of her final moments or her death [00:847:95]

Her significance lies in the role she played in the larger biblical narrative particularly as a woman who was seen and cared for by God when she was in the wilderness for she is remembered not for what she lacked but for the faith she carried and that faith became the foundation for Generations that followed what is the moral of this story the moral of Hagar's story is deeply tied to themes of God's faithfulness his care for the marginalized and the power of faith in times of Abandonment [00:887:63]

Six key takeaways from her story are one God sees the Forgotten hey G story is a reminder that no one is overlooked by God as a servant an outsider she had every reason to feel forgotten yet when she fled Into the Wilderness God met her there in her lowest moment he saw her this highlights that God is Not distant but present in our most difficult and lonely times two God's promises are bigger than our circumstances despite the struggles Hagar faced being cast out by Sarah living in the desert and raising a child in isolation [00:923:63]

God's promise to her was that her son would become a great nation even when life feels like it's falling apart God's purpose for us remains intact three faith in God's provision when Hagar was in the wilderness with ishmail God provided a well of water Genesis 21:19 sustaining them when all hope seemed lost this shows that God will provide for his people even in the most desperate of circumstances we need to trust in his provision four the Dignity of every person God cared deeply for Hagar even though she was a slave and in an oppressive situation [00:969:16]