Ben Fourie

Hagar asked herself. ‘Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?’ So she called the LORD who had spoken to her “A God who Sees”

Genesis 16:13 (GNB)

In the well-known Afrikaans play 'Siener in the Suburbs' by PG du Plessis, the 'siener' or prophet’s sister called Tiemie said, “I want to be known.” She was tired of living in the suburbs, the squalor and the anonymity. It is a sad story of someone who wanted to be someone special, wanted to be acknowledged. It is also our story, as we all feel the need to be special to somebody.

The story of Hagar is also a story of someone who was not special to anyone. She was an Egyptian girl, a slave to Sarai, far from her country and her family. When it became evident that Sarai was barren, according to the custom of the times, whether she liked it or not, Hagar was given to Abraham as a concubine. When she became pregnant, Hagar looked down on Sarai who then treated her so badly that she fled to the desert. Eventually she, on the instruction of the Angel, returned to serve Sarai. In the end, Hagar and her child were sent away, by none other than Abraham himself.

A sad story indeed, but Hagar had something that nobody could ever take away from her. During her first flight into the desert, she became aware of El Roi, the God who sees. At the fountain or well near Sur, the Angel of the Lord (actually God Himself) spoke to her and promised that her child would become an important leader and father of a mighty nation. Hagar would never by anonymous again. Above all, she realised that God knew about her as was evident when she said she had seen “A God who Sees”. It is not easy to translate these words, but it essentially means that she had experienced God firsthand.

How wonderful to know that it does not matter who I am, what position I have or how impressive my bank account might be, God sees me and I am known to Him.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that although I am not a celebrity or even well known, you know me. Amen