Living in the rhythm of Gods will
Genesis 16
INTRODUCTION
The other day, I had to wait my turn at a supermarket check out while the person in front discussed the well-being of their pet cat! While this was going on, the queue next to me, moved along quickly. I was in a hurry, and hurry leads to frustration, frustration leads to anger, and anger leads to rage. What is worse is that hurry suggests we don’t really trust God. Today, I want us to learn to trust God’s timing and to live at a godly pace. In other words, I want us to live in the rhythm of God’s will. To do this, we need to first…
WAITING IN THE RHYTHM OF GOD’S WILL (vs.1-4)
There is a tendency in all of us to rush ahead of God, and this is what happened in Genesis 16 when Sarai and Abram tried to hurry God along. On more than one occasion, the Lord had told Abram that his offspring would be great. After ten years, however, there was still no child (v3).
In Genesis 15:4, the Lord said to Abram, “A son from your own body will be your heir.” Perhaps this is why Sarai suggested in Genesis 16:2 that Abram could have a child through her servant Hagar. This was acceptable practice at the time, but it wasn’t God’s way. Sarai was right when she said in v2 that the Lord had kept her from having children, but he did this because his timing is perfect. Galatians 4:4 says, “When the time had come, God sent his Son.” God’s timing was perfect for the birth of Isaac, for the coming of Christ, and for the return of Christ.
The question is “How long is too long for God?” Romans 11:34 asks, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Romans 12:2 then says, “We should not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Then we will know the will of God—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This is waiting in the rhythm of God’s will, and it leads to…
WATCHING IN THE RHYTHM OF GOD’S WILL (vs.4-10)
I remember once breaking my mother’s only vase and then sticking it together with glue. When we damage something, our immediate response is to hide the evidence, patch it up, or blame someone else. This is what happened with Sarai and Abram after Hagar had become pregnant.
Hagar’s pregnancy brought her new status, and she knew it. Genesis 16:4 says, “When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to look down on her mistress.” Sarai couldn’t handle this and tried to put together the broken pieces. She first shifted the blame to Abram! She said in v5, “I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me.” Abram, who had listened to Sarai rather than to the Lord, then shifted the responsibility back to Sarai. He said in v6, “Your servant is in your hands… Do with her whatever you think best.” In other words, “You sort it out!” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar and she ran away. The Lord then intervened. Verse 7 says, “The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert.” This is God in human form, and he persuades Hagar to go back to Sarai (v9).
Sarai and Abram tried to hide the problem, but it wouldn’t go away. Hagar tried to run away from the problem but the Lord wouldn’t let her. We don’t get rid of our problems by pretending they don’t exist. Hagar learns, as we should, that God watches everything. He is the God who sees (v13). This leads from waiting in the rhythm of God’s will and watching in the rhythm of God’s will, to…
WALKING IN THE RHYTHM OF GOD’S WILL (vs.11-16)
In a day when we read faster, talk faster, eat faster, and work faster, is it not time to start living at a godly pace. Is it not time to walk in the rhythm of God’s will? We need to walk in the rhythm of God’s will because he knows what’s going on. In v8 he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai!” That would have taken her by surprise. He then said, “You are pregnant and will give birth to a son and call him Ishmael.” The Lord knew Hagar, he knew she was pregnant, he knew the child was a boy, and he had a name. His name would be Ishmael, which means God hears. Hagar now has a clear message: The Lord knows, The Lord sees, the Lord hears, and the Lord speaks.
Verse 12 says, “Ishmael will be a wild ass of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward his brothers.” An ass is known for its stupidity, but this is not the case. An ass loves its freedom and doesn’t like to be told what to do. A wild ass, therefore, is a description of independence and stubborn pride. This is a prophecy of the descendants of Ishmael who would roam the open spaces of the desert.
In v13, Hagar says, “You are El Roi—the one who sees me” (even in the desert). In whatever situation we find ourselves, God knows, God sees, God hears, and God speaks. God is aware of historical events, and he is working out his plan and purpose for everyone. He is not just the God of Christians or the God of the religious, he is Lord of all—and he cares. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “God is not slow in keeping his promise… he is patient… not wanting anyone to perish.”
Beer Lahai Roi in v14 means well of the living one who sees. When visiting this well people would say, “Beer Lahai Roi—I have seen you (the well) and I live.” For Hagar, a deeper meaning would be, “I have seen God and I live.” John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son has made him known.” Beer Lahai Roi—I have seen God in Jesus Christ, and I live. In him, we wait in the rhythm of God’s will, we watch in the rhythm of God’s will, and we walk in the rhythm of God’s will. Think about this now as we sing "The Lord's my Shepherd".
Bernard Cartledge