Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to the book of Genesis chapter 16. This particular passage of scripture,
as I said last time, is a beautiful type picture of the rescue and
salvation of God's elect. Hagar, Abram, Sarai, between the three, have tried
to come up with a plan, a set of ways that they can make
good on God's promise. That's the way of man by nature. To try to, by his own works,
by his own power, come about and bring about the
will of the Lord. The Lord had promised Abram a
seed. He promised him. And of course, being past the
age that normally men and women, you know, have children, they
figured Sarah, being the one that initiated the thought, told
Abram. Abram hearkened to her voice. It must be that God meant for
my handmaid to have a child for Sarai. That was her bond slave. So whatever she'd have would
be Sarai. Surely, that's the way the Lord
meant it to be. Is there anything too hard for
God? Is there anything impossible
for God? What does a woman past the age
of childbearing got to do with it? God spoke this world into existence
out of nothing. He said, let there be, and it
was. He is God Almighty. He does as
he will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth. And no man stays his hand or says to him, what doest
thou? Well, she's in the wilderness. And being in the wilderness,
she's going back to Egypt because she's going through the land
of Shur. And you look at a map and going
from Canaan to Egypt, you're going to have to go through the
land of Shur. And she's by a fountain, scripture said, we looked at
that last time. And the Lord spoke to her in
verse 8, called her by name. That's the way the Lord calls
His people. I know my sheep, I call them
by name. I said before last week, I don't
know if Hagar was a believer. But if she wasn't a believer,
she's a beautiful picture of how God calls His people. And
from the conversation that we're going to see before this passage
is over, Lord willing, I lean real heavily just from her submission
and her confession. But we'll leave that in the hands
of the Lord. God knows. But the Lord spoke
to her in verse 8 and He said, Hagar, then He addresses her, in the
position that she is. Sarai's maid, whence camest thou,
and whither wilt thou go? Where did you come from? Where
did any of us come from? We came from Adam. We were born in trespasses and
sins. In us, this is where we've come
from. We've come from rebellion against God. Where are you going?
Well, but for the grace of God, she's going back to Egypt. She's
going back to bondage. That's where she wanted to go.
And leave a man and a woman to themselves, and that's where
they want to go. That's what we want to do. Why are men and women not sitting
constantly trying to pack a place where the gospel is being preached.
The only message that God blesses, the only message that God blesses,
that's what Hagar left. Abram, scripture's already borne
out, Abram's a believer. As far as we know, the only one
that we know of, and his wife Sarah. And God Almighty had met
with Abram and made a covenant, a promise to him. And where Abram
was, the house of Bethel, that's where he met the Lord and he
raised up an altar and he worshipped God. And he worshipped God and
he worshipped God. Hagar had heard the Gospel before. She'd heard the Gospel. But obviously she didn't hear
it. I'm going back to Egypt. She's going back. How many have
heard? I started to say, why is it that you don't have places
where God's raised up the gospel? Why is it that those places you
can't get in, they're so packed, why is it they don't want to
come? They don't want to. They don't want to hear. That's what
she's doing. I don't want to hear. But the
Lord crossed her path. God crossed her path. And we
pick up in verse 10. 11, it says, and the angel of
the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly,
that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel
of the Lord said unto her, behold, thou art with child, and shalt
bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael. That is, God shall
hear, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction." Now here we
see, assuredly, this is God Almighty, the angel of the covenant. Because
in Him speaking to her, He mercifully tells her what she will do and
what He will do. The angel of the Lord, verse
10, said unto her, I will multiply thy seed. If this was a created
angel, a messenger, he would have said something to the effect
of the Lord will. But here the angel of the Lord
himself, the angel of the covenant, God's servant, the Lord Jesus
Christ, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not
be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the Lord said
unto her, Behold, thou art with child, shall bear a son, shall
call his name Ishmael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
Now he mercifully speaks in compassion and tells her, that he has heard
her affliction." Now that is an amazing few words there. The Lord heard in her affliction. He heard from the depression
and the misery of her heart. The word heard right there. It means to hear and to answer. God hears. God hears. God knows. He knows the thoughts. He knows the voice that He hears. He hears what men say. He knows
what men think. You remember when He would speak
to the Pharisees and He said, why do you speak evil in your
heart? They didn't say anything. He
heard them. The Lord heard in her affliction. And though it's not recorded
that she spoke, didn't say anything about her speaking, the Lord
heard in her affliction, Isaiah 65, 24, and it shall come to
pass that before they call, I will answer. And while they are yet
speaking, I will hear. Before she said anything, God
heard her. Now, obviously, as I said, the
Lord hears all men. He knows. But it is a miracle
of God's grace that he hears and will answer. Psalm 277. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with
my voice. Have mercy also upon me and answer
me. The Lord who had promised to
multiply her seed and make it that the number of her heritage
would be a multitude according to the Lord's good pleasure.
Only he could say, I will and you shall, and these things will
be so, but he heard where she was He knew her affliction. He knew
the depth of her affliction. And he's going to answer her
in mercy. Now, here's where I can relate
to us. Here's a marvelous thought. Like Hagar, we don't know the depth of our
problem. We don't know. We don't know. was in a place she had no earthly
idea what she was running from, had she known what she was, if
she truly knew it in her heart, she'd never left. She'd never
left Abram's house. I know that there was, you know,
I know that there was problems between her and Sarah, but I'm
telling you, if she knew it in her heart, But there was animosity. She didn't know. She didn't care.
She didn't know the depth. Man by nature doesn't know the
depth of his rebellion against God. He doesn't know. She didn't
know. But the Lord knew. And this one
being At least I'm saying a picture, I don't want to speak distinctly,
but like all of God's elect, when the Lord is pleased to cross
their paths, He crosses their paths and in their affliction
that they don't even know. They don't know the depth of
it, but the Lord hears it. The Lord sees it, He beholds
it. For all that he's chosen in the
Lord Jesus Christ, those that he's loved with an everlasting
love and has chosen to show mercy, he hears their affliction. He
heard in her affliction. He heard it. Who is a God like unto thee that
pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant
of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever,
because he delighteth in mercy." Here was one who was in need
of mercy, that the Lord would not do to her what she deserved. But is there any of us that's
not like her? Before the Lord calls us out
of darkness, We deserve judgment. That's what we deserved. That's
what she deserved. And the Lord has given her a
word of encouragement. He comes to her, and here she
is now, running. That's what she's doing. I can
only imagine what she's thinking. Now just put yourself in her
place. It wasn't her idea. It was Sarah's idea. Abram's
idea. She was the handmaid. This is
what's going to happen. That's what happened. And now
she's cast out. She truly despised Sarah, no
doubt. But now she's out. Now she's
with child. She's out in the wilderness.
None eye to pity her. And here she is. She's out there. I'm a victim of circumstance. Now what do I do? What do I do
now? And the Lord crosses her path
and hears in her affliction and promises her There's going to
be a big multiplication of her seed. Her seed wouldn't be able
to be numbered. She's going to bear a son. And the Lord said to her, this
is going to be His name, Ishmael. God shall hear. And she's hearing
what the Lord is saying to her. And then as he's encouraging
her and now telling her she must go back and submit herself to
Sarah, but in the midst of that revelation, a promise was made
that would, but for the sustaining grace of God, would shake the
very foundation of this mother-to-be. The Lord continues to reveal
His will to her and His purpose for Hagar and for her son. Now
He starts telling her about her son. Look at verse 12. And He said, He will be a wild
man. His hand will be against every
man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the
presence of all his brethren. This is what the Lord has said
concerning this son that she's going to have. The Lord says,
you're going to have a son. This is what his name is going
to be. The seed is going to be greatly
multiplied. But this boy that you're going
to have, he's going to be a wild man. One running wild as a donkey
or an ass, as the word is. He's going to be rude. He's going
to be bold, fearing no man. He's going to be an untamed,
impatient man that's living in strife and having his hand against
every man and every man's hand against him. This is going to
be his demeanor. And he's going to dwell in the
presence of all his brethren, living in the midst of those
that are just like him. That's the revelation that the
Lord gave her of her son that she's getting ready to have.
The Lord said, this is the way it's going to be. This is what kind of son
you're going to have. But even hearing those things
from the Lord Himself concerning who her son was going to be,
listen to the confession of this one that for sure again sets
forth the heart in nature of a believer, one that bows to
the will of the Lord. This is what she says in verse
13. She called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, thou
God, seest me. This is what she said. Lord,
you are the one that have looked, you've looked upon this needy
vessel. And Lord, you've seen me and
you know me. You know me for what I am. Now
you think, put yourself right here, you that know him, is this
not the confession of every believer? Thou God, seest me. I was mulling over this right
here thinking, how long has the Lord seen the vessels of His
mercy? He's always seen them. How long has He loved them? He's
always loved them. How long did He see them in His
Son before the foundation of the world? They've always been
beloved, seen, vessels, objects of His mercy and compassion. The Lord had seen her when she
was in Egypt, before Sarai and Abram ever met her, saw her taken
out, saw her in the house of Abram, before He revealed Himself
to her, watched over her, protected her. That's how He does His people. Ordering their steps, he put
her right where she was. He saw her. Saw her in the attempt
to produce an heir. Saw her cast out. Saw her in
the wilderness by that fountain, going through that land of Shur.
Saw her going back to Egypt and stopped her. Like he did Saul
of Tarsus. God's always seen His people.
And she's been made to know it. She called the name of the Lord
that spake unto her, Thou God, seest me. In the depth of her
distress, here she is, found, called of God, named her son, She called him. This is the God
that sees. This is the God that sees. But
here's the blessing. He's looked at me. He looked
at me and blessed me. He looked at me in my pitiful
state, been pleased to have mercy and compassion. Can it be? that He's been touched with the
feeling of my infirmity. Can it be that He's called me
unto Himself? And then the Scripture says,
that latter part, Thou God seest me. For she said, Have I also
here looked after him that seeth me? Here's what she's saying. Have I looked for the Lord? when the Lord looked after me?
Is it that I love Him because He first loved me? Has the grace
of God looking upon me brought grace in me to look to Him? Is
this what has happened? She's got a heart to answer Him
in obedience and submission. He just told her what her son
was going to be like. And she didn't say anything about
that. Didn't say anything about that not being fair. You mean
of all I've gone through? No sir. Thou God seest me. You have looked on this pitiful
lump of clay. Of all that I've done, of all
that I've been through. Have you given me a heart to
look to you? Hagar, surely she reflected on that events that
took place and her rebellion. She knew that she had not thought
upon the Lord until He revealed Himself. Everything that Abram
had preached He knew God. He taught his household. They
were taught. You can bet Abraham believed
God. Abraham knew the Gospel. And
those around him heard the Gospel. She'd heard it. But here the Lord meets with
her. Now she's heard it. She's heard the message. And
what peace that this ought to be wrought in our hearts that
the Lord who sees and cares has seen and cared for us. Psalm
34, 15, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his
ears are open unto their cry. What comfort for needy vessels
like us. to contemplate that He who sees
would look upon us. 1 Peter 3.12, For the eyes of
the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their
prayers. This is how God sees all of His
people. He sees them in their sorrow,
those that He loves, He marks their sighs, their distress,
the complaints of their heart, With an eye of sympathy and a
heart of compassion, by grace he crosses her path when it's
time. They get under the gospel. They're going to hear the truth.
They're going to hear it. He's going to open their heart
and he draws them, gives them faith to believe. With her mouth
she confessed him. all his struggling children.
That's the way they do it. Children that he ever views in
mercy, come unto me, all you that labor heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. And having made known unto her
his mind of mercy and compassion, the very place where God met
with her, was a special place to her. The scripture says in
verse 14, wherefore the well was called Beir lehi roi. Behold it is between Kadesh and
Bered. Beir lehi roi. It means the well
of him that liveth and seeth me. That the Lord saw her was
a It's a precious thought. And it's a precious thought to
all of God's people. I look around and I think to
myself, there's times that I look in a place like we are. How many, how many, how many
that don't have a heart to come and I think that the Lord would
see me, that the Lord would call me, She named that well, Bear
Lahairoi. The well of him that liveth and
seeth me, a precious place of thankfulness. Now, I'm going
to tell you something. I don't want to say something
that's not so, but I just want to say this. Obviously, this
is just a building. All it is is just a building.
It's just wood. You know, stone. It's got to
be kept up. You've got to fix these things
and fix those things. But I'm telling you, to those
that have sat in this place and places like this, where the Lord
has been pleased to reveal Himself to you. We don't worship this
building, but I'm telling you this is a special place. It's
a special place where the Lord's people meet. A place that God's
raised up. Established a place. That well
was just a well. That's all it was, was a well.
But she named that well something. She named it that Be'er Lehiroi,
the well of him that liveth. This is where God met me. I bet
you, I bet you when Saul of Tarsus, I was talking about Saul of Tarsus
a while ago, I bet you every time Saul, if he ever did, I
don't know if he did, but I'll bet you every time he came to
that spot on the road to Damascus, he was almost in Damascus when
the Lord met with him. I bet you he never went past
that spot that he didn't think about. It was right here, this
is where I was. I know how people make a thing,
you know, I was delivered on a certain day at a certain hour
and I don't know, I don't know. I remember a time when the Lord
began to deal with me. But I can remember where I was
when the Lord would speak. It was just a place, but it was
a special place. You think Moses ever, if he ever
did cross where that burning bush was. You ever think he ever
went past that place and didn't think about when God met him
there? This was a precious place. And
the scripture says, and I'll be honest with you, it says that
this Beer Lahiroi, and it says, behold, it was between Kadesh
and Bered. Now, I tried my best. I'm just going to be honest with
you. I tried my best to look up and find where that was on
the map. I could find Kadesh. I found Kadesh. But nobody that
I read could tell where Bered was. Nobody knew where that was.
But obviously it was there at some place. And the Spirit of
God made a note of where that place was. and the significance
of it. Though we don't know where it
is right now. I can't tell you exactly where
it is. Nonetheless, it was a special place. A special place. Whenever Moses met with God,
that burning bush, he said, you take your shoes off, where you
stand is holy ground. This is holy ground. Holy ground. God was there. And Hagar said,
this is where God met me. And that's the name of this well.
That's what I called it, that well. And Hagar, verse 15, 16,
bare Abram a son. And Abram called his son's name,
which Hagar bare, Ishmael. I'll tell you something I noticed.
I don't see, it's not recorded that Hagar, God told Hagar that
that was going to be his name. And I don't read where Hagar
ever told Abram. This is what God told me. I'll
tell you what I think. I think the God that told Hagar
that her son was going to be named Ishmael, the same God told
Abram, her son's going to be named Ishmael. And I'll tell
you what Abram did. He named him Ishmael. Hagar bare
Abram a son and Abram called his son's name which Hagar bare
Ishmael. And Abram was four score and
six years old when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. Now this son
born to Hagar, according to the allegory, she was a picture.
of the bondwoman, and that which was born of the flesh is flesh,
and a slave can only produce a slave. She was that allegory. Galatians 4 tells us that. But
she was also a picture, a beautiful picture, of how God saves his
people, and how God and calls them out of darkness, and how
God deals with them in mercy. And she did have this boy, just
like God said she was, and his name was Ishmael. And Abram was
four score and six years old. He was 86 years old. What's the
significance of that? Well, I don't know the totality
of it, but I can tell you this. They went back. She did go back. Abram was 100 years old when
Isaac was born. The Lord is going to appear to
him. We're going to see that in chapter 17. You can look at
the first verse, how old Abram was whenever God met him. He
was 99 years old when God spoke to him and told him, you're going
to have a boy. You're going to have a son. He was 100 years old when Isaac
was born. So he's 86 years old now. And
for 14 years, They're gonna be reminded of
the need of waiting on God. He's gonna be there, and you're
gonna watch that boy growing up. And scripture's gonna bear
out. Abram loved him. He loved Ishmael.
He loved that boy. He loved him. That was his son. That was his son. But the Lord's
gonna call his people. He's gonna bring them back. He's
gonna remind them. Remind them of the necessity.
Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. God that promises,
God will provide. He will provide. Wait, wait. I pray the Lord bless this to
our hearts. For God's glory and our good. Amen. Okay, Gary.