Fear Not, Hagar
And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.”
Sent away from their home with Abraham and Sarah, Hagar and her teenage son, Ishmael, soon ran out of water and food in the harsh heat of the wilderness (likely the Negev desert). Distraught over their seemingly hopeless situation, Hagar left Ishmael under some shrubs and moved away to avoid seeing his death. As she was weeping, God talked to her and assured her that Ishmael would survive and start “a great nation” (verse 18). God then miraculously provided water—saving their lives.
God is a merciful and loving Father who sees and hears everything (Genesis 16:13). When we face dire circumstances in our lives, we should call on God in faith, knowing that He can and will hear us. Intervention may not always come the way we would want it. No doubt Hagar would have preferred the opportunity to rejoin Abraham and Sarah or to be given another opportunity for Ishmael to be Abraham’s heir. But it will be what God knows we need (in this case, water and hope for a future). Consider these scriptures that reinforce this truth: Deuteronomy 3:22; Isaiah 41:10; and 2 Kings 6:16.
Ishmael would go on to become an archer in the wilderness of Paran, marry an Egyptian woman, and become the forefather of many of the Arab peoples.
For more information on the nations that descended from Abraham, read “The 12 Tribes of Israel in History and Prophecy.”
Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “A Test of Faith.”
