Hagar And Her Heavenly Visitor
By Senior Pastor Dr. Bill Rains | January 14, 2024
Open your Bibles to Genesis 16:7-14. Today’s message, “Hagar And Her Heavenly Visitor,” begins a series on biblical encounters with angels. The text says: “The angel of the Lord found her… Thou God seest me.” Let’s pray: Father, thank You for this church and our sick. Heal them, save the lost, help me preach, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Hagar, an Egyptian maid, meets God’s angel in a wilderness crisis. Abram and barren Sarai, impatient with God’s promise of countless offspring (Genesis 15:5), devised a plan. Sarai offered Hagar to Abram, who eagerly took her, conceiving Ishmael. Hagar’s pride soured things, Sarai lashed out, and Hagar fled—pregnant and despairing. Here, God’s grace shines. Three lessons emerge.
God Is Interested In Us Despite Our Mistakes
“The angel of the Lord found her by a fountain” (v. 7). Hagar’s mess had four culprits: Sarai’s impatience, Abram’s lust, Hagar’s ambition, and Satan’s deception. Sin promised betterment but delivered misery. Yet, God sought her out. “Thou God seest me” (v. 13)—she named Him El Roi, “The God Who Sees.” I’ve made mistakes too, but God’s grace finds us. Don’t judge others—love them as God does. A pastor’s son once wed a redeemed prostitute despite church grumbling. Grace isn’t undone by judgment.
God Interrogates Us For Our Good
“Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?” (v. 8). This angel was God Himself—a theophany—asking: Who are you? Where’d you come from? Where are you going? Hagar replied, “I flee from… Sarai.” God showed her she wasn’t Abram’s wife but Sarai’s maid. Don’t chase what you’re not—“finding yourself” or “following your heart” (Jeremiah 17:9) leads to trouble. God asks to jolt us awake, revealing sin’s path and the world’s pull (Egypt). He loves us too much to let us wander.
God Gives Instructions To Stabilize Our Lives
“Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands” (v. 9). Today’s dysfunction—broken homes, unstable lives—craves stability. God’s cure? Submission. Hagar had to return and submit, not out of cruelty, but for order. Submission to God’s will—parents to Him, kids to parents—brings success. Pride resists, but humility heals. Tell your family, “I’ve been wrong; I’ll submit to God’s plan.” Single or married, obey God—He’ll work it out.
