May 17, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of Bible Bytes, we delve into the profound story of Hagar from Genesis 16, exploring her encounter with the angel of the Lord in the wilderness. Hagar, an Egyptian slave, finds herself abandoned and alone, yet in her moment of despair, she experiences a divine revelation of God's comforting attribute as Elroy, the God who sees. Through her story, we are reminded that even when we feel unseen and forgotten, God is always present, watching over us and caring for us in our most desperate moments.
We discuss the key takeaways from Hagar's story, emphasizing that God sees the unseen, meets us in our wilderness, and gives purpose through our pain. Hagar's obedience to God's command to return and submit leads to blessings and a promise for her unborn son, Ishmael. Her story encourages us to trust in God's plan, recognizing that our value comes from being seen and known by Him. As we reflect on our own wilderness experiences, we are called to extend God's compassion to those who feel overlooked and to recognize His presence in our lives.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Randy Black (00:05):
We gathered here today
with open hearts and minds
to grow in faith and truth
Unknown (00:51):
Welcome to Bible Bites, the podcast where we work to inspire faith one bite at a time.
I'm your host,
Randy Black.
Life
often brings moments when we feel forgotten,
unseen,
and alone.
In Genesis 16,
we meet Hagar,
(01:11):
a woman who found herself abandoned,
pregnant,
and cast out into the wilderness.
But in her lowest moment,
she had a divine encounter
that changed her life.
This episode explores Hagar's encounter with the angel of the Lord and how it reveals
(01:31):
one of God's most comforting attributes.
He is Elroy,
the God who sees.
Through Hagar's story, we'll discover that even when others overlook us,
God never does.
Let's open up with a word of prayer.
Heavenly father,
(01:52):
we come before you today seeking to understand more of who you are
and how you care for us.
Open our hearts and minds as we study the story of Hagar,
a woman seen and cared for by you
in her most desperate moment.
Help us to learn from her encounter with the angel of the Lord,
(02:14):
and may we be comforted and encouraged to know that you are the god who sees us.
Thank you
for your faithfulness,
your compassion,
and your ever watchful eye.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
(02:37):
Genesis
chapter 16,
verses seven
through 13.
Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness,
by the spring on the way to Shur.
He said,
Hagar,
Sarah's slave woman, from where have you come and
(02:58):
where are you going?
And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress, Sarai.
So the angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress and submit to her authority.
The angel of the Lord also said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants
so that they will be too many to count.
(03:21):
The angel of the Lord said to her further,
behold,
you are pregnant
and you will give birth to a son
and you shall name him Ishmael
because the Lord has heard your affliction.
But he will be a wild donkey of a man.
His hand
will be
against
(03:41):
everyone, and everyone's hand
will be against Him,
and He will live in defiance
of all His brothers.
Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You are a God who sees me.
For she said,
I have seen Him here and lived after He saw me.
(04:08):
Hagar's story
unfolds during a time of great tension
in Abram's household.
Sarai, barren and desperate for a child,
gave Hagar, her Egyptian slave,
to Abram
to bear a child on her behalf.
When Hagar became pregnant,
(04:30):
pride and resentment
flared
between her and Sarai,
resulting in Hagar fleeing into the wilderness.
We see that in Genesis chapter 16 verses one through six.
It is here that the angel of the Lord finds her, not by accident,
but intentionally.
(04:52):
The angel of the Lord calls her by name,
a small
but profound detail.
God recognizes her identity and her pain.
He asks her a twofold question.
Where have you come from,
and where are you going?
The question is not for information,
but reflection.
(05:13):
Like Hagar, we are
often prompted by God to examine our choices,
our direction,
and the condition of our hearts.
The angel then gives a surprising command,
return
and submit.
This wasn't a punishment,
but part of God's redemptive plan for Hagar and her unborn son.
(05:37):
In her obedience,
there would be blessing.
The angel's message includes a prophecy
and a promise.
Her son, Ishmael,
would be a significant figure with countless descendants.
Though his life will be marked by conflict,
it would not be without purpose.
(05:58):
In verse 13, Hagar does something no other person in scripture had done before.
She names God.
She calls him Elroy,
the God who sees me.
In a world where she was treated as property,
dismissed by her mistress,
and alone in the desert,
(06:18):
Hagar realized that God saw her.
He had not ignored her suffering or her tears.
Her recognition of God's presence becomes a powerful
theological moment,
reminding us that divine encounters are not reserved for the elite
or the righteous,
but are available to the marginalized
(06:38):
and the brokenhearted.
This story in the scripture reveals God's compassion
and his omniscience.
The same God who met Hagar in the wilderness
meets us in ours.
He sees our struggles,
hears our cries,
and provides both instruction
(06:59):
and hope.
We have some key takeaways from our scriptures today. The is that God sees the unseen.
Hagar was a servant, a foreigner, and a woman with no voice in the household of Abram and Sarai,
yet
the angel of the Lord found her.
God's act in the story is not judgment,
(07:21):
but pursuit.
He sought out Hagar personally.
Many people today feel like they're in the background, whether due to social status or
past mistakes
or ongoing hardships in their life,
But God sees you.
You're never invisible to him.
Hagar's story reminds us that God is not only watching from afar,
(07:45):
he is intimately involved in our lives
and our suffering.
Our next takeaway is that God meets us in the wilderness.
The angel met Hagar by a spring on the road to Shur, a dry and dangerous place.
God did not wait for Hagar to come back to him.
(08:07):
He went to her.
Wilderness seasons strip us of distractions, pride, and false security,
yet
they often become the very places where we encounter God
most powerfully.
If you're walking through a wilderness season,
know that God is already there,
ready to speak,
(08:28):
comfort,
and guide you.
Our next takeaway is that God gives purpose
through pain.
Though Hagar's pregnancy came through difficult circumstances,
God did not ignore her situation.
He transformed it with a promise.
(08:49):
Her son
would be named Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction.
God's sovereignty doesn't mean he causes all pain,
but he certainly redeems it. Hagar's story shows us that
God brings purpose out of pain, giving us assurance
that no suffering is wasted when surrendered to him.
(09:12):
Next takeaway is that obedience
unlocks blessing.
Hagar was told to return to Sarai and submit
a difficult directive,
but it was not without reward.
Her obedience positioned her to receive the promise
of a future
and a legacy.
(09:33):
Sometimes,
God's instructions
lead us back into hard or humbling places.
Yet
when we follow his voice,
we often discover growth,
restoration,
and blessing on the other side of our obedience.
The path to peace
isn't always
the path of escape.
(09:55):
It's the path of trust.
And our last takeaway is that God desires
personal
relationship.
Hagar responded to her encounter with awe and worship, naming God Elroy.
She experienced more than a miracle.
She experienced
God's heart.
(10:16):
God doesn't just want to fix our problems.
He wants to be known by us.
Like Hagar,
we are invited to recognize God in our lives,
not just as a distant creator,
but as a personal,
compassionate
lord.
Every encounter with him is an opportunity to know
(10:36):
him more deeply.
Have you ever felt like Hagar?
Alone, misunderstood,
or invisible?
Her story invites us to recognize that our value doesn't come from human validation,
but from being seen and known by God.
We all go through desert seasons,
(10:58):
but God doesn't abandon us there.
Instead,
he meets us,
speaks to us,
and calls us by name.
Consider how the Lord has met you in your own wilderness moments.
What did he show you?
What did you learn about him and yourself?
(11:19):
Sometimes,
we only discover God's tender mercy when everything else is stripped away.
Hagar's encounter teaches us to listen for his voice
even in places we don't expect to find him.
Her story also compels us to look around and ask,
who are the Hagars in our lives?
(11:40):
Who is overlooked,
cast out, or in pain?
As followers of Elroy,
we are called
to reflect his character,
to see the unseen,
to care for the forgotten,
and to extend the hope that we have received.
Finally, this this scripture
(12:01):
calls us to name god rightly in our all in our lives.
Just as Hagar said, you are the god who sees me,
we can declare with confidence
that no moment in our lives escape is notice,
and no pain is wasted
in his plan.
Let's close out with a word of prayer before we talk about our next episode.
(12:25):
Lord god,
you are Elroy,
the god who sees us.
Thank you for your watchful care for our lives
even in times when we feel most alone
or abandoned.
Thank you for meeting us in our wilderness,
calling us by name,
and offering us purpose
(12:47):
through
our pain.
Help us to walk in obedience
even when the path is hard and to trust that your plans for us are good.
Let us not only receive your comfort,
but extend it to others
who feel unseen.
Teach us to see as you see.
(13:09):
In the name of your son, Jesus,
we pray.
Amen.
On our next episode, we'll continue to look at Hagar. This time, we'll be looking in Genesis chapter 21
verses eight through 21,
and we're gonna look at
the struggles
(13:29):
of motherhood
through Hagar's eyes and the lessons it can teach us
in our own lives today.
So join us on that next episode of Bible Bites,
the podcast where we work to inspire faith
one bite at a time.
Bible
Bites.
(13:49):
Bible Bites.
Randy Black (13:53):
Inspiring
shine.
(14:15):
Gobble bites.
Gobble bites.
Inspiring
We gathered here today
with open hearts and minds
to grow in faith and truth
Unknown (00:51):
Welcome to Bible Bites, the podcast where we work to inspire faith one bite at a time.
I'm your host,
Randy Black.
Life
often brings moments when we feel forgotten,
unseen,
and alone.
In Genesis 16,
we meet Hagar,
(01:11):
a woman who found herself abandoned,
pregnant,
and cast out into the wilderness.
But in her lowest moment,
she had a divine encounter
that changed her life.
This episode explores Hagar's encounter with the angel of the Lord and how it reveals
(01:31):
one of God's most comforting attributes.
He is Elroy,
the God who sees.
Through Hagar's story, we'll discover that even when others overlook us,
God never does.
Let's open up with a word of prayer.
Heavenly father,
(01:52):
we come before you today seeking to understand more of who you are
and how you care for us.
Open our hearts and minds as we study the story of Hagar,
a woman seen and cared for by you
in her most desperate moment.
Help us to learn from her encounter with the angel of the Lord,
(02:14):
and may we be comforted and encouraged to know that you are the god who sees us.
Thank you
for your faithfulness,
your compassion,
and your ever watchful eye.
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
(02:37):
Genesis
chapter 16,
verses seven
through 13.
Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness,
by the spring on the way to Shur.
He said,
Hagar,
Sarah's slave woman, from where have you come and
(02:58):
where are you going?
And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress, Sarai.
So the angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress and submit to her authority.
The angel of the Lord also said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants
so that they will be too many to count.
(03:21):
The angel of the Lord said to her further,
behold,
you are pregnant
and you will give birth to a son
and you shall name him Ishmael
because the Lord has heard your affliction.
But he will be a wild donkey of a man.
His hand
will be
against
(03:41):
everyone, and everyone's hand
will be against Him,
and He will live in defiance
of all His brothers.
Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You are a God who sees me.
For she said,
I have seen Him here and lived after He saw me.
(04:08):
Hagar's story
unfolds during a time of great tension
in Abram's household.
Sarai, barren and desperate for a child,
gave Hagar, her Egyptian slave,
to Abram
to bear a child on her behalf.
When Hagar became pregnant,
(04:30):
pride and resentment
flared
between her and Sarai,
resulting in Hagar fleeing into the wilderness.
We see that in Genesis chapter 16 verses one through six.
It is here that the angel of the Lord finds her, not by accident,
but intentionally.
(04:52):
The angel of the Lord calls her by name,
a small
but profound detail.
God recognizes her identity and her pain.
He asks her a twofold question.
Where have you come from,
and where are you going?
The question is not for information,
but reflection.
(05:13):
Like Hagar, we are
often prompted by God to examine our choices,
our direction,
and the condition of our hearts.
The angel then gives a surprising command,
return
and submit.
This wasn't a punishment,
but part of God's redemptive plan for Hagar and her unborn son.
(05:37):
In her obedience,
there would be blessing.
The angel's message includes a prophecy
and a promise.
Her son, Ishmael,
would be a significant figure with countless descendants.
Though his life will be marked by conflict,
it would not be without purpose.
(05:58):
In verse 13, Hagar does something no other person in scripture had done before.
She names God.
She calls him Elroy,
the God who sees me.
In a world where she was treated as property,
dismissed by her mistress,
and alone in the desert,
(06:18):
Hagar realized that God saw her.
He had not ignored her suffering or her tears.
Her recognition of God's presence becomes a powerful
theological moment,
reminding us that divine encounters are not reserved for the elite
or the righteous,
but are available to the marginalized
(06:38):
and the brokenhearted.
This story in the scripture reveals God's compassion
and his omniscience.
The same God who met Hagar in the wilderness
meets us in ours.
He sees our struggles,
hears our cries,
and provides both instruction
(06:59):
and hope.
We have some key takeaways from our scriptures today. The is that God sees the unseen.
Hagar was a servant, a foreigner, and a woman with no voice in the household of Abram and Sarai,
yet
the angel of the Lord found her.
God's act in the story is not judgment,
(07:21):
but pursuit.
He sought out Hagar personally.
Many people today feel like they're in the background, whether due to social status or
past mistakes
or ongoing hardships in their life,
But God sees you.
You're never invisible to him.
Hagar's story reminds us that God is not only watching from afar,
(07:45):
he is intimately involved in our lives
and our suffering.
Our next takeaway is that God meets us in the wilderness.
The angel met Hagar by a spring on the road to Shur, a dry and dangerous place.
God did not wait for Hagar to come back to him.
(08:07):
He went to her.
Wilderness seasons strip us of distractions, pride, and false security,
yet
they often become the very places where we encounter God
most powerfully.
If you're walking through a wilderness season,
know that God is already there,
ready to speak,
(08:28):
comfort,
and guide you.
Our next takeaway is that God gives purpose
through pain.
Though Hagar's pregnancy came through difficult circumstances,
God did not ignore her situation.
He transformed it with a promise.
(08:49):
Her son
would be named Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction.
God's sovereignty doesn't mean he causes all pain,
but he certainly redeems it. Hagar's story shows us that
God brings purpose out of pain, giving us assurance
that no suffering is wasted when surrendered to him.
(09:12):
Next takeaway is that obedience
unlocks blessing.
Hagar was told to return to Sarai and submit
a difficult directive,
but it was not without reward.
Her obedience positioned her to receive the promise
of a future
and a legacy.
(09:33):
Sometimes,
God's instructions
lead us back into hard or humbling places.
Yet
when we follow his voice,
we often discover growth,
restoration,
and blessing on the other side of our obedience.
The path to peace
isn't always
the path of escape.
(09:55):
It's the path of trust.
And our last takeaway is that God desires
personal
relationship.
Hagar responded to her encounter with awe and worship, naming God Elroy.
She experienced more than a miracle.
She experienced
God's heart.
(10:16):
God doesn't just want to fix our problems.
He wants to be known by us.
Like Hagar,
we are invited to recognize God in our lives,
not just as a distant creator,
but as a personal,
compassionate
lord.
Every encounter with him is an opportunity to know
(10:36):
him more deeply.
Have you ever felt like Hagar?
Alone, misunderstood,
or invisible?
Her story invites us to recognize that our value doesn't come from human validation,
but from being seen and known by God.
We all go through desert seasons,
(10:58):
but God doesn't abandon us there.
Instead,
he meets us,
speaks to us,
and calls us by name.
Consider how the Lord has met you in your own wilderness moments.
What did he show you?
What did you learn about him and yourself?
(11:19):
Sometimes,
we only discover God's tender mercy when everything else is stripped away.
Hagar's encounter teaches us to listen for his voice
even in places we don't expect to find him.
Her story also compels us to look around and ask,
who are the Hagars in our lives?
(11:40):
Who is overlooked,
cast out, or in pain?
As followers of Elroy,
we are called
to reflect his character,
to see the unseen,
to care for the forgotten,
and to extend the hope that we have received.
Finally, this this scripture
(12:01):
calls us to name god rightly in our all in our lives.
Just as Hagar said, you are the god who sees me,
we can declare with confidence
that no moment in our lives escape is notice,
and no pain is wasted
in his plan.
Let's close out with a word of prayer before we talk about our next episode.
(12:25):
Lord god,
you are Elroy,
the god who sees us.
Thank you for your watchful care for our lives
even in times when we feel most alone
or abandoned.
Thank you for meeting us in our wilderness,
calling us by name,
and offering us purpose
(12:47):
through
our pain.
Help us to walk in obedience
even when the path is hard and to trust that your plans for us are good.
Let us not only receive your comfort,
but extend it to others
who feel unseen.
Teach us to see as you see.
(13:09):
In the name of your son, Jesus,
we pray.
Amen.
On our next episode, we'll continue to look at Hagar. This time, we'll be looking in Genesis chapter 21
verses eight through 21,
and we're gonna look at
the struggles
(13:29):
of motherhood
through Hagar's eyes and the lessons it can teach us
in our own lives today.
So join us on that next episode of Bible Bites,
the podcast where we work to inspire faith
one bite at a time.
Bible
Bites.
(13:49):
Bible Bites.
Randy Black (13:53):
Inspiring
shine.
(14:15):
Gobble bites.
Gobble bites.
Inspiring
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