Tivet is the Biblical month.
THE GOD WHO SEESS - Scripture: Genesis 16:1-16
v.13 And she called the name of the LORD (Adonai) that spake unto her, Thou God (El Ro'iy) seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
O - Observations:
There is a lot going on in this chapter. You have Sarai who can not bear children. They have been living in this place now Scripture says for 10 years now and she is really thinking she is never going to conceive. Can you stop and imagine the pain she was feeling as a woman who could not give her husband a child, an heir. She finally concedes and gives her handmaiden to her husband to sleep with. Any wife in today's culture could hardly bear to do this I think. Can you imagine that night that her husband did not come to bed with her that night so he could be with another woman? Then it would seem on the first time of being together Hagar conceives. Again, imagine the thoughts of Sarai who has tried and tried to conceive and could not and perhaps in the first night Hagar conceives right off the bat ... so now Sarai is jealous and treats Hagar badly. We do not know if this was just through harsh words or if she physically was abusive to her, but at any rate it caused her to run ... and in the desert she meets El Ro'iy, the God who sees. He gives her a name for her son and a promise and tells her to go back. I wondered why God sent her back, but perhaps God wanted Ishmael to grow up atleast through his teenage years with Abraham to learn of him? To be circumcised? God had his plans and we know from other Scripture that His Ways are higher than our ways ... the child is born and it says Abram named the child Ishmael. Now there obviously had to be a little talking between Hagar and Abram for him to know the name the God who sees had given to the child, again so much going on in this chapter. So many relational issues and He is the God who sees it all.
A - Application:
Simply put He is the God who sees. He knows and sees everything going on in our lives. He did not just see Hagar, although when He appeared to her that is how she experienced Him. He saw Abram and Sarai and the whole situation. He saw Ishmael for what he was to become years later, a multitude that could not be numbered. God sees you too. In Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God book we learn that it is through experiencing Him and His character that we grow in our relationship with Him. How have you experienced Him? Over the past year I have experienced Adonai Jireh - the LORD who provides. I have seen this characteristic of God evident in my life personally.
Hagar’s God is the One who numbers the hairs on our heads and who knows our circumstances, past, present, and future. When you pray to El Roi, you are praying to the one who knows everything about you.
Psalm 33:13-15 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all humankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—he who forms the hearts of all,who considers everything they do.
Even the most watchful parent must sleep. But scripture makes it clear God never slumbers, never looks one way while we head off in another, never misses a millisecond of what is happening on earth.
El Roi, a God so watchful that He is said to note even when the smallest sparrow falls to the ground. This is the God who watches over you today, whether or not you recognize his presence. Aware that you may sometimes find yourself in desolate places, he is always near, helping you find a path through troubles, working out his plans for your future.
We may have many dark places that shame us, but to know that He pursues us when we run away. He sees us and brings us home.
P - Prayer in response:
El Roi ~ I praise you that you know the whole story from beginning to end, you see it all. My vision of the present is often blurred and I am blind when it comes to the future. Help me to fasten my eyes on you, trusting in your vision for my life and your watchful care.
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