My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly was a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
| 9 |
| EL ROI (GOD OF SEEING) |
| Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” |
| Knowing what we know of the LORD (Jehovah / Jahweh), it seems obvious that He is an all-seeing God. But for a proud woman (Hagar), rejected by her mistress (Sarai), and given up by her husband (Abraham), this verse speaks of the revelation of God who she had heard of from Abraham. Abraham had taught his household the fear of the Lord, and in this teaching, Hagar must have experienced some influence in her life. Hearing of a God that Abraham knew was one thing. Having this God visit you at your deepest point of sorrow and rejection is another. What we know of Hagar is that the God who revealed Himself was One that had seen her plight. Few women in this time had been delivered a message from God, and this Angel of the Lord provided her guidance that may not have been too enjoyable. Sarai had dealt harshly with her, so harshly that Hagar sought refuge out of the camp, away from the community she had been associated with for many years. Yes she had found a spring, and it may have been her hope to find a rescuer at the spring, but the Angel came to visit her before she found an option to choose from. The stranger brought new that was bad and good. The bad news was that she had to go back to her mistress, the one who death harshly with her, and was required to submit to her. It seems that the status of being Abraham’s wife went to Hagar’s head, and verse 4 speaks of her looking down on Sarai with contempt. This child she conceived was her opportunity to elevate herself in the tribe, being the only wife able to provide for Abraham a seed. Such an important opportunity provided her a status she had never known, and didn’t quite handle properly. A continual humbling may be ahead for Hagar, a reminder that she was a second class wife, (at least in Sarai’s eyes), and difficult relationships between the two continued for many years. The good news was that a young child would be born, that he would be called Ishmael, and that he would be the father of many. The nation of the Ishmaelites grew from this seed, and have been a thorn in Israel’s side for much of her history. Hagar called the God of Abraham the God of seeing, for He not only saw her affliction at the present, but also her past and future, of her child’s future, and of the leader he would become over his kinsmen. She saw the One who sees! In her deepest affliction, (brought on by her own contempt and pride), her eyes were ready to see the One who Abraham had spoken of. And she returned to the camp, with a humbled spirit and a willing attitude to do as instructed, for she experientially knew of the God who sees, instead of simply hearing the story of Abrahams God God is a mysterious One, who uses affliction to open our eyes, and suffering to release the wax from our ears. He is a good God that does not seek to waste any pain we experience in this life, but is willing to take our loss and provide greater good than we can imagine. Although not directly associated with our name of God for this post, when I think of loss in the believers life, and God’s gracious provision, I usually think of Joel 2:25 Joel 2:25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. God is good and He is the God who sees, not only our good intentions (few as they may be) but also our weakness, pain, rejection, abandonment and loneliness. He sees us, and for this we must be thankful, for He watches over us, working His good will in the midst of this messy life! |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient.
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