Monday, March 19, 2018

Read Genesis 16

Genesis 16:8-13
8  And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai."
9  The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand."
10  Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude."
11  And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12  He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
13  Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"

Note:  The name of the place commemorates that God sees, furthermore, that God actually cares about a young mother and her infant son journeying through the Sinai.  Verse 11 mentions that He hears the affliction of Hagar, and again, cares.  Perhaps that is what we should think about when we need to do what Hagar was commanded by the Angel of the Lord, to submit.  Hagar returned to the house of Abraham and Sarah and submitted to her.  We hear of her again in Genesis 21, 25 and in the New Testament (Galatians 4:21-31). 

"Submit", as I understand it, does not mean "blind obedience" but rather to respect and cooperate with someone.  Wives are to respect and cooperate with their husbands and Christians are to respect and cooperate with each other in general (Ephesians 5:21-22)  The ability to submit comes from a deepening understanding that God hears and sees, not just that He is capable of doing so, but that He does.  He pays attention.  He pays attention to us, even in our everyday lives.  This can be challenging in business setting where someone is trying to take credit for your work or your idea.  Stand up for yourself, but take care not to stoop to their level of dishonesty.  The Lord sees.  He will take note of who does what and will take action.

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