May the mumbling commence!
Running away rarely works. Too often, we are running away from our own
problems of attitude. And we cannot
outrun them. They follow us wherever we
go. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
An angel of God found her beside a spring in the
desert; it was the spring on the road to
Shur. He said, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing
here?”
She said, “I’m running away from Sarai my mistress.”
The
angel of God said, “Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse.” He continued, “I’m going to
give you a big family, children past counting.
From this pregnancy, you’ll get a son: Name his Ishmael;
for God heard you, God
answered you.
He’ll be a bucking
bronco of a man,
a real fighter, fighting and being fought,
Always stirring up trouble,
always
at odds with his family.”
She answered God
by name, praying to the God who spoke to
her, “You’re the God who sees me!
Yes! He saw me; and
then I saw him!”
That’s how the desert
spring got named “God-Alive-Sees-Me Spring.” That spring is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
Hagar gave Abram a
son. Abram named him Ishmael. Abram
was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave him his
son, Ishmael. (Genesis 16:7-16)
Now read the same passage from the
NIV translation:
The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is
beside the road to Shur. And he said,
"Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"
"I'm running away from my mistress
Sarai," she answered.
Then the angel of the Lord
told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." The angel added, "I will so
increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
The angel of the Lord also said to her:
"You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name
him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers."
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees
me," for she said, "I have now seen
the One who sees me." That is why the well
was called Beer
Lahai Roi; it is
still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and
Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had
borne. Abram
was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him
Ishmael. (Genesis 16:7-16)
At the center of this passage is
the question, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” It’s a question that we must ask ourselves periodically. There is much meaning to this set of
questions rather than the question that Peterson poses – “What are you doing
here?”
Hagar was called to submit. She was having a difficult time with
submission. At times, we all do –
especially when the going gets rough.
But changing location will not solve a problem of this depth. An attitude change is the only solution.
God sees us. God hears us.
And God will see that justice is eventually done. Praise God!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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