Summary of Genesis 16:7-16:
Hagar ran away and the angel of the Lord found her near a spring in the desert. The angel asked Hagar what she was doing. She replied she was running away. The angel told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her and that he would increase her descendants infinitely. He told her she would have a son and she was to call him Ishmael (God hears) for God has heard of her misery. Your son will live in hostility against his brothers.
Hagar tells the angel that he is the God who sees her and she has now seen Him. Hagar returned and had Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old at the time.
BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 10, Day 5: Genesis 16:7-16
14) She would continue to be mistreated, maybe even killed if she remained. She probably fled to her family in Egypt, who would take care of her.
15a) The angel told Hagar to go back to Sarai and submit to her and that he would increase her descendants infinitely. He told her she would have a son and she was to call him Ishmael (God hears) for God has heard of her misery. Your son will live in hostility against his brothers. Hagar tells the angel that he is the God who sees her and she has now seen Him.
b) God cares for everyone. Ishmael was the victim, never asking to be.
16) Personal Question. My answer: I’ve found if you stay the course, God will pivot you when needed.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 10, Day 5: Genesis 16:7-16
God’s love is infinite, and He brings good in every situation. Ishmael’s daughter marries Abraham’s grandson, Esau. Esau is blessed as well while on earth.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Genesis: Lesson 10, Day 5: Genesis 16:7-16
When God “appears” in the Bible, it’s always as Jesus. No one has ever seen God. (1 Timothy 6:16)
Fun Fact: This is the first appearance of the Angel of the Lord in the Bible, and it’s fitting that it’s to Hagar, a slave who had been prostituted to her master and is now pregnant. God is good.
The Angel of the Lord (or Jesus) appears many times in the Bible: (Genesis 22). (Exodus 3). (Numbers 22). Judges 2). Judges 6). (Judges 13). (2 Samuel 24). (1 Kings 19). From Abraham to Elijah, God appears when we need Him. He still appears in our lives today.
“Where are you going?” is an important question we need to be asking ourselves constantly.
The Angel of the Lord promises Hagar protection and blesses her. Ismael would become the father of the Arabic people. His half-brother, Isaac, would be come the father of the Jews. And yet still there is bitter animosity and hatred towards each other.
Fun Fact: Ismael is the first person recorded in the Bible to have been given a name before he was born.
God loves all people. He could have allowed Hagar to die in the desert and Ismael later on as well. He doesn’t. He keeps them alive. God has a plan and a love for all.
The name Ismael means “God will hear.” God hears all peoples. Life would not be easy for Hagar or Ismael, but God hears them.
El Roi (You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees). God is with Hagar. Knowing that, she returns with a changed heart.
Jesus is with us always and the Holy Spirit. God sees all of our troubles, heartaches, and pain. And He is there, holding you up when you can’t anymore.
