Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

November 27, 2020

by Kerwin Baptist

Bible Reading: Genesis 16
Names of God – El Roi: The God Who Sees
“And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” Genesis 16:13

In our passage today, we see Hagar, Sarai’s handmade, who was pregnant with Abram’s son. God made a promise to Abram that he would have a child, and from him would come a great nation. The problem was Abram was now 86 years old. So, Sarai tells him to have a child with her handmaid Hagar. Later Sarai and Hagar become jealous of each other, and Hagar runs away. What a mess! Often when we try to do something our own way instead of God’s way it will always ends up in a mess.

Here is Hagar, alone, pregnant, desperate, thinking no one cares for her. Surely, she probably heard Abram talk of God. How He was the Creator and the Most High, but she may have thought, “Does He care or even see me?” Then, by a lonely spring in the desert, she has a visitor, the “angle of the Lord.” Often when we see this throughout the Old Testament, this would be called a “Christophany.” It is a preincarnate appearance of Christ himself. Essentially this is God himself speaking to Hagar. He knows who she, what she is experiencing, that she is with child, and He even makes a promise to her. Notice, His name in this passage is El Roi or the God who sees. I find that so interesting that He came to Hagar in person to show He cared. He wanted to make sure she knew He was the God who sees all.

I do not know what you may be going through today, but we can be thankful for God’s omniscience and omnipresence. Yes, He is our Creator, and He is the High Sovereign Ruler. More personally, He is the El Roi the God who see me and sees you. No matter what you have been through or currently going through, He knows and sees you. If you have accepted Him through Salvation, He is there to comfort, and give you His mercy and grace. He promises to help and guide you as you seek Him. “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee:for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.” Psalm 9:10. No matter what you may be going through today, you can find rest and peace in El Roi: The God Who sees.

David Fulp II