He Knows My Name
One-Year Bible: 01/07/2023
Genesis 16:1-18:15
He Knows My Name
“He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call.” (He Knows My Name, Tommy Walker)
Despite the mess Abram and Sarai made in running ahead of God, God never ran on without them!
God came to Abram in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son?” (15:1-2)
Despite the mess Abram and Sarai had made, we are told that “Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
That is an essential lesson for all of us. It is not the perfect execution of our faith, but where we place our trust! God sees Abram amid all his doubts, fears, and mistakes. He sees his barren wife, Sarai, also.
Even more stunning in this message today is that God also sees the handmaiden, Hagar, who Abram slept with, in agreement with Sarai’s proposal. From a Biblical perspective, we could say that Hagar was “The Mistake.” Not only did Abram sleep with her, but she bore a son named Ishmael for him. His name means “God will hear.”
Sarai’s proposal has now turned to regret, hatred, and rage!
Abram did what his wife proposed, but now her “contempt” is spilling onto him. The plan has backfired!
Sometimes taking things into “our own hands” doesn’t make us happy. Listen to Sarai’s words, “This is all YOUR FAULT! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant, she treats me with contempt. The LORD will show who’s wrong-- you or me!” (16:5)
Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she ran away. It was Abram and Sarai’s mess, but God intervened with a message of hope. He sent an angel to find Hagar beside a water spring in the wilderness.
Listen to Hagar’s words about the God that found her in the wilderness when she had nothing but death ahead of her, “You are the God who sees me. Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (16:13)
Her son would never be the one God sent to them as the promised son who would bring about the lineage promised to Abraham. No, He was conceived out of man’s fallen plan. But God still cared, came, and comforted her in her distress.
God has a way of changing our brokenness into a blessing, which is exactly what He did for Abram, Sarai, and Hagar.
He changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai to “Sarah.” He would be the “Father of a great multitude,” and she would be the “Mother of Nations.”
They were circumcised in accordance with this covenant. God told them of their son, who would come to Abraham at the age of 100.
When Abraham heard all of this from God, “he bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief.” (17:16)
His name was to be “Issac,” meaning “One Who Laughs” or “One Who Rejoices.”
If you find yourself in a “desert of sorts,” perhaps you might want to fall to your knees and laugh as well because…
HE KNOWS YOUR NAME!
