RUNNERS, TAKE YOUR MARK . . . GET SET . . . GO!

January 22, 2013

RUNNERS, TAKE YOUR MARK . . . GET SET . . . GO!

Genesis 16

Trece Reed

Central Truth

Run wholeheartedly and fully committed toward God in all aspects of your life. When you lose focus and pursue your own will instead of His, there will be consequences . . . likely unpleasant.

Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going?" And she said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." (Genesis 16:7-8)

Sarai and Hagar

1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children^{1

16:2
Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children} by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.^{2

16:4
Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5} 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
    and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,^{3

16:11
Ishmael means God hears}
    because the LORD has listened to your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,
    his hand against everyone
    and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”^{4

16:13
Or You are a God who sees me} for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”^{5

16:13
Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me?} 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;^{6

16:14
Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me} it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Footnotes

[1] 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children
[2] 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5
[3] 16:11 Ishmael means God hears
[4] 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me
[5] 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me?
[6] 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me

Watching the Olympic athletes sprint across the track is a sight that cannot be missed. Developing the ability required to tear through the finish line takes a huge amount of perseverance and hard work. The athletes' focus is solely on the goal set before them. When I think of my own little strolls, I realize they look nothing like those Olympic track events. My afternoon walks don't require much energy or thought and rarely do I focus on where exactly I'm going.

If our relationship with God is similar to these unfocused strolls, it can lead to unpleasant consequences. Genesis 16 paints a picture for us of what it looks like when we wander away from the LORD.

Sarai struggled to wait patiently for God's promise of a child for Abram and her. She doubted God and chose to take things into her own hands by trying to make God's promises come true on her schedule, not His (see verse 2). Abram went right along with Sarai's plan, but then turned from the problem when things went wrong, giving rise to frustrated, bitter hearts (see verses 5-6). Hagar then ran away from her problems and from her mistress, Sarai, but she wasn't running toward God (see verse 6). Everything ended poorly as Hagar lost her home, Sarai lost her maid, and Abram lost his child by Hagar.

Although this lack of focus on God led to chaos for everyone involved, God was still in control of the situation. This chapter encourages our hearts to keep from wandering and focus on the promises He has given us. Even though our own way can seem so right, it will only lead to death and separation from God.

What a sweet joy it is to know we no longer need to waste our energy aimlessly strolling around trying to find life outside of God. Instead, we can look to the One who has forgiven us and allows our footsteps to be guided by His Word.

1. When have you run the fastest toward God because you believed that His promises were alive and true?

2. When was the last time that you were sprinting so quickly toward God that others asked you about it?

3. Have you read Hebrews 12:1?