Title: See with the Eyes of Faith
Contents
Genesis 21:14-21
see with the eyes of faith
In Romans, Paul explained the situation of Israel's refusal to accept the gospel, saying, "It is as though God has given them a spirit of blindness, eyes that will not see, and ears that will not hear" (Romans 11:8). They have eyes but do not see; they have ears but do not hear. That's right. No eyes can see everything, and no ears can hear everything. Jesus said to his disciples, who did not understand the teaching, “Have you eyes, but do not see, and have ears, but do not hear? Do you not remember?” (Mark 8:18), “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. Here is it” (Luke 10:23).
Fanny J. Crosby lost her sight and became blind at the age of six months. However, while living until the age of 95, he wrote 8,000 praise songs. Our hymn contains 21 of his songs, which is the most. Among the songs he wrote, chapter 279 'Graceful Savior', chapter 361 'This Time to Pray', chapter 383 'Come on My Way', chapter 435 'My Eternal Inheritance', chapter 565 'Go To Jesus', etc. There is a song.
A person who is blind and cannot see admits that he cannot see, but a person who is blind and cannot see not only does not know that he is not seeing, but also falls into the illusion that he is seeing everything. The scariest thing about not being able to see is living under the prejudice that you see everything even though you can't see. It is because of prejudice that the ignorant is braver, the fart louder, and the erring one has a louder voice. There is nothing as terrifying as prejudice. The same goes for faith. A saint should not know his own experience as best. Don't force your experiences on others. The subjective should not be objectified, and the relative should not be absolute.
The text tells the story of a man whose physical eyes are open but his spiritual eyes are closed. He is a woman named Hagar. Hagar was Sarah's servant. Sarah, who was barren, gave Hagar to her husband, Abraham, to have a child through her servant Hagar. According to the custom of the time, a barren woman could give her maid to her husband's wife, and the resulting children were regarded as the wife's children. In today's terms, she is a surrogate mother. Finally, Abraham gave birth to a son named Ishmael through Sarah's servant Hagar.
However, the problem arises when Sarah, who has been barren after 14 years, gives birth to a son, Isaac. God blessed Sarah by opening her womb and giving birth to a son named Isaac. Abraham was so happy that he had a great feast when his son Isaac was weaned. But Ishmael, jealous of this, mocked and harassed Isaac. The conflict between Isaac and Ishmael brought tragedy to Abraham's family. The conflict between Sarah and Hagar, and between Isaac and Ishmael, put the family on the brink of destruction. Abraham and Sarah, who did not believe in God's promise, tried to accomplish God's will in a human way, but their family was in danger of being destroyed.
A saint must not live in the way of the world. God's people must live the way God pleases. Even though the road is narrow and difficult, God wants His children to go on the path of truth, the path of life. The path of faith is not a broad one. It is a narrow road. This is the way people avoid it. But it is the way to eternal life. It is a path that pleases God. Dear brothers and sisters, be prepared and live your life. Do not hesitate or be afraid to suffer in the world. Our Lord suffered, too, and because the suffering Lord knows what we are going through, He protects us and gives us the strength and strength to bear it.
The conflict between Isaac and Ishmael eventually escalated into a conflict between Sarah and Hagar, and Sarah became impatient and demanded of Abraham to drive Hagar out. Abraham was deeply troubled by this. But after hearing God's words, "Do not be troubled and do as Sarah told me," I decided to drive out Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham got up early the next morning, put bread and a skin of water on Hagar's shoulders, and drove them out with Ishmael. After being driven out, Hagar was wandering in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water ran out, Hagar died, leaving her son at a distance of about an arrow flying away, and she sat down and wept. Then an angel of God called Hagar from heaven and said, “Hagar, what happened? Don't be afraid. God heard the cry of the child lying there.” And he opened Hagar's eyes. Hagar found a spring nearby and filled the skin with water and made her son float and drink.
Hagar did not find the well until God opened her eyes. It was not that the well was not found because it did not exist, but that it was not found when it was there. The place where Hagar wandered is called Beersheba, which is a combination of the two words ‘beer’ meaning ‘well’ and ‘sheba’ meaning ‘seven’, meaning ‘seven wells’. This Beer-Sheba is the place where Abraham and Isaac dug a well, and it was named because there were seven wells that Abraham and Isaac dug. As such, there were many wells here. Although there is little precipitation because there are many wells, it is an agricultural area. There were so many wells, but Hagar could not find them.
1. First, Hagar couldn't find the well because her eyes were closed in anger.
Read verse 14. “Abraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin bag of water, put it on Hagar’s shoulder, and took the child, and Hagar went out and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.” Amen. Abandoned by Abraham, Hagar became a man of anger because of a sense of betrayal.
(1) Hagar was angry with Abraham.
When his wife Sarah was barren, Abraham tried to obtain an heir through Hagar. And when Hagar gave birth to a son, they wanted to make him his heir. But when his wife gave birth to a son, he treated him and his son badly. And he pretended not to be able to overcome his wife's jealousy, and finally filled him with bread and a skin of water and drove him and Ishmael out. People in the world say, 'Swallow it when it's sweet and spit it out when it's used', but isn't this impossible? They didn't give them a lot of money, they didn't give them a house to live in, they didn't pay child support. Have you ever been betrayed? Among the sorrows that humans feel, the sense of betrayal is the greatest sorrow. How heartbreaking was it when you were betrayed by someone you trusted? Hagar was angry with Abraham's betrayal, and that anger closed her eyes so that she could not see the well.
(2) Hagar was angry with Sarah.
It was not that Hagar wanted to conceive Abraham's child. Sarah pushed herself into Abraham's room. But now that he has given birth to a son, he and Ishmael are expelled. It was Sarah who gave all the causes. But now, he not only puts all the blame on himself, but also kicks him out almost empty-handed without paying a penny in compensation, isn't it? At least how much alimony should not be given? They are kicked out, let alone alimony. So how angry would you have been with Sarah when she was kicked out? Her anger closed Hagar's eyes so she could not see the well.
(3) Hagar was angry with Isaac.
If Isaac had not been born, his son Ishmael would have become Abraham's heir, and he would have been treated as the heir's mother himself. However, when Isaac was born, he not only lost his heir status overnight, but was also downgraded to second place even though he was 14 years older. Abraham's love and interest were all directed to Isaac, and Ishmael and Hagar became cold meals. So how much did you hate Isaac? Her hatred and anger closed Hagar's eyes so that she could not see the well.
Anger begets anger, making it impossible to see. Blinds humans and creates a volcano of wrath in their chest. Hagar was on the verge of an explosion of anger against Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, who should not have been born, who used her and abandoned her like a devoted partner because she was no longer worthwhile. So, even though there were many wells, he wept that he died without seeing the wells.
2. Second, because of despair, Hagar closed her eyes and could not find the well.
Read verses 15-16. “The water in the leather sack ran out, and he left the child under the bushes and said, “I will never see the child die.” Amen. Amen.
They were driven out and came to Beersheba, but the water ran out. Water has run out in the wilderness, and if you can't find it, you may die. When I thought I was going to die, I was overcome with despair and lost my judgment. Nothing was visible. There is a proverb in our proverb, “A man who is startled by a fire is surprised when he sees poker.” Despair is the poison that kills people. 'Despair' and 'Fear' make a rotten cord mistaken for a snake. The philosopher Kierkegaard called despair a disease unto death. Physical death is the path to eternal life, but despair leads to final death, so despair is said to be a disease that leads to death. Trapped in despair, all Hagar can do now is cry. So I cried out, putting my son within shooting range.