City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Genesis 21:15-21 (ESV)

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:13 (ESV)

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree

Romans 11:17 (ESV)

Reflection

Hagar and Ishmael, now a teenager, are sent into the desert with nothing in their hands but a loaf of bread and a bottle of water between them. They have been used, despised, and are now thrown out and cut off. The only thing Ishmael and Hagar have is God’s promise to her the last time she was alone in a desert.

God orchestrated this moment, making clear that Isaac, not Ishmael, is chosen as the heir of promise. With the presence of word translated here as “bushes,” the text parallels the Garden of Eden scene from chapter 3. At that time there were no bushes/shrubs at all, but there was plenty of water. Here, everything is parched, and the bushes signify that this place is anti-Eden, serving in this narrative like ominous music in a movie to undertone the expected death that is to occur. However, even in this most desolate place, in this most humiliating exile, God hears Ishmael’s voice, God speaks to Hagar through His messenger, and God personally intervenes by opening her eyes to the presence of the well. They will experience hardship, and they are not chosen as God’s priestly representatives to the world, but God still remembers them, and blesses them with a fruitful multitude of descendants, fulfilling His promise. 

Application

God saw need for Abraham to let go of his own working out of the promise through Ishmael; but God’s promise to one is blessing to all. Today, there are millions of Hagar’s descendants who worship Jesus, and through Him they are grafted into the chosen family of God’s representatives to the world. 

If you feel like you are in a desolate set of circumstances, then I want to encourage you to cry out to the El Roi, the God who Sees, the God who spoke to Hagar, not once, but twice at her lowest moments. We don’t get to see God’s full perspective of our situation when we are in the desolate place, but we can rely on His promises to those who trust Jesus: an eternal, abundant life, that Jesus will be with us, for wisdom when we ask Him for it, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who ask.

Prayer

Father, 

Thank You for hearing me. May You speak Your wisdom to me, that I may know You and Your desire for my life. May you open my eyes to the provision that You have for me, especially in my desolate times. You are true to Your promises. Amen