El Roi: The God Who Sees Us
By Emma Danzey
Bible Reading
“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” – Genesis 16:13
Have you ever felt unseen in life? Maybe you are a husband and father working really hard to provide for your family in long days of mundane tasks. Perhaps you are a middle school girl who feels invisible among her classmates. You could be a new mom who is spending most of her days feeding the baby alone. Or maybe you are battling a difficult illness that has you bedridden most days? Whether your time feeling unseen has been short-lived or long-term, the truth is that God sees you, and God sees everyone. We are never truly forgotten or alone.
“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’”
The Hebrew name Hagar gave in this passage was El Roi. If anyone had a right to feel unseen, it was Hagar. She was forced to sleep with her boss to provide a child to him. Abraham and Sarah did not trust the promise the Lord had given them, and their lack of trust led to major consequences. Sarah was so desperate for the promise to be fulfilled that she gave her husband to her servant Hagar to have children through her. Abraham went right along with the plan, knowing it was sinful. Hagar conceived. Then, Hagar was treated poorly by Sarah because God never planned for a man to have more than one wife.
Hagar decided to flee into the wilderness. The angel of the Lord met her there. He gave her a promise of hope in the midst of her pain and suffering. She felt unseen and alone. However, in the darkest moment, in the middle of nowhere, God, her El Roi saw her and ministered to her; He even gave her a promise for her children.
“For she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”
This is a beautiful concept. Throughout the Scriptures, we read about God seeing us. He saw us first.
Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psalm 17:8 says, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”
James 4:8a says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
No one could see the face of God and live. Hagar saw the angel of the Lord. Carissa Quinn from The Bible Project shares more, “This story illustrates the complex way the authors portray this figure as both Yahweh and distinct from Yahweh.” In Hagar’s story, the angel of the Lord was God. She goes on to explain, “This figure helps us make sense of Jesus’ claims. This figure creates space for understanding the Trinity. And this figure helps us know God’s character more.”
Hagar had the opportunity to see God. The beauty is that we all who believe in Jesus have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We may not physically see God, but He is ever-present, residing in our hearts. We have the invitation to know Him, He is right there and sees us, He is calling us to come to Him and see Him, too. Not only are we fully known in every moment of our lives, we are also dearly loved and invited to see the Living Savior Jesus.
When we hear the lies from the enemy that tell us we are forgotten, unworthy, alone, isolated, or not good enough, we can combat that with the reminder that the Lord Himself went to seek after Hagar to reveal that He was El Roi, the God who sees me.” We might feel small, but the reality is that we are deeply loved and pursued by Christ.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
How do you feel unseen in life right now? How does remembering that God sees you help you regain your identity in Him and your value? In what ways can you tell and show others that the Lord sees them, too?
Further Reading:
Psalm 34:15
2 Chronicles 16:9
Jeremiah 23:24
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Ahmed Hasan
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