I See You!

By: Carole Hicks (11/4/23)

I was awakened this morning by the phrase, “the God who sees” from the story of when Hagar had been abused by Sarah (wife of Abraham) and was near death from thirst in the desert. (Genesis 16, then again years later in Genesis 21 with her son, Ishmael)

In my opinion, the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar is probably one of the most prevalent examples of what I mean by the term, “peopleness.”   For one thing, ‘in my own peopleness”, I cannot understand why God was so fond of Abram (Abraham) because on many instances, he seemed like a real cad. (A “cad” is a man who acts with deliberate disregard for another’s feelings or rights and behaves dishonorably toward a woman. Do a little study on the guy.

Nevertheless … God saw something in Abraham and was fond of him. He made him a heap load of promises, in this example, regarding his offspring.

God had promised Abraham and Sarah that in their old age, they would have a son. Well, the couple kept getting older and older (really OLD), so Sarah (the fixer) decided she needed to help God along in the plan. She presented her maidservant, Hagar, to Abram to bed and bear a child with.

Abram, being that cad, said, “Well, alright. I guess I can do that.” (paraphrased) (even tho’ he knew exactly what God had told him years earlier)

It’s not clear whether Hagar was amenable to the plan but being a slave, she probably didn’t have a choice in the matter.  Abraham was about 85-86, but the Bible doesn’t say how old Hagar was.  Since she was still able to bear children, one would think she was quite a bit younger than Sarah.

You know how it goes.  Hagar gets pregnant by ol’ Abe and her peopleness showed up in feeling haughty toward Sarah (who had been so generous to let Hagar have sex with her husband in the first place … it WAS her plan after all, right?) (tongue in cheek)

So as wife and mistress situations go, Sarah was jealous of the younger gal.  Then, (even tho’ it was her idea), she blamed Abraham for her suffering (probably noticed how quickly/easily he gave in to her suggestion in the first place).  If we do a little critical thinking, Sarah probably wanted Abraham to refuse and say something like … “No Honey … you’re enough woman for me … I’d rather be with you and wait than to go out chasing tail with some young hottie.”  (but he didn’t)

Part ONE of the peopleness is that rather than letting God be God … Sarah took matters into her own hands and tried to “be the all-powerful” in her own people-ish ways.

THEN … when she started feeling like “nothing” compared to Hagar … she says to Abraham, “Let’s see which one of us God thinks is right.” (hmmmm … ain’t it just like us)

But Abe … well … he was a bit of a “passive” cad, and said, “Ehh, you decide. Your maid is your business.” (The Message, Genesis 16:6)

So, Sarah became abusive to Hagar (“CAT FIGHT”) and “pregnant” Hagar ran away into the desert.

But an Angel of God found her there and advised her to “stop crying and get back home and just put up with Sarah’s abuse. He said, “God sees you” and promised her that she was going to be the mother of a BIG family. This gave her some comfort and the wherewithal to go back to her home with the Abrahams. (such as it was)

About 14 years down the road, (Genesis 21) … well, just as God had promised, Sarah gets pregnant. (she’s about 90 and Abe is about 100).  Sarah found humor in the fact that God and basically said, “Who would’ve thunk it … but I’ve given the old man a son!”

As the Abrahamson boys grew, (they were about 14 years apart), the older one was “messing” with the younger one … and Isaac’s helicopter mom got involved.  She didn’t like Ishmael (slave’s son) poking fun at her precious little prince.  (that’s just how mother bears are)

So, she went to Abe and said, “Get rid of this gal and her kid. I’ll not have him sharing an inheritance with “our” baby boy.”  The Bible says that Abraham was feeling some inner conflict from his usual cad-ness because probably he’d grown fond of Ishmael, as well as his baby boy. (both his sons)

He must have prayed about it because God told him not to worry about Ishmael.  God was going to make a great nation out of his descendants … but Isaac’s offspring were the “Promises” He’d spoke of years before.  

So … Ishmael was a result of their peopleness … and Isaac was God’s plan.  But God was/did “cover” for their lack of trust/faith, and patience. 

Abraham tried to do a decent thing … the next morning he packed up a nice picnic lunch and some water in a backpack, gave it to Hagar and told her to “get on out of there.” She and Ishmael wandered off into the desert until the water ran out … then they were just at their wits end.  About dead from thirst (again).  They were both crying in this desolate, desert land and God heard them crying.

He sent an Angel to her, telling her to “not be afraid” …” I see you. I hear you.”  “Go get your son and hold him tight … I’m going to make him a great nation.”  Then God showed her this well, and she filled her canteen and gave her son a long drink.

The Bible says, “God was on the boy’s side as he grew up.” (I see him.)  (The Message)

I really do like this story as it confirms with me just how merciful and gracious God is with us. He takes our “messes” and makes a “message.”

Recently, I was having a conversation with someone who asked (regarding the issues in Israel and Palestine) … “what is it that “they” want.”

Then, I recalled another recent conversation about the issues of diversity and inclusion that many workplaces are focusing on, and the person asked … “what is it that “they” want.”

I’ve been reading a book by David Brooks, titled, “How to Know a Person,” and one clear point he makes in his book is “People want to know they are “seen”.”

And as I mentioned at the beginning, this morning, about 6:30, I was awakened by the phrase, “the God who sees.” 

I am reminded of times in my life … in my own desert … when I longed for someone to “see” me.  Not necessarily to be “recognized” or “praised” in a peopleness kind of way … but just someone to say, “I see you.”  “I see you are trying.  I see you are struggling. I see you are human. I see YOU!”

This book by Brooks, talks about how there are “Diminishers” and there are “Illuminators” in this life.  Sometimes life circumstances foster how/where we fit in to those qualifiers.  But if our goal/objective is to follow our Maker … GOD … the One who saw Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and the boys in all their peopleness —- surely, we can know He sees us and wants us. Surely, in that endeavor to be more like Him, we can answer the call to be “illuminators” instead of “diminishers” for others.  Let us all continue to take the time and space to let someone know, “I see you, too.”