He Hears

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HE HEARS

Gen 21:14-21

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. 17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

NIV

We do not know the timeframe of this moment in the life of Hagar and Ishmael, but the LORD heard the cry of Ishmael. We wonder how a boy around 14 or 15 years old would be crying because his mother ran out of water and they were thirsty. At some point in Israel's history, around the 6th century, the tradition of Bar-mitzvah began, when a boy of about 12 to 13 became responsible under the law. But at this time, Ishmael would still be just a boy, a child under his mother's care. He is crying, and the LORD heard him and responded, sending a messenger to call out to Hagar, encouraging her not to give up. As impressive as it was to hear from an angel of the LORD, the best part is that he opened her eyes so that she could see a well full of water that gave her and Ishmael life, or we could say, living water. That brings us to two truths, which may be a single truth. First, the LORD heard the cry of Ishmael. That means the LORD hears. Jesus often said, "Who has ears to hear, let him hear." God always has ears to hear, and he always hears our hearts' cry, but perhaps it is still better to voice our cry. We are told that when we thirst for righteousness, we will be filled. Jesus is our righteousness, so then we should be thirsting for Jesus, who is living water. He promised that whosoever drinks the water he gives will never be thirsty again; in fact, it will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Although the LORD opened her eyes to see a well of water, it gave them life, but not eternal life. That is the other truth we need to remember. The LORD opened her eyes so she could see the well of water. The Lord has opened our eyes, just as Jesus said, "Who has eyes to see, let him see." How can we see unless the Lord opens our eyes? How can we hear unless the Lord opens our hearts? Thank you, Lord, for opening our eyes, that we may see you. Thank you, Lord, for opening our ears and hearts, that we may hear you. Thank you, Lord, for hearing our cry.