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Theme: Discovering Wisdom - God Calls His People (Genesis-Ruth)
1. Do you have a favorite name of God? Maybe you’ve heard these names before: Elohim (God the Creator), El-Shaddai (God Almighty), and Adonai (Lord and Master). Which others have you heard? What do they mean?
2. Hagar gives God a name: El Roi, “the God who sees me.” As you listen to this episode, think about how God sees you, blesses you, and keeps his promises.
After you listen
Memory Verse
Hagar thought, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?” So from then on, she called him “The God Who Sees Me.”
Quiz
A: God said, “ I will bless you and make your descendants a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
A: She was impatiently waiting for God’s promises and could not imagine how God would make that happen as she grew older.
A: It means “God hears.”
Reflect
Hagar was a woman with no power or status. She wasn’t an Israelite. She was a servant to Sarah and Abraham. Sarah mistreated Hagar, which made her flee into the wilderness. When their supplies ran out in the wilderness, Hagar, fearing for Ishmael's life, cried out to God. God heard her and provided water, saving their lives.
Hagar is the first person in Scripture to be visited by an angel, and she gives God the name El Roi, “the God who sees me.” This encounter changed Hagar forever. Amid her pain and struggle, Hagar receives God’s blessing and promises. God knows and has heard her cries and cared for her. She now has faith and hope that God will guide her and her son Ishmael, and they will never be alone.
This mighty name of God, El Roi, has power today. God sees you in your struggles and in your pain, too. You are one of God’s children, created in his image. That makes you valuable to God. God is present, and he can lift you up. Listen to God’s blessings and promises for you as well.
Read all about the story of Hagar in Genesis 16 and Genesis 21. Dig deeper and learn more about “the God who sees me.” Check out Psalm 139:1-4; Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 10:29-31 and 1 Peter 3:12.
Challenge
Check out these verses to discover where God uses the following names in the Bible and why the people call him those names.
Jehovah/Yahweh (Exodus 3:14-15)
Elohim (Genesis 1:1)
El-Shaddai (Genesis 17:1-2)
Adonai (Psalm 16:2)
Yahweh Yireh (Genesis 22:13-14)
Yahweh Rapha (Exodus 15:26)
