The God Who Hears Our Cry
God is sensitive to our life circumstances and to the plight of the least, the last, the lost and the left out. He hears our cry for mercy and He responds to us out of His love and His compassion. He will hear us when we cry out to Him in the midst of our desolation. And not only will He hear our cry, He will respond with the power of His divine presence, with His divine protection and with His divine provision to bring us into His divine promise. That’s what we can take away from our reading of Genesis 21:8-20, as God hears and responds to the anguished cry of an outcast (Ishmael) who is alone and dying in the wilderness. I pray that in your wilderness situation, that you will turn to the One who hears your cry and responds with all that you need.
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. (Gen. 21:8-11) We see here both the son of the flesh (Ishmael) and the son of the promise (Isaac). Isaac was promised to Abraham and Sarah by God. Ishmael was conceived when Abraham and Sarah failed to trust God and instead used Hagar (their servant) to give Abraham a son. Both are Abraham’s seed but we see immediately in this scripture that there is conflict between them. Their conflict is rooted in the sin of the conflict between their different mothers (see Gen 16:6). After she observed Ishmael mocking Isaac, Sarah puts it to Abraham that Ishmael must go. But because both of them were his sons, her demand created conflict (distress) within Abraham as he considered what to do about Ishmael. The things of the flesh and the things of the Spirit are always in conflict. The promises of God result from our separating from the flesh and walking with the Spirit.
But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” 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. (Gen. 21:12-14) God confirmed to Abraham that what Sarah told him to do about Ishmael was right. The covenant (see Gen. 12:2-3) that God made with Abraham would only be fulfilled through Isaac. Abraham was to send Ishmael and his mother away. But God told Abraham not to be distressed about Ishmael because He would cause Ishmael to also become a nation. All of this is a confirmation of what God had previously told Abraham about Isaac and Ishmael (Gen 17:19-21). The next morning after hearing from God, Abraham acted in obedience and sent Hagar and Ishmael away. God is faithful if we will just wait on Him and trust Him to do what He said He would do.
When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. 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. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. ” 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. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. (Gen. 21:15-20). The skin of water that Abraham gave to Hagar, was soon used up in the desert. Hagar set Ishmael under the shade of a bush and then went away from him so she wouldn’t have to watch her son die of thirst. Hagar began crying, but it was Ishmael whose cries God heard and responded to. God comforted Hagar with His word that He would make Ishmael into a great nation. God opened her eyes to His planned protection of Ishmael as well as opening her eyes to His planned provision for them in the midst of their desert experience. God hears our cry in the desert wilderness of our lives and He answers us with springs of living water that will never run dry.
The story of Ishmael in Gen. 21:8-20 highlights God’s grace and mercy toward us. As he lay dying in a desert wilderness, Ishmael cried out to God and God heard him and saved him. What is it that you are anguished about, in fear of or distressed over? God is gracious to hear your cry. He is a God who has compassion on those He loves. He especially has compassion for the downtrodden and the outcast. Don’t be dismayed by what you’re going through, for He has not abandoned or forsaken you. He sees you in your wilderness experience. And you can be assured that when you cry out to Him, He will hear and He will answer you!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
Listen here for Marvin Winans singing “For I Have Heard Your Cry”
