Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Tonight’s Study – Session 3: El Roi – The God Who Sees Me

Introduction: The second name for God that we will look at in the Names of God series is El Roi – The God Who Sees Me. An Egyptian slave, Hagar, encountered God in the desert and addressed Him as El Roi, “the God who sees me.” Notably, this is the only occurrence of El Roi in the Bible. God is the one who numbers the hairs on our heads and who knows our circumstances, past, present, and future. When we pray to El Roi, we are praying to the one who knows everything about us.

Key Scripture Passage and Context Where El Roi is Found

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So, he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.” So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”

And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore, the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. So, Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. (Genesis 1:1-16)

Hagar named Yahweh, who had been speaking to her, “You Are El Roi,” which means, “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees Me.”

This is why the well is named Beer Lahai Roi, which means, “The One Who Lives and Sees Me.” It is still there between Kadesh and Bered to this day (Genesis 16:14).

God Reveals His Name in Scripture – Genesis 16

Verses 7 and 8

Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

-the Angel of the Lord – This special individual spoke as though He were distinct from Yahweh yet also spoke in the first person as though He were indeed to be identified as Yahweh Himself, with Hagar recognizing that in seeing this Angel, she had seen God.

The Difference between The Angel of the Lord and an angel of the Lord

• In The Old Testament, “The Angel of the Lord” is a special messenger of God who appears in many important contexts. The Angel of the Lord speaks as God, identifies himself with God, and assumes God’s responsibilities.
• “An angel of the Lord” is a general term for any angel of God.

Verses 9-10

The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”

The Angel of the Lord continues to speak to Hagar, reassuring her that He sees her in her time of need and makes a promise to her.

Verses 13-14

Recognizing the Angel as God ascribing this new name, “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees” arose from Hagar’s astonishment at having been the object of God’s gracious attention. The theophany and revelation led her to call Him also “The One Who Lives and Sees Me” (Beer Lahai Roi).

Understanding the Name

In the ancient world it was not uncommon for an infertile wife to arrange for a slave girl to sleep with her husband so that the family could have an heir. In fact, Ishmael, the son born to Abram and Hagar, would have been considered Sarai’s legal offspring. Hagar and Ishmael might have fared better had Hagar not forgotten her place the moment she learned of her pregnancy. Still, Sarai’s treatment of her seems inexcusable and harsh.

In the midst of her difficulties, Hagar learned that El Roi was watching over her and that He had a plan to bless her and her son. One of Abraham’s grandsons, Esau married Ishmael’s daughter, and it was the Ishmaelite traders (also referred to as Midianite merchants in Genesis 37:26-28), themselves descended from an Egyptian slave, who transported his great-grandson Joseph into slavery in Egypt.

God allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery in Egypt to save his family and the nation of Israel from starvation during a severe famine by managing Egypt’s grain stores and distributing food to provide for His chosen people even through the hardship of slavery. El Roi has been watching over His people throughout history, seeing every challenge they will face and being the “God Who Sees Me” is able to work all things out for our good and bring glory to Himself.

Promises from God’s Word that reiterate the fact that He is El Roi – The God Who Sees Me:

• 1 Samuel 16:7: God looks at the heart, not just the outward appearance.
• Psalm 139:1: God knows us and has searched us.
• Psalm 139:2: God knows when we sit and rise and perceives our thoughts from afar.
• Proverbs 15:3: God watches everywhere, keeping an eye on both good and evil.
• Isaiah 43:4: God sees us as precious and honored, and He loves us so much that He would exchange nations for us.
• Hebrews 4:13: God sees every creature, and no one is hidden from His sight.

Conclusion: It is important for us as believers today to remember that the God of the Old Testament that saw Hagar in her time of difficulty is the same God, El Roi who sees us in our time of difficulty. In fact, He is the God who sees everything about us and our lives, the good and the bad. He is the God who neither sleeps nor slumbers, His eyes are always upon us, watching over us. We need not be down-trodden, depressed, and defeated as Christians individually, but remember that El Roi is the God Who Sees Me!