Even the most stupid of us have 20/20 hindsight. We often see the mistakes we’ve made and wish we could do things over. Most often, I’d do things differently. Well, as Alexander Pope said, “To Err is human.” But to “make matters worse” is another human specialty. I can do that well. This is especially true in how I treat people. Sarai and Abram learned all about making mistakes and then making matters worse.
Sarah gave her maiden, Hagar, to Abram as a sort of surragate mother. Big mistake! Hagar, as soon as she conceived, couldn’t resist the temptation to look down on Sarah with contempt. Sarah makes matters worse by treating Hagar so harshly that she runs away. Notice that neither Abram nor Sarai made any attempt to go after her.
God cares about all His children; slave girls and unborn children alike. He intercedes on her behalf at a place named “Beer Lahai Roi.” That means “God sees.” He speaks to her, comforts her, promises her a son and instructs her to name him “Ishmael” which means, “God hears.” God then sends her back to Abram and her mistress Sarai with a story to tell.
All three of the members of this cast got the message. God sees all our mistakes and how we often make matters worse in the way we treat others. God hears the cry of the abused and will always intercede on their behalf.
All of us should remember that God sees and hears everything we do and say to others!