March 8, 2023
Have you ever drank from a natural spring? A little stream of water oozing from the earth. How about from an old well, a natural pit or one dug or formed by man to collect water?
When I was a child our family went from the city out to the country and visited distant family members. They had a well, dug by their grandfather many years before. It was probably 20-30 feet deep, had a circular stone retaining wall so no one would fall in, and the water was retrieved by a bucket and crank. Have you ever hauled up cool water and taken a long refreshing sip on a hot day … or maybe the right word is slurp?
In the Bible and Middle Eastern history, wells were and still are an essential ingredient for life. Humans, domesticated animals, and irrigation of crops depend upon wells being vibrant and available. Wells belonged to and were often named by the person who dug or found them. Wells speak of ownership, prosperity, community, and health. Many names of places in Biblical history – are compounded with B’er (the Hebrew word “well”), such as Be’er Sheva or Beersheba, Beeroth, Beer Elim, and Beer-lahai-roi, etc.
The idea of drinking from wells is woven throughout the Scriptures and it has both a positive and negative meaning (danger, self-will, emptiness, etc.) I think most of us have seen western or military type movies where a well has run dry, been poisoned, is used as a site for an impending ambush, or is not real, but a mirage brought on by one’s tremendous thirst and or deteriorating eating mental condition.
In Genesis 16 we see the first mention of a well in the Bible, and it may have been hand-dug or a pool that was fed by a natural spring. In this chapter, we see the story of Abram, his wife Sarai, and her hand maid, Hagar.
Gotquestions.org states, “God had promised Abram children, but it had been years and still no children had come. Abram’s wife, Sarai, suggests that Abram take Sarai’s slave girl Hagar and have a child with her. In the thinking of the day, the slave girl would have the child for her mistress. Genesis 16:4-14.
(We see the same sort of thinking throughout the Bible were people step out of the will of God and try to control the situations of life in their own power, and according to their own timetable. Something that all of us have done or are doing in our own life today. It truly shows the reality of sinfulness and selfishness on our part.)
Their human plan is successful, and Hagar conceives. However, as might be expected, strife and jealousy ensue. Hagar feels prideful, and Sarai blames Abram. Hagar probably feels used. Abram tells Sarai to deal with the situation, however she sees fit. So, Sarai mistreats Hagar, and Hagar runs away, fleeing into the desert. She feels alone and abandoned. She believes that both she and her child will die. She is without hope, a future, a redeemer, or any idea of what to do next.
It is there, in the midst of her suffering, despair, and anxiety we read of a well and God’s intervention in her life. Afterwards, this simple well is called, Beer-Lahai-Roi “You are the God who sees me.”
As we read the chapter we see that Hagar is desperate … thinking she is totally abandoned and at the mercy of the cruel world she lived in. But, the Lord sought her out and let her know that He was aware of her PROBLEM, He gave her a PROMISE, and described the POTENTIAL He had in mind for her.
All sounds good doesn’t it?? When we are in jam, when life is unfair, when we are having a bad day, when circumstances are against us, when others are the blame for our problems – real or perceived, we can count on good ole God to bail us out!
Many people think that at times like this we can simply sit, sulk, scowl, sour, sob, squawk, and feel sorry about life. But, note what the Lord’s word to Hagar was in v. 9 “Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”
God didn’t deliver Hagar FROM the trouble, but presented her with a PATHWAY through the trouble. He knew the PROBLEM, gave a PROMISE, and described her POTENTIAL or future … but she had to obediently follow the PATHWAY God gave pointed out to her. Just like Joseph, David and Jesus had to suffer through the circumstances of life, the PATHWAY of obedience honors God, develops our character, and influences those who watch us.
This doesn’t mean that we are a doormat to be trod upon or victim of or circumstances. Instead, we realize God has a master plan for our life, greater than the pain and discomfort of what we face. He allows us to experience Him as He walks alongside of us to fulfill the promises and potential He has spoken of in His Word, the Bible.
BE. In 2023 BE someone who has confidence that God sees you in the midst of life; both good and bad. Moreover, BE someone who walks obediently to what God has revealed in His Word.