Thinking About Hagar’s Encounter with El Ro’i
Isaac Megbolugbe
September 25, 2025
Introduction
In Genesis 16:13 of the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), we find a significant moment in the narrative of Hagar, an Egyptian servant of Sarai (Sarah). This verse captures Hagar’s response after encountering God in the wilderness.
Context of Hagar’s Encounter
– Hagar’s Situation: Hagar was fleeing from Sarai’s harsh treatment after becoming pregnant with Abram’s (Abraham’s) child.
– Encounter with God: In the wilderness, Hagar encountered an angel of Adonai (the Lord), who spoke to her.
Verse B’resheet (Genesis) 16:13 CJB
– Naming God: “So she named Adonai who had spoken with her El Ro’i [God of seeing], because she said, ‘Have I really seen the One who sees me [and stayed alive]?'”
– Significance of El Ro’i: Hagar names God “El Ro’i,” meaning “God of seeing” or “God who sees me.” This reflects her awe at being seen by God and surviving the encounter.
Themes of the Encounter
– God’s Awareness: The name “El Ro’i” emphasizes God’s awareness of Hagar’s situation.
– Hagar’s Response: Hagar’s naming of God highlights her recognition of God’s presence and oversight.
Conclusion
In B’resheet (Genesis) 16:13 CJB, Hagar’s encounter with God leads her to name God “El Ro’i,” underscoring the theme of God’s seeing and knowing individuals in their distress. This passage reveals aspects of God’s interaction with individuals in biblical narratives.
El Roi – The Knowing and Seeing God
Encountering God in our circumstances and life situations, especially when experiencing life’s struggles and trials, often brings to mind the reality of Hagar’s experience in Genesis 16:13. This passage records Hagar naming the LORD “El Roi,” meaning “The God who sees me,” after an encounter in the wilderness with the angel of the LORD.
Context of Genesis 16:13
– Hagar’s Distress: Hagar, an Egyptian servant of Abraham and Sarah, fled from Sarah’s harsh treatment after conceiving a child through Abraham via Sarah’s plan.
– Encounter with the Angel of the LORD: In the wilderness, the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water, spoke to her, and promised descendants.
The Encounter and Naming of El Roi
– God’s Awareness and Promise: The angel instructed Hagar to return and submit to Sarah, promising a great nation from her descendants.
– Naming God “El Roi”: Hagar named God “El Roi” (“The God who sees me”), recognizing God’s personal attention to her situation, pain, and future.
Significance of El Roi
– God’s Awareness: Genesis 16:13 emphasizes God’s intimate awareness of individuals’ struggles and innermost thoughts.
– Source of Comfort: Knowing God sees us completely, fully, and lovingly brings comfort and encouragement in difficult times.
– Presence in Pain: Hagar’s experience shows God meets people in pain and distress, offering guidance, hope, and reminding them they’re not alone.
Conclusion
The concept of El Roi – The God who sees me – highlights God’s personal involvement and concern with individuals’ lives. In struggles and trials, remembering God sees and knows us can bring significant comfort. Hagar’s experience in Genesis 16:13 illustrates this truth about God’s nature.
The Intimate Nature of God’s Presence
God’s awareness of individuals’ struggles and innermost thoughts is a theme emphasized in biblical passages like Genesis 16:13 with Hagar’s encounter with El Roi (“The God who sees me”). This intimate nature of God’s presence is further illustrated in the New Testament through Jesus’ teachings.
God’s Awareness and Care
– Intimate Knowledge: Genesis 16:13 highlights God’s awareness of individuals’ struggles. Jesus reinforces this in Matthew 10:29-31 and Luke 12:6-7.
– Details of Creation: Jesus notes that God knows even the smallest details, like the number of hairs on one’s head (Matthew 10:29-31, Luke 12:6-7).
Biblical Context: Matthew 10:29-31 and Luke 12:6-7
– Sparrows and Hairs: Jesus compares God’s care for sparrows to His care for humans, emphasizing humans are worth more.
– Message of Comfort: Jesus intends to alleviate fear and anxiety by stressing God’s personal care.
Meaning and Interpretation
– Divine Care and Attention: God’s knowledge of details like hairs on one’s head demonstrates constant, personal care.
– Assurance and Comfort: This emphasizes God values people deeply and they shouldn’t fear, knowing they’re protected.
– Human Value: People are deeply valued by God, shown through His intimate knowledge.
Conclusion
The intimate nature of God’s presence involves God being aware of and caring about even the smallest details of individuals’ lives. Passages like Matthew 10:29-31 and Luke 12:6-7 reassure people of their value to God, encouraging them not to be afraid. This understanding of God’s nature can bring comfort in life’s struggles.
The Comfort of God’s Presence
The presence of God is a profound source of comfort for those navigating life’s challenges. Knowing that God sees us completely, fully, and lovingly brings encouragement in difficult times. This understanding of God’s presence allows us to be transparent before Him, trusting that every aspect of our situation is comprehensively cared for by a God who sees and knows us intimately.
Aspects of Comfort in God’s Presence
– Transparency Before God: Being transparent before God means we can be honest about our struggles, fears, and needs.
– Comprehensive Care: God, who sees us fully, caters to every iota of our situation, bringing comfort in knowing we’re not alone.
– Loving Awareness: God’s loving awareness of our circumstances reassures us of His care and involvement.
Biblical Basis for Comfort in God’s Presence
– El Roi – God Who Sees: Hagar’s experience in Genesis 16:13 highlights God seeing and knowing individuals in distress.
– God’s Care for Details: Passages like Matthew 10:29-31 and Luke 12:6-7 emphasize God’s care for even small details, reinforcing His loving oversight.
Implications of God’s Comforting Presence
– Encouragement in Difficulties: Knowing God sees and cares brings encouragement in challenges.
– Confidence in God’s Care: Transparency before God fosters confidence in His comprehensive care.
– Peace in Trials: Understanding God’s loving presence can bring peace amid life’s trials.
Conclusion
The comfort of God’s presence is rooted in His complete, full, and loving awareness of us. This presence allows for transparency and confidence in God’s care for every aspect of our lives. In difficult times, remembering God’s presence and care can be a significant source of encouragement and peace.
The Immediacy of God’s Presence
The immediacy of God’s presence is a powerful theme in biblical narratives like Hagar’s experience in Genesis 16. Hagar’s encounter with God in the wilderness highlights how God meets people in their pain and distress, offering guidance, hope, and reminding them they’re not alone.
Aspects of God’s Immediacy in Presence
– God Meets in Pain: Hagar’s experience shows God encounters individuals in their moments of pain and distress.
– Pragmatic and Contemporaneous: God’s presence is practical and immediate, addressing current needs and circumstances.
– Guidance and Hope: In Hagar’s story, God’s presence provided guidance (returning to Sarah) and hope (promise of descendants).
Biblical Basis for God’s Immediacy
– Hagar’s Encounter (Genesis 16): God met Hagar in the wilderness, spoke to her, and provided instructions and promises.
– Contemporaneous Care: God’s interaction with Hagar demonstrates care that is immediate and relevant to her situation.
Implications of God’s Immediacy in Presence
– Not Alone in Struggles: God’s presence reminds individuals they’re not alone in pain or distress.
– Practical Help: God’s immediacy implies He offers practical help and guidance in current circumstances.
– Hope in Difficulties: Knowing God meets us in pain brings hope in challenging situations.
Conclusion
The immediacy of God’s presence underscores that God meets people where they are, in their pain and struggles. Like Hagar’s experience, God’s presence offers guidance, hope, and the assurance of not being alone. This understanding can bring comfort and encouragement to those facing difficulties.
Concluding Remarks
Encountering God in Individual Circumstances
In conclusion, the awesome and sovereign God we believe in is a God who can be found and encountered in our individual circumstances. This encounter often requires specificity, immediacy, and intimacy on a human scale. Like Hagar’s experience with El Roi (“The God who sees me”), God meets individuals in their unique situations, offering guidance, hope, and care.
Key Aspects of Encountering God
– Specificity: God engages with specifics of our lives and circumstances.
– Immediacy: God’s presence is pragmatic and contemporaneous, meeting us in current struggles.
– Intimacy: God knows and sees us completely, fully, and lovingly.
Outcome of Encountering God
– Comfort in Difficulties: Knowing God encounters us in our circumstances brings comfort.
– Assurance of Care: God’s presence assures us of His care and involvement in our lives.
In summary, the God we believe in is one who encounters us with specificity, immediacy, and intimacy in our individual circumstances. This understanding can deepen our trust and bring comfort in our walk with God.
Isaac Megbolugbe, Director of GIVA Ministries International, retired professor at Johns Hopkins University, 2024 Marquis Organization’s Class of Top Executives in the United States of America and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is resident in the United States of America
Unlimited God