Genesis Chapter 16
Hagar and the Birth of Ishmael
Genesis 16:1–4
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.
Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not yet borne him any children, even though many years had passed since God’s promise in Genesis 12:2, where the Lord declared, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” Despite this divine assurance, Sarai’s womb remained closed, and her heart grew weary with disappointment and longing. Her pain was real and multifaceted—the pain of deferred hope that made her heart sick, the pain of unanswered prayers, the pain of empty arms that had never held her own child, and the pain of social shame in a culture that viewed childlessness as a reproach. Her lament that “the Lord has restrained me from bearing children” shows her acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty over the womb, yet also her frustration and growing impatience with His timing.
Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant, was most likely one of the slaves acquired during Abram and Sarai’s time in Egypt (Genesis 12:16). Charles Spurgeon wisely noted that had Abram remained separated from Egypt and the customs of the surrounding nations, he would not have received Hagar and thus would have been spared the sorrow she brought into his household. This moment serves as a reminder that when believers compromise separation from the world, they often reap long-term consequences.
Sarai’s solution was to give Hagar to Abram as a surrogate, saying, “Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” This arrangement, though culturally acceptable in the ancient Near East, was contrary to God’s design for marriage as established in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Sarai may have reasoned that since God promised Abram descendants but did not specifically mention her, the fulfillment could come through another woman. However, her actions stemmed from unbelief rather than faith. She believed in God’s sovereignty but not in His sufficiency.
This decision was sinful on several levels. It was a sin of unbelief, as Sarai sought to fulfill God’s promise through human means rather than divine intervention. It was a sin against God’s design for marriage, which is between one man and one woman. It was also a sin against the unity of Abram and Sarai’s covenant relationship, introducing another woman into their union. This was not an act of faith but of desperation, as she attempted to accomplish in the flesh what only God could perform in the Spirit.
Abram, rather than standing firm in faith, heeded the voice of his wife. His failure echoes that of Adam in Genesis 3:17, where God said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for your sake.” Abram should have lovingly reminded Sarai of God’s promise and refused to compromise. A godly husband must discern when his wife’s counsel aligns with faith and when it stems from fear or unbelief. He could have responded, “Sarai, you are my wife and my companion. Let us continue to trust the Lord’s promise together and not sin against Him with this Egyptian maidservant.”
After ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram agreed to Sarai’s plan. To them, a decade felt like a lifetime of waiting, and their faith grew weary. In the ancient world, surrogate motherhood was a common practice, but while it may have been accepted by culture, it was not approved by God for the man of faith. The problem was not merely the act itself but the motive behind it—leaving God out of the equation and attempting to resolve spiritual matters through human reasoning. Men and women of faith must never solve divine promises through fleshly schemes.
Abram went in to Hagar, and she conceived. This was not an act of romantic passion but a calculated decision rooted in human pragmatism. Ancient customs suggest that in surrogacy, Hagar may have conceived while sitting on Sarai’s lap, symbolizing that the child legally belonged to Sarai. Genesis 30:3 records a similar instance when Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob, saying, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” Whether this practice was literal or symbolic, the intent was clear—the child born to the servant would be counted as the master’s heir.
From Sarai’s viewpoint, however, this plan backfired. Hagar conceived, and with that, the painful truth was revealed: the barrenness lay with Sarai, not Abram. In that culture, a woman’s worth was often tied to her ability to bear children, and Hagar’s pregnancy elevated her status while diminishing Sarai’s. Hagar’s heart became prideful, and she began to despise her mistress. What began as a human attempt to bring about blessing resulted in division, jealousy, and sorrow.
This passage illustrates a timeless truth: results alone do not validate our actions. The fact that Hagar conceived did not mean that God approved of the means. Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.” The flesh can produce results, but they are not the fruits of righteousness. Whenever believers try to “help” God fulfill His promises through human effort, they invite unnecessary pain. A man or woman’s greatest failures often arise not from rebellion, but from impatience and the presumption that God needs their assistance.
Those who act outside of faith will find that what they produce, though tangible, cannot be the heir of the promise. As Barnhouse observed, “Christian work that is done merely through the zeal of human effort without counting the body as dead, and Sarai as good as dead, may produce great revival campaigns with but a few genuinely saved.” What is born of the flesh cannot inherit what belongs to the Spirit.
In summary, Genesis 16:1–4 shows that Sarai’s impatience led her to seek fulfillment of God’s promise through human means, and Abram’s failure to lead faithfully compounded the error. Hagar’s conception brought immediate results but long-term conflict. This serves as a warning to all believers: impatience and unbelief can corrupt even the best intentions. The lesson is simple yet profound—when God makes a promise, He alone will fulfill it, and our role is to wait in faith rather than act in the flesh.
Sarai’s Anger Toward Hagar
Genesis 16:5–9
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.”
When Hagar conceived, pride filled her heart, and her attitude toward Sarai changed. She began to look down upon her barren mistress, and this arrogance wounded Sarai deeply. In anger and humiliation, Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you!” She blamed him for the chaos that followed, and rightly so, for as the spiritual leader of his household, Abram should have refused her earlier plan and reminded her to trust in the Lord’s promise. Instead, he had passively gone along with her suggestion, and now both were reaping the consequences of their unbelief. Sarai’s statement, “The Lord judge between you and me,” shows her appeal to divine justice, yet it also reveals a spirit of frustration and broken trust within the marriage.
Hagar’s pride compounded the situation. Her contempt for Sarai revealed that she could not handle her newfound position with humility. Instead of showing gratitude and respect, she became boastful, seeing her pregnancy as proof of her superiority. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Hagar’s arrogance began the conflict, but Sarai’s reaction escalated it. Abram’s response to his wife’s complaint was weak: “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” He tried to avoid further conflict by placing the responsibility back on Sarai, but in doing so, he abdicated his role as protector of both women and the unborn child.
While Abram’s desire to restore peace with Sarai is understandable, his passivity worsened the problem. Leadership requires courage to make difficult decisions, and Abram’s avoidance only deepened the strife. However, his decision to prioritize his wife over Hagar shows that he valued his marriage covenant, even though his method of resolving the matter was flawed. These tangled family problems are the fruit of disobedience, showing how sin always brings relational complexity. It is far easier to live in obedience and trust in God’s timing than to untangle the consequences of faithless choices.
Sarai’s frustration soon turned into cruelty. “When Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.” Sarai’s bitterness collided with Hagar’s pride, and in the clash of these two sinful hearts, the household became unbearable. Hagar ran away into the wilderness, likely attempting to return to Egypt, her homeland. Even though she had nowhere safe to go, she preferred the desert to remaining under Sarai’s harsh treatment. Yet in her flight, we see the mercy of God reaching out to the afflicted.
The Angel of the Lord Appears to Hagar
As Hagar wandered in the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water on the road to Shur. This was not a coincidence but divine providence. In her distress and isolation, when all hope seemed lost, the Lord sought her out. This marks the first recorded appearance of “the Angel of the Lord” in Scripture, and significantly, it is not to a patriarch or prophet but to a pregnant, runaway slave. This shows the compassion and grace of God, who cares even for the outcast and the afflicted.
The text emphasizes that “the Angel of the Lord found her,” not that she found Him. It was God who initiated the encounter, just as He always seeks the lost. Hagar may have been afraid to leave the spring, for water in the desert meant life, but it was there that God met her. The phrase “And He said” indicates that this was not a mere vision or dream but a physical, personal encounter. Hagar conversed with a visible being who spoke to her directly. Later in the chapter, she would recognize that the One who spoke to her was none other than God Himself.
This Angel of the Lord is understood to be a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity. Scripture teaches that no one has seen God the Father in His essence. John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” Similarly, 1 Timothy 6:16 says that God “alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” Therefore, when God appears visibly in the Old Testament, it is understood as a Christophany—an appearance of Christ before His incarnation.
Throughout Scripture, the Angel of the Lord manifests as the physical presence of God in various moments of divine intervention. He would later appear to Abraham in Genesis 22:11–12 to stop him from sacrificing Isaac; to Moses in Exodus 3:2 in the burning bush; to Balaam in Numbers 22:22–35 as a messenger of warning; to Israel collectively in Judges 2:1–4; to Gideon in Judges 6:11–12; to Samson’s parents in Judges 13:3–21; to David in 2 Samuel 24:16; and to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:5–7. Each of these appearances was a manifestation of the Lord’s presence and guidance.
The fact that His first appearance was to Hagar—a pregnant Egyptian servant, fleeing in pride and fear—reveals the depths of God’s mercy. The Lord often chooses the lowly, the broken, and the undeserving to demonstrate His compassion and grace. This is consistent with His character throughout Scripture, as seen in Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
The Angel of the Lord questioned Hagar, saying, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” These two questions pierced to the heart of her situation. In her pride and misery, she had fled without purpose, driven by emotion rather than direction. If she had stopped to ask herself these same questions, she might have avoided greater hardship. Reflection on where we have come from and where we are headed often leads to repentance and realignment with God’s will.
Hagar’s answer was simple and filled with despair: “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” To her, the situation seemed hopeless—she saw only her suffering, not the Lord’s hand at work. But the Angel of the Lord had a plan for her, one that involved both submission and blessing. He said, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” This command required humility and faith. It was an instruction to repent and to trust that God would protect her under difficult circumstances.
Though it may seem harsh that she was told to return to an oppressive situation, this was not a command without promise. The Lord’s directive implied His divine protection. He was not sending her back to be crushed by cruelty but to be cared for under His watchful eye. The Lord was shaping her through obedience and humility. Hagar would later testify of this encounter in Genesis 16:13, saying, “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?’”
Thus, this passage teaches that God sees the afflicted, corrects the proud, and redeems the brokenhearted. Even when our failures place us in impossible circumstances, the Lord’s mercy meets us in the wilderness, inviting us to return, submit, and trust His plan.
The Promise of the Angel of the LORD to Hagar
Genesis 16:10–12
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.”
The Angel of the Lord did not simply offer Hagar comfort; He pronounced a prophetic promise that carried both mercy and consequence. The divine words, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly,” are remarkable because they mirror the same covenant language used with Abraham. The Lord extended His grace to this Egyptian servant and her unborn son, showing that even though Ishmael was conceived through human failure, he would still become the father of a great multitude. God’s sovereignty and compassion overruled human error.
The Angel’s declaration, “I will multiply,” identifies Him as none other than God Himself, for only God possesses the authority to create and bless nations. This moment further confirms that the Angel of the Lord is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. The same God who spoke to Abraham now speaks directly to Hagar, extending mercy in the wilderness. Though Hagar was an outsider—female, Egyptian, and a servant—God saw her, pursued her, and promised to bless her offspring.
Ishmael would become the father of a vast people, the Arab nations. Just as Isaac would father the Jewish people, Ishmael’s lineage would fill the earth with innumerable descendants. Yet this also set the stage for a tragic and lasting conflict between these two branches of Abraham’s family. The Arab-Israeli conflict, which has echoed through millennia, began in this very moment of impatience and unbelief. These are not strangers fighting one another—they are brothers who share the same father. This makes their division all the more heartbreaking and instructive.
The Angel continued, “You shall call his name Ishmael,” which means “God will hear.” This is the first time in Scripture that a child’s name was given by divine command before birth, signifying God’s sovereign involvement in the boy’s destiny. Ishmael’s very name stands as a testimony to God’s compassion, for the Lord declared, “Because the Lord has heard your affliction.” God heard Hagar’s cries, not because she was righteous, but because He is merciful. This truth reminds believers that even those outside the covenant line of promise are not beyond God’s concern or His call to redemption.
The name “Ishmael” also carries prophetic hope. God has not turned His back on the descendants of Ishmael. He preserved their line and continues to reach them even now. Many testimonies from the modern Middle East describe Muslims coming to Christ through dreams and visions of Jesus, echoing the mercy first shown to Hagar in the desert. The same Angel of the Lord who met Hagar still meets the descendants of Ishmael today, revealing Himself as the One who sees and saves.
The Lord then described Ishmael’s character and destiny: “He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.” This prophecy revealed that Ishmael’s descendants would be strong, independent, and fierce—a nomadic people resistant to submission. They would dwell in conflict, living “in the presence of all his brethren,” meaning that their proximity to their kin would bring both closeness and strife. This description perfectly fits the turbulent history of the Arab nations—marked by internal divisions and frequent warfare—yet it also reveals God’s sovereign preservation of them.
It is worth noting that this prophecy was not a curse, but a statement of character and consequence. Ishmael’s descendants would endure hardship, but God would sustain them. As believers, our response to this truth should not be hostility toward the Arab world but prayer for their redemption. The Lord’s promise that He “has heard” should prompt us to intercede for the descendants of Ishmael, that they too might hear the voice of the Savior who once met their mother by the spring in the wilderness.
The violence and division among the Arab peoples today testify to the truth of this passage: “His hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.” They have been at war not only with others but also among themselves. Yet even in this, God’s hand of providence remains upon them. For their sake and for the sake of the gospel, we pray, “Lord, bring peace and salvation to the descendants of Ishmael. May the God who heard Hagar’s affliction hear their cries once more.”
God’s Blessing and Protection of Hagar and Ishmael
Genesis 16:13–16
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.
In response to this divine encounter, Hagar worshiped. She named the Lord who appeared to her El Roi, meaning “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees.” Her declaration was deeply personal: “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” This was not a cold theological statement but a confession born of awe and gratitude. Hagar, an abandoned servant in the wilderness, realized that the Almighty God saw her, heard her, and spoke directly to her. She encountered the living God who looks upon the lowly and cares for the forgotten.
The well where this meeting took place was called Beer Lahai Roi, meaning “The well of the Living One who sees me.” It became a lasting monument to God’s compassion and awareness. The location between Kadesh and Bered suggests that Hagar was on the road back to Egypt, yet God intercepted her before she could return to her old life. This well later reappears in Scripture as a place connected to Isaac (Genesis 24:62; 25:11), symbolizing how God’s redemptive story continued to unfold in both lines of Abraham’s descendants.
When Hagar returned to Abram and Sarai, she came with a changed heart. She had submitted to the command of the Lord and now walked in obedience. Upon her return, she likely recounted her encounter with the Angel of the Lord, and Abram, hearing her testimony, obeyed the divine instruction by naming the child Ishmael. This shows Abram’s recognition of the heavenly message and his faith in God’s word, despite the painful circumstances surrounding the boy’s conception.
Hagar’s return was not merely a change in direction but a transformation of character. Donald Barnhouse observed, “If we seek to change our circumstances, we will jump from the frying pan into the fire. We must be triumphant exactly where we are. It is not a change of climate we need, but a change of heart.” Hagar had learned that fleeing from her problems did not bring peace; only submitting to God’s authority did.
Through this account, God reveals His faithfulness even in the midst of human failure. He saw Hagar’s distress, heard her cries, and provided her with both protection and promise. To every believer today, this passage speaks of the same divine care. The Lord still sees, still hears, and still intervenes. Jesus assured His followers in Matthew 28:20, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This means that in moments of affliction, loneliness, or hardship, God is not distant—He is the God who sees.
If you are called to endure difficult circumstances, God sees.
If you labor and suffer in ministry, God sees.
If you feel forgotten or alone, God sees.
And if you, like Hagar, find yourself in a wilderness of uncertainty, the same God who met her still meets His people today through His Son, the Living One who hears and redeems.
The Walk of Abraham
Genesis 16–20
Abraham, though honored as the father of the faithful, was not a flawless man. His journey of faith was marked by both triumph and failure, showing that faith is not the absence of struggle but perseverance through it. His life reveals a progressive development of trust in God. While his faith was genuine, it was also tested, refined, and strengthened through delay and disappointment. This delay in the fulfillment of God’s promises exposed moments of weakness, where Abraham and Sarah attempted to take matters into their own hands. Their story serves as a comfort and a warning: even those whom God calls may falter, but through repentance and endurance, their faith is proven genuine.
Abraham’s life between Genesis 16 and 20 shows a recurring cycle of faith, failure, and restoration:
Genesis 16 – The episode with Hagar the Egyptian and the birth of Ishmael.
Genesis 17 – The changing of names and the reconfirmation of God’s covenant.
Genesis 18 – The divine visitation at the oaks of Mamre.
Genesis 19 – The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 20 – The lapse at Gerar, where Abraham again faltered in faith.
In each of these events, Abraham’s faith was tested by delay and uncertainty. During these moments of waiting, he sometimes entertained alternative plans that were not characterized by faith but by human reasoning. Each attempt to "assist" God only complicated matters further. Yet through it all, God’s faithfulness remained steadfast, proving that His promises are not dependent on human perfection but on divine grace.
When Hagar fled into the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord found her beside a spring of water on the road to Shur, the ancient route leading back to Egypt. The word Shur means “the wall,” referring to the defensive line of fortresses Egypt had built to protect its eastern border from foreign invaders. Egyptian records as early as 2000 BC reference this barrier. It was near this boundary—just before crossing back into her homeland—that the Lord intervened. Hagar’s journey toward Egypt symbolized a return to bondage, but God stopped her before she could cross that threshold.
This moment is the first mention in the Old Testament of “the Angel of the Lord” (the Angel of Yahweh). This title introduces one of the most profound theological mysteries in Scripture.
The Angel of Yahweh
He is identified with Yahweh, as seen in Genesis 16:13; 22:11–12; 31:11,13; 48:16; Judges 6:11–16, 22; 13:22–23; and Zechariah 3:1–2.
Yet He is also distinct from Yahweh, as indicated in Genesis 24:7; 2 Samuel 24:16; and Zechariah 1:12.
Therefore, this title most likely refers to a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ Himself. This interpretation is supported by similar divine appearances in Genesis 18:1–2, 19:1; Numbers 22:22; Judges 2:1–4; 5:23; and Zechariah 12:8.
In this encounter, the Angel of the Lord showed compassion toward Hagar, a Gentile servant, demonstrating that God’s mercy extends beyond the covenant line of Israel. Yet the prophecy given concerning her son Ishmael was sobering.
The Lord declared that Ishmael would be “a wild man,” the Hebrew term being פֶּרֶא (pere), meaning “wild donkey.” This vivid metaphor describes one who lives untamed and free, independent yet contentious. Ishmael’s descendants would dwell in the Arabian desert and become a vast, ungoverned people, constantly striving against others—including their own kin. As Genesis 25:18 records, “They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria. He died in the presence of all his brethren.” History confirms this prophecy, as the Arab peoples—descendants of Ishmael—have often lived in fierce independence, marked by both greatness and turmoil.
Although Ishmael was not the child of promise, God’s hand remained upon him. However, his birth through Sarah’s unbelief would sow discord for generations. The consequences of that decision continue even now. The Ishmaelites later appear again in Scripture when they transport Joseph—Sarah’s great-grandson—into slavery in Egypt (Genesis 37:28). Thus, the repercussions of human impatience echo through time, showing that the flesh always reaps corruption, even when the seed is sown with good intentions.
Abraham, at eighty-six years old, became the father of Ishmael. Fourteen years later, at the age of one hundred, he would witness the birth of Isaac, the true son of promise. The contrast between Ishmael and Isaac represents one of the great spiritual truths of Scripture—the difference between the works of the flesh and the work of the Spirit.
Flesh vs. Spirit
The Apostle Paul later drew upon this very event in Galatians 4:22–31, showing that Abraham’s two sons illustrate two covenants and two principles of life.
“For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written:
‘Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.’
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.”
Paul’s inspired commentary reveals that Ishmael, the son born through human effort, represents the covenant of bondage under the Law, while Isaac, the son of promise, represents the covenant of grace through faith. Abraham lived 430 years before the Law was given, demonstrating that the promises of God preceded the Law and cannot be nullified by it (Galatians 3:17). Ishmael’s birth was the product of unbelief, an attempt to “help” God through the flesh, whereas Isaac’s birth was the product of faith in divine promise.
The lesson is timeless and universal: human effort cannot fulfill the promises of God. Only faith, resting in God’s Word, can bring His purposes to fruition. Those who attempt to bring about spiritual results through fleshly means only create lasting conflict and delay the blessing God intends.
Yet even amid failure, grace shines through. The God who saw Hagar’s affliction is the same God who watches over His people today. He sees, He hears, and He redeems. For Abraham, for Sarah, and for us, the message remains clear: trust in the Lord’s promises, wait for His timing, and endure patiently until the end. Any person or nation that exists by divine election must live by faith alone. Human striving can never accomplish what only the Spirit of God can perform.
