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December 7, 2018

365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 7: El Roi


El Roi: God who sees

"She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees me.'" (Genesis 16:13 NIV)

In Genesis 16, the servant Hagar utters one of the two most stunning statements made by a woman in the entire Bible. (Full disclosure: that is entirely my personal opinion. And I'll gladly share what I think the other one is, but not until Easter.)

"I have now seen the One who sees me."

I love the "nows" of Scripture. They show us a turning point from past to present. They alert us that something has shifted or changed. They tell us that what is differs from what was. And here, the placement of the "now" in this English translation of the original Hebrew text is so significant. Hagar does not say, "I have seen the One who now sees me." She says, "I have now seen the One who sees me." 

God had always seen Hagar, but "now," she sees Him back. And when we get the place where we truly see El Roi (el roh-ee/el roy)—the God Who sees us—we are never the same. 

I want to leave you today with some song lyrics and a link to the song itself, both of which I believe beautifully convey the heart of El Roi...
Come out of hiding
You're safe here with Me
There's no need to cover
What I already see

You've got your reasons
But I hold your peace
You've been on lock-down
And I hold the key

No need to be frightened by intimacy
No, just throw off your fear
And come running to Me

1 comment:

  1. HI Liz, thx for sharing above. May I get your permission to use the above picture? Amanda

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!