The God Who Sees

Genesis 16:13

"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?"

The Hebrew for all those hyphenated words is "El Roi," and it is one of my favorite names of God. El Roi literally means just what it says in the text above, "You Are the God Who Sees." There is only one instance in the Bible where this name occurs, and it is here in Genesis 16. It is Hagar, the mother of Ismael who speaks this name of God into scripture. In fact, it is during this same encounter that God tells Hagar to name the son she is pregnant with Ishmael. The name Ishmael means "Yaweh has been attentive to your humiliation," further highlighting that God is intimately aware of all that has happened to Hagar. He has seen, and He knows.

There are three aspects of El Roi that I like to think about. The first two are personal to me, and the third encompasses the whole world. First, when I think of The God Who Sees, I am reminded that God has seen every single bad thing that has ever happened to me. Just like God proclaimed when He named Ishmael, God has been attentive to every humiliation, every disappointment, every mistreatment or unfair accusation. God has seen all of the "wrong" that has happened to me. And He has seen all of the "wrong" that has happened to you, too. There is nothing that has come into my life, or yours, that God is not totally aware of.

The reason that that matters so much is that I don't have to worry about getting justice for myself. In fact, God doesn't want me to even try. Revenge, and justice, belong to the Judge of all the Universe, God Himself. And who better to execute judgment than the One Who Has Seen? So even if a wrong against me goes unpunished in this life, which is very likely to happen, it will have to be answered for ultimately. (I could do a whole post on how, exactly, all sin will be answered for, and maybe I will, but not today.)

The second aspect of El Roi that concerns me personally is that God has seen all of my sins, all of my failings, all of my dirtiness and unfitness and ugliness. He has seen every bit of it, and He still loves me. He still forgives me. He still looks on the sacrifice of Jesus, and says, "you, Hadassah, are righteous because I have covered you with righteousness." But even better, He LOVES me. He rejoices over me. Isn't that amazing to consider? The creator of the universe rejoices over you! (I have to admit, I have always dreamed of a love song being written for me, and in a sense, one already has been...)

Zephaniah 3:17

"He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

And finally, I find El Roi both comforting and sometimes troubling when I think of all that happens in this world. God sees everything. He sees the very worst that happens in this life. The things that make me turn off the news because I can't stand to even think about them happening. The horrible, terrible, gross and unfair things that happen to people. God sees all of it, and keeps an account of it all. I find it comforting because I know that God will bring judgment on the perpetrators of all those terrible things. But sometimes, I find it troubling that He lets it continue. There is a part of me that just longs for God to return, to cast the Evil One into the fiery pit and let the righteous reign with Him forever. When I contemplate what God has in store for His children in Heaven, there is nothing in this whole world that is even remotely tempting.

Come soon Lord. Come soon, El Roi.