God El-Roi

“And after the death of Abraham, it happened that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac lived by The Well of the Living One, My Beholder.” (Genesis 25:11)

The Well of the Living One, My Beholder also called Beer Lahai Roi. This is where Hagar ended up after leaving Sarah when Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar who was having a son for Abraham. “But Abram said to Sarai, Behold, your slave woman is in your hand. Do to her as it pleases you. And Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her face. And the Angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.” (Genesis 16:6-7) Hagar named the place because it was where the Angel of the Lord revealed to her that Jehovah God knew her circumstances, encouraged her and prophesied about the son she would have. “Therefore, the well was called The Well of the Living One Seeing Me. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.” (Genesis 16:14)

The Lord revealed Himself as El-Roi, the God Who sees me, Who sees my circumstances, Who encourages me in my worse time and because He sees the end from the beginning, guides and leads me to a bountiful future. We may be in a situation where we feel we are all alone and no one knows what we are going through, but El-Roi is God Who sees all. And He sees us in our best times and in our worse times. Just like He revealed Himself to Hagar, He reveals Himself to us if we turn to Him. And we will realize like Hagar that God, El-Roi sees our circumstances. And He sees our future.

Nothing is hidden from the eyes of God. “The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3) He see our obedience and He sees the wrongs done against us. He hears our prayer for justice, for mercy, for comfort and for righteousness. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears open to their prayers. But the Lord's face is against those who do evil.” (1Peter 3:12) We can call on God, El-Roi, the character of God Who sees all and be comforted and encouraged much like the Lord encouraged and comforted Hagar.

God saw Hagar beyond her circumstances. He gave her the promise of prospering her son. God sees us in dire circumstances and beyond them, much like He saw Hagar’s future. We see this when God sent Samuel to Jesse’s family to choose a king. Samuel was looking at David’s strong older brothers who looked like they’d make good kings. But the Lord rebuked him. “But Jehovah said to Samuel, Do not look on his face, nor on his height, because I have refused him. For He does not see as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart.” (1Samuel 16:7) God chose David who was a ruddy youth who wasn’t thought of enough by his family and had him watching the sheep. “And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all the young men here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here. And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and good form. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him. For this is he.” (1Samuel 16:11-12) The Lord saw beyond David’s lowly position in the family, beyond his lowly responsibilities and beyond his youth. And God, El-Roi sees us beyond our position or status among man, our responsibilities and beyond anything that would try to keep us from being esteemed.

Isaac lived in the south country where the well was. He was there most probably mourning the death of his mother when he saw the camels returning with Abraham’s servant and Rebekah who was to be his wife. “And Isaac came from the way of the well, The Well of the Living One, my Beholder. For he lived in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the beginning of the evening. And he lifted up his eyes, and looked. And behold, camels coming!” (Genesis 24:62-63) And he stayed in that general area to live, near the well that had history with his family, the well where God revealed His character as God, El-Roi, God Who sees me.