Where the Wild Things Are: Developing a Working Wilderness Theology
Lesson 2— When people are in the wilderness, God sees them in the wilderness.
מִדְבָּר
The wilderness, or midbar in the Ancient Hebrew, (see above) is a barren place void of life. The first mention of midbar in the biblical narrative is in Genesis 14:6.
The author of Genesis briefly mentions that people live near the wilderness, but no one would be crazy enough to live in the wilderness. In fact, the initial context of Genesis 14:5–6 is that of conquering kings. It is not a small coincidence that even warring kings turn around when they get to the edge of the wilderness.
Two chapters later, in Genesis 16, the reader is immersed into a truly dysfunctional setting. Abram — who had just entered into covenant with God in chapter 15 — has now consented to the request of his barren wife Sarai and has conceived a child with Sarai’s Egyptian maidservant Hagar on her behalf. Upon learning that Abram and Hagar were successful in conceiving a child, Sarai’s attitude changes rapidly:
“May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave you my maid into your arms, but when she saw she conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.” (v. 5, NASB)
The narrative goes on to indicate that Sarai deals harshly with Hagar. In fact, neither her nor Abram even refer to her by name. Sarai’s treatment is so harsh that the pregnant woman flees… into the wilderness. I have always appreciated the strong correlation between the lives of biblical characters and our own human experience.
How many people can relate to Hagar, lamenting the fact that someone else seems to be writing her story for her?
Perhaps the reason Sarai was despised in Hagar’s sight was because it was Sarai who was supposed to lay with Abram and produce a son. Perhaps, Hagar believed it was better to die in the wilderness on her terms than to live under the harsh control of Sarai. Perhaps the harshness of the wilderness seems welcomed to the hostility of Abram and Sarai’s camp.
OR, unbeknownst to her, perhaps Hagar was called to the wilderness for a rendezvous with God!
If Genesis 1:2 is the most overlooked verse in the creation narrative, Genesis 16 is the most overlooked in the Abrahamic narrative. In this chapter, two huge themes collide: the wilderness and the Angel of the LORD.
For the first time in the biblical record, a human is alone in the wilderness. And also for the first time in the biblical record, the Angel of the LORD appears… to meet Hagar in the wilderness.
Who is this Angel of the LORD who makes several appearances throughout the Old Testament? Many scholars, including myself, believe we are being introduced to the eternal, pre-incarnate Son of God. This is the same Angel of the LORD who will appear to Abraham (Genesis 18), Moses (Exodus 3), Joshua (Joshua 5), and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (Daniel 3). But, before appearing to them, He first appears to Hagar in the wilderness.
So, what is it that the eternal Son of God wants Hagar to know? Abram and Sarai will not be writing her story for her. The Angel of the LORD has already seen it.
The Angel of the LORD has three noteworthy revelations for Hagar:
- Return to Abram and Sarai. They aren’t writing your story.
- Your descendants will be too many to count. This is essentially the same promise God gave to Abram.
- You will have a son, whom you are to name Ishmael. This name literally means God hears.
Specifically, the reader discovers Ishmael will be a handful (a wild donkey of a man)… that everyone’s hand will be against him. The God of the Wilderness tells Hagar in the wilderness that she will give birth to a wild man!
Hagar’s response is beautiful. She names the One who has spoken to her “El Roi” or, the God who sees me.
This is the first name given to God in the Bible. Consider the names given in this chapter.
Ishmael — God hears.
El Roi — The God who sees me.
Both revealed in the harsh clarity of the wilderness.
But, this isn’t the last episode Hagar has in the wilderness.
In Genesis 18, the Angel of the LORD — yes the same one from the wilderness with Hagar — promises a son to Abraham, by way of Sarah (even though she is old and barren). When Sarah hears this, she laughs. The word for her laughter in the original Ancient Hebrew language is tsachaq. This words conveys more than just laughter. It implies a mocking or jest. In other words, if someone were to tsachaq in response to hearing that they were to have a child, they would certainly not being taking such news seriously. When the Angel of the LORD hears Sarah’s tsachaq, He calls her out; and she denies it! Bold move.
For this reason, the Angel of the LORD tells Abraham he is to name Sarah’s child Isaac. This name comes directly from the word tsachaq, and it translates to “He laughs.” And, sure enough, one year later Sarah gave birth to a son in her old age; and Abraham named him Isaac. God gets the last laugh. But was this the last laugh?
Now that Sarah has her son of promise, her attitude toward Hagar manages to darken even more than before, and tsachaq is once again at the heart of the issue:
Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne with Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:9, NASB)
Do you want to guess what this word for mocking is in the original language?
tsachaq
So, Ishmael is making light of Sarah and she is not receiving the lad’s jesting with gaiety. Remember, the Angel of the LORD promises Hagar her boy would be a handful. He is simply living up to the predictive words from Genesis 16. Ishmael’s tsachaq appears to cause a boiling over of sorts, and Sarah calls Abraham to drive Hagar and Ishmael away. Abraham is distressed. After all, Ishmael is as much his son as Isaac.
But God is never caught off guard.
God actually promises Abraham that Ishmael will become a nation of his own, similar to how Isaac is destined to carry on the covenant promise of Genesis 12:1–3. And so, Abraham sends his son away with his mother, Hagar. Where do the two end up?
The wilderness — the place where humans can’t live, at least not on their own.
This is what Genesis 21 originally reports. It appears as if Hagar and Ishmael will both perish in the wilderness. But, this is not how Hagar and Ishmael’s stories end, because God hears, and He is the One who sees.
God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. He lived in the wilderness of Paran…(Genesis 21:20–21 NASB)
We cannot afford to miss the significance of these verses. Ishmael, the young man whose name testifies to God’s concern, lives in the wilderness — the midbar — because God is with him.
Defiance. This proved to be the legacy of Ishmael, but even in his defiance, God provided. And, it would appear God still provides:
The descendants of Ishmael are hearing a familiar voice.
For quite some time, Jesus — the eternal Son of God — has been visiting Muslims in their dreams. In fact, such occurrences have become so repetitive that it has been reported here, here, here, and here in recent years.
God has a track record of providing for Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness, because God hears Ishmael and sees Hagar in the wilderness. It would appear God is not done with His redemptive plan for Ishmael’s people.
For this reason, I am thankful it really is God who gets the last laugh!
Next week, we will see how the wilderness comes back into view for the descendants directly tied to God’s covenant promise with Abraham. The narrative will take us back to the wilderness and to Egypt, as well.
