SCENE 2

TRANSCRIPTION

Narrator: From the beginning, God blessed humanity. But since the fall of man in the Garden, man continued to try to bless himself, as seen during Noah’s time and the Tower of Babel. Eventually, God chose a man, named Abraham, to be the head of the family line that would save the world. Despite the promise to bless Abraham and his wife Sarah with a child, they took things into their own hands. Sin has catastrophic consequences on our relationships. This is the story of Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Abraham’s wife, Sarah:

Hagar: I wasn’t asked if I wanted to be a surrogate. Sarah and Abraham didn’t even look at me as they made their plans to conceive a child using me. It was as if I wasn’t even in the room, I was just a means to an end. In their blindness, they didn’t see my fear, they didn’t see my pain…they didn’t see (emphasis) ME. Like an object, Sarah handed me over to her husband and didn’t care about me. 

(With contempt) When I realized I was with child, I began to despise my mistress, Sarah.

(With pride) I was the one giving Abraham a child. What fault of mine was it that she suffered from her feelings of barrenness? Now he will acknowledge me as his wife. (Saddened) But, it seemed just the opposite.  Abraham rejected me and handed me back to Sarah, to do with me as she pleased. She treated me harshly. She humiliated me. So I fled to the wilderness. I wanted to get as far away from them as possible. 

(Hagar crying near a spring, angel of the Lord approaches)

Angel: Hagar, where have you come from and where are you going?

Hagar: I’m running away from my mistress, Sarah 

Angel: Return and submit yourself to her. You are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name, Ishmael, meaning God hears, because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your suffering.

Hagar (In awe) For the first time in my life, I felt seen. The God of my mistress came to look for ME. All of the unspoken pain I held deep in my heart - He saw it all! He was so understanding and compassionate.  I wasn’t looking for Him, and yet He came looking for me!

Hagar: EL Roi. You are the God who sees; here I have seen the one who sees me! 

Narrator:  The first time the Lord revealed Himself as an angel of the Lord was to a gentile slave girl. What does that say about God? God is ready to meet you in your wilderness - He sees you, He hears your cry, and He wants you to see Him and call Him by name!

Have you been praying for something and it seems that 10 years have gone by without an answer from God? God wants to do something in the waiting. Will you trust Him? Or maybe you see yourself as a victim of someone else’s sin, as Hagar did? Are you running away to try and escape your suffering? God sees you.