Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.”
(Genesis 16:7)

Shur was located on the road to Egypt, the country from which Hagar came. It appears then that she was running back home.

Abram didn’t go after her. Sarai was probably happy to see Hagar go. No one from her current home lifted a finger to help her in this time of need. But God was watching her. He was aware of her. And God stopped her flight. He kept her moving forward, instead of going back to where she started.

Yahweh’s angel is an interesting figure. This is the first time that an angel is recorded appearing to someone. Scholars are divided. It could be an angel – they do appear to people. It could also be a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Himself. He DID appear to people in the Old Covenant (Genesis 18:1-5; Exodus 3:5-10).

Though she did not worship Yahweh, He kept an eye on her and found her even in the wilderness away from all other people. God is with us, even when we think He isn’t (or shouldn’t be). He is a GOOD God. He is a MERCIFUL God. He is a LOVING God. There really is NO ONE like Him.

The sage Sforno writes: ‘וימצאה מלאך ה, the angel found her in a state of readiness to receive a Divine vision. As a result, he appeared to her. על העין, at a junction of the roads. Whenever there is a juncture of two roads this is described as עינים. The place where these two roads commence is called פתח עינים. In Rabbinic parlance this is known as פרשת דרכים, “a parting of the ways.” (Ketuvot 17) בדרך שור, this is a place known as חגר, as interpreted by Onkelos. This is a town on the order of the land of Israel, or just beyond the border as mentioned in Gittin 2. The Torah informs us by mentioning this detail that it had been Hagar’s intention to emigrate from the land of Israel (Canaan).’

The Torah: A Women’s Commentary writes: ‘an angel of יהוה. This is the first report of a personal encounter between an individual woman and a divine being since Genesis 3; it is also the first time in the story that anyone addresses Hagar. at a spring of water. Water sources in the Bible are associated with fertility.’

The sage Kitzur Ba’al HaTurim writes: ‘”Upon the well of water” – In the Tanakh, it is said: “And he said, ‘Hagar, Sarah’s maid, from where did you come, and where are you going?’ And she said, ‘I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarah.’” (Gen. 16:8) Here and there, behold, I am standing over the well of water. It is good to pray over the water, as it is written, “the voice of splendor is in the waters” (Psalm 29:3), meaning that there the righteous give charity in the name of God. Similarly, prayer is compared to water, as it is written, “Pour out your heart like water before the presence of God” (Lamentations 2:19).’