Genesis 16:1-16
Advent is when we work diligently to make the way of
Christ, as John the Baptist has called, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy as the
voice crying in the wilderness with our vigilant hope. And we are thinking of that tender baby Jesus placed on
a manger.
Manger was about 2,000 years ago.
But now, we are not going to let Christ being placed
in a manger. We are going to make sure that Christ on his arrival will be place
in our hearts. And when John the Baptist called to repent, it means to work on
our clean hearts. Christ sure prefers to
dwell in a clean heart than a filthy one.
But how much do we really know about Christ, the one
whom we work with diligence and vigilance to make a welcoming place – making our
hearts hospitable.
Here is a very interesting thing about Christ in the
Bible! And this is what many people may not know about Christ – especially, to
those who limit Christ only to Jesus.
As we have reflected so far, citing Genesis 3:15;
Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:1,5-6, many of us know that there are prophecies of the
coming of Christ. And they think that Christ’s appearance is in the New
Testament upon being born of Mary in the human flesh of Jesus. And many of us
think that it is the first theophany (the appearance of God).
But, is the Nativity really is the first time that
Christ made theophany?
So, if you assume that the first theophany was the
Nativity, this can be a surprise to you. Nevertheless, it is important to know
and reflect Christ’s pre-incarnation theophany in the Old Testament.
Christ had made theophany more than once during the
time of the Old Testament, with the first one to Hager, the Egyptian
maidservant to Sarah, who is the wife of Abraham. Because it was before his
incarnation, Christ, then, did not appear as the person of Jesus. Rather he
appeared as the angel of the Lord (מַלְאַ֧ךְ
יְהוָ֛ה/malak Yaweh). Read Genesis 16:1-16 and imagine the scene of Christ
in the angel of the Lord and Hager by a spring in the wilderness.
In a covenant, God said that He will bless Abraham
with many children (Genesis 15). However, Sarah did not bear a child though it
had been 10 years in settling in Canaan. This really frustrated Sarah. Out of
her frustration, Sarah wanted Hager to be a surrogate mother of Abraham’s
child. So, Sarah told Abraham to lay with her. But, once Hager became pregnant
with her husband’s child, Hager started “bullying” Hager. So, Hager ran away
from Sarah (Genesis 16:1-6).
Obviously, Hager ran away from Sarah without
thinking, rather impulsively, as she had nowhere to go, finding herself in the
middle of the wilderness, alone…alone with the child inside her. At least,
there is a spring. But imagine how Hager was feeling…lost? Sinking in
hopelessness? She could eventually die in the wilderness along with her child
inside, if left there.
That was when the Angel of the Lord, pre-incarnated
Christ, came, finding her in the wilderness, worried (Genesis 16:7).
“Hagar, maid
of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” Genesis 16:8a
“I
am running away from my mistress, Sarai(Sarah).” Genesis 16:8b
“Go back to
your mistress and submit to her authority. I will make your descendants so numerous
that they will be too many to count. You are now pregnant and shall bear a son;
you shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heeded your affliction. He shall
be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against
him; Alongside all his kindred shall he encamp.” Genesis 16:9-12
“You
are God who sees me. Have I really seen God and remained alive after he saw me?” Genesis 16:13
Compare the above words of Christ in the angel of
the Lord, to Hager in Genesis 16:8a, 9-12 to what God the Father, Yahweh, said
to Abraham in Genesis 15:4-5, 7, 13-21.
Though Hager was assured of the blessing of numerous
offspring, as Abraham was, Christ also prophesized the challenges that Ishmael
has to face, suggesting that he is not going to have Abraham’s blessings. This
is indicated in Genesis 15:4 and 17:16.
Nevertheless, Christ in the angelic form heard Hager’s
cry but saw her and brought her comfort and assurance so that she can live with
hope – the hope for her offspring in great multiplication.
Imagine the feeling of Hagar when she said, “You are God who sees me. Have I really seen
God and remained alive after he saw me?” (Genesis 16:13) and naming the
spring “Beer-lahai-roi” (Genesis
16:14), which can be translated as “living God who sees me (in affliction).
This reminds that Christ hears the cries of the
afflicted and see them to bring the Good News out of compassion (Luk4:18-12;
Isaiah 61:1-2, just as when he fed the great multitudes (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark
6:31; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14).
So, how can we say that this angel of the Lord
seeing and speaking to Hager in affliction is Christ?
He was seen by Hager. Therefore, this angel of the
Lord cannot be God the Father but the one sent by Him as His messenger (מַלְאַ֧ךְ יְהוָ֛ה/malak Yaweh).
Yes, even before being incarnated by the power of
the Holy Spirit through Mary’s Immaculate flesh, Christ had already made
theophany.
Can you find other incident of pre-incarnated Christ
making theophany in the rest of the Old Testament?
No comments:
Post a Comment