Study #7: AYIN

AYIN: THE 16TH LETTER OF THE HEBREW ALPHABET

The God Who Sees (Genesis 16:7-16)

AYIN teaches us to see life from God’s perspective and not from a worldly stance.

In today’s devotion, we see how AYIN impacted the life of Hagar, the pregnant slave of Sarah, as she ran into the wilderness because of her mistreatment by her mistress.

There she had the amazing revelation of God’s mercy and grace for her hopeless situation –  a God whom she calls EL ROI (The God Who Sees).

AYIN is there as its other meaning: a spring of life in the wilderness.

Coincidentally her revelation of God is found in the 16th chapter of Genesis as 16 is the ordinal value of AYIN.

What is the spiritual lesson for us here?

There are two dominant themes in these verses: First, God sees Hagar (16:7-12); and second, Hagar sees God (16:13-16). God saw Hagar’s affliction; as a result, Hagar saw God’s mercy and submitted to Him. Applying it to us, we can put it this way.

Because God sees our affliction, we can see His mercy and submit to Him.

Abba Father, You are not blind to all our problems, trials, tribulations and sufferings. Hagar is symbolic of a Gentile outside Your covenant. But You saw her hopelessness and had mercy upon her by providing a spring of life and hope in You. Who is our Living Water but Christ in us the hope of glory?

Colossians 1:27

To whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.