THE BLESSING OF A BELIEVER'S HOUSE
THE BLESSING OF A BELIEVER’S HOUSE
Genesis 16:7-9; Genesis 16:13,14; Genesis 21: 14 - 21
I suggested these two scriptures for two reasons; first because in them we have the idea of a well or spring, and secondly because they speak of two persons who belong to a believer’s house, and whom God sought to bless because they belonged to a believer’s house. The idea of a well, it may be remarked, has a very great place in Scripture. It is found frequently in this book and throughout other books of scripture whether in the Old or New Testament, and suggests what is living as meeting man’s need. It may therefore be regarded as typical of the system of grace which God has established in Christ, which system involves not only doctrine and light, but what is living. The Holy Spirit came down from heaven as sent down by the Lord Jesus Christ as exalted up there; it is therefore a living system of things.
The apostle Peter in his first great gospel address alludes to it. The Holy Spirit was present at Pentecost in Jerusalem, and men and women were possessed of Him. And they were supremely happy, so much so that the unregenerate around thought they were full of new wine, but Peter explains that they were not filled with new wine as was supposed, but that a wonderful power had come down from Christ in heaven and had taken possession of them, so that he says, referring to Christ, that “being by the right hand of God exalted ... he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear”. It was there, you see; it was obviously there, and thousands of his hearers said to him and to the others standing by him, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”. His answer was, “Repent, and be baptised, each one of you ... for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. Then he adds, The promise is unto you and unto your children. This wonderful gift from God was there and was available to believers. It was, as I said, symbolised by a spring or well, that which springs up, which refreshes and satisfies, which indeed, as the Lord said Himself, shall be “a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life”.
This symbol is found in the two scriptures read, and it is found for the first time in these. Water is spoken of earlier; we have it in oceans, in seas, in lakes, and in rivers, and in each of these divisions of water God has been thinking of men. But a well is a peculiar provision, as if God would think not only of the masses of men, but of every single person in the world. An ocean may serve millions of people at once, but a well suggests provision made for one person or for a family, and, as I said, it is peculiar in that it springs up and contains the element of refreshment and satisfaction; hence it is a beautiful symbol of the system of grace that God has established in Christ.
Now I want to show how it is connected with these two persons belonging to Abraham’s house, knowing that many young ones here belong to households of faith. Abraham is said to be the father of all believers; he is the great patriarch, and so may be taken to represent every believer who has a household. It is said of Abraham that he would command his children and his house after him. In seeking to command their houses, believers are oft-times profoundly concerned about the members of their households, and God knows this. God has great regard for the head of a house who is concerned about every member of his house, and He will work with us in the salvation of our children. But in working with us. He would work through us, and if He is to work through us we must feel things. If we are concerned about a thing we will pray to [p. 122] God, and God will never fail to answer the prayer of faith.
The first of these persons is called Hagar, and what is said of her is that an angel found her by a well. And what was she occupied in when he found her? In the path of disobedience, showing that God follows us up although we take the path of disobedience. She was disobedient, and if we are to be blessed through Christ, the element of obedience must show itself. The apostle Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”, but here is a member of Abraham’s house actually fleeing from that house. From whom is she fleeing? From her mistress; from one who had authority over her; like many young men and women to whom the home authority becomes irksome, who wish to be free of it. The authority that God has placed in our parents is the very best kind of authority; it is the authority of love.
Now you may say. Hagar was not fleeing from her parent. No, she was fleeing from her mistress; she was fleeing from one who had authority over her. Sarah is one of the most remarkable personages in Scripture; she belongs to the holy women of Scripture. True enough it is said that she oppressed Hagar, but then, she was her mistress, and Hagar was her bond-slave. So that you see she was entitled to exercise authority, and Hagar was manifesting an insubordinate will. Her mistress was being despised in her eyes. In other words Hagar is here therefore a type of an insubordinate young man or woman in a believer’s household, and rather than submit to the authority, she flees. But where was she fleeing? That is the question the angel asks her. Where wilt thou go? he asks.
I would say to you young people whose faces are towards the world. Where are you going? You say, I want to see a bit of the world and my parents will [p. 123] not allow me to go to the cinema or theatre; I want a free hand. But then, where will you go? You go to the theatre, but what is after that? Year after year rolls on, and old age comes, and what then? You have had your fling in the world, but what then? You are passing away and the world is passing away, but what is the end? The angel says to her, Where wilt thou go? and all that she could say was that she was fleeing; in that she told the truth. Young people are blinded as to what this world is. I have seen it on good authority that ten thousand young people go from the country into New York every year; they go to join the chorus and the theatres and what not, and they are not heard of again. And so I say, Where will you go? what is the end of this course? The world, you see, eats people up, though you think you may shine in it.
The angel says to Hagar, Where wilt thou go? He found her by a well of water. The angel of God is after this fleeing rebellious woman. It may be that Sarah was pleased that she left; it does not appear that she made any effort to recover her. And so it is that young people may leave their father’s houses and their mother’s houses, but God’s eye is upon them. It may be that the door is on the latch for you to come back; that may be as it was in this case, for evidently Abraham’s house was open to her to return, but there is no indication that Abraham or Sarah sent anyone after her. But look! God sent an angel from heaven after her. Is it not remarkable evidence of the grace of God? It says that the angel found her by a spring of water in the wilderness — by the spring on the way to Shur; that is to say, it is not simply any spring, but a particular one, one that could be located. In other words in the spiritual application of it, it is a spring known to us who are christians, and you are by it at this very minute. So to speak, the angel of the Lord is [p. 124] here to find you; he would remind you that you have been in the path of self-will, and that your salvation depends on giving up that path. So that he says, ‘Return to thy mistress Sarah and be submissive to her’. You see, something had happened that brought out the insubordinate character of the woman. She had set out on a path of destruction and her only salvation lay in giving up that path and returning to her mistress Sarah.
Well now, I would appeal to young people here tonight, that the angel of the Lord, or rather, the Lord Himself, is here to save you. But there must be submission; God is not going to fill heaven with insubject people. In His patience He has tolerated lawlessness in men for thousands of years on the earth, but all self-will and lawlessness is going to be cleared away; all must be in subjection to Christ. And so the word here is, ‘Return and submit yourself’; that is the point. Hagar listens and she called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her, “Thou art the God who reveals himself”. That is to say, she is in the presence of God. What a wonderful opportunity for her! Then the well that is alluded to here receives a name that remains — Beer-lahai-roi, meaning ‘the well of Him that seeth me’. That is the well. It is on the way to Shur, we are told. We christians know that; it is the well of Him that sees. We christians know what it is to come under the searching eye of a holy God — like that well-known woman at Sychar who said, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did”. She understood, you see, what it meant — the well of Him that sees. Every true christian is thankful that God is seeing into his inmost soul, and as we judge ourselves before God, we come into the benefit of this well. This well is connected with Isaac later; it is seen as Rebecca approaches him. He stands related to this well. That is to say, Christ in heaven stands related [p. 125] to this well. So that the assembly knows, Rebecca knows, the significance of the well. Rebecca is a type of the assembly composed of all believers; she understood the value of the well. She was accustomed to carrying the water pitcher and filling it at the well. When Abraham’s servant drew near she let down the water pitcher and he drank; she gave him drink and the camels also. That shows that all true believers come into the appreciation and use of the well.
Now I want to show from chapter 21 that whilst this well was available to Hagar, apparently she never got the good of it. And this is a warning to all young people, that whilst God follows you up in grace, you may in the end not get the good of it. The time may come when you will have to say, ‘The harvest is passed and the summer is ended and I am not saved’. Hagar had returned to Abraham’s house, but her offspring of whom it was said, he would be a wild ass of a man, had proved himself to be this, and now both she and he are cast out. How dreadful to be actually cast outside of a believer’s house. It is one thing to flee in self-will, but it is another to be cast out. The word is, “Cast out this handmaid and her son”. You may say, ‘One in that case is beyond salvation’. Not yet. Not yet, young man; you belong to a christian’s house, and God has great regard for the prayers of your father and mother, and although you are outcast, God is still following you up. So you find Hagar and Ishmael here in the wilderness; the water in the bottle that Abraham put upon her is all spent. Like the prodigal she has nothing now, but look — let this touch our hearts!
It says in verse 15, “The water was exhausted from the flask; and she cast the child under one of the shrubs, and she went and sat down over against him, a bow-shot off; for she said, Let me not behold the death of the child. And she sat over against [p. 126] him, and lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad”. You see, you are in dire distress now, you are an outcast with no water to drink, and no bread to eat; death is staring you in the face. And what happens? God heard the voice of the lad. You see, He had not given them up. He will go to the utmost extremity; whilst you are in the body there is hope; whilst this wonderful gospel day remains there is hope for the greatest sinner. Although so self-willed, so crooked that you are cast out even from the household in which you have been brought up, yet God hears the voice of the lad; God heard it in heaven. A young boy thirteen or fourteen years of age, cast under a shrub to die, but God heard the voice of the lad. Does it not touch your heart? If there is a cry going up from your heart for salvation, God hears it. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Jesus died for such as you. Could there be a greater wild ass of a man than Saul of Tarsus “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord”, and yet a voice from heaven calls him by name, “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?”
Ishmael had been persecuting Isaac, and he is an outcast, but God hears his voice. It is the dispensation of grace — the grace that carries salvation for all men has appeared. And so God heard the voice of the lad; He heard it where the lad was. And where was he? He was under a shrub, about to die, cast there to die. God heard his voice where he was. In other words, God knows all about your circumstances. You may have gone far into the world and indulged yourself — disgraced your parents it may be, dishonoured the Lord’s name it may be, but now, you see, a voice goes up, a cry of need, and God hears you where you are. Well now, you will observe in verse 18 the angel says to Hagar, “Arise, take the [p. 127] lad, and hold him in thy hand”. Now, you see, the time of salvation is at your very door. She was to hold him in her hand. The point is that for which you are responsible. Hagar was here responsible for her boy; she is to take him in her hands.
In the epistle to the Romans I learn that I stand before God in my responsibility; I stand before the bar of God as convicted — a sinner. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. My case is truly hopeless unless God acts. And so that epistle says, “But now ... the righteousness of God is manifested towards ... all, and upon all those who believe: for there is no difference ... being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God has set forth a mercy seat, through faith in his blood”. You see, that is exactly Hagar’s position, she is standing with the boy in her hands before God. And so in Romans 3 the sinner stands before God in his responsibility, and he is truly lost unless God acts for him. But God has acted for us; He has sent forth His Son — “whom God has set forth a mercy-seat, through faith in his blood”. So that God is “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus”.
Well now, all this grace is brought to Hagar and Ishmael. It says in verse 19 that God opened her eyes and she saw the well of water. As I have been saying, it is God’s wonderful system of grace that He has set up for us. He opens her eyes to see it. May He open your eyes, and may you embrace this wonderful opportunity of being saved, to receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that the well is in yourself, that which, as it says, is in the believer a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. As the Lord further says, “Whosoever drinks of the water ... shall never thirst for ever”. Would you not like to have such water, such a well? We are not speaking merely of [p. 128] theoretical things; we know what we are speaking about; we have this well in us. We do not thirst; we have in us that which springs up into everlasting life.
All this is brought to Hagar. It says God opened her eyes and she saw the well of water, and she went and filled the flask with water and gave the lad drink. Then it says God was with the lad and he grew. So far, you see, things are going well, and for a soul truly born of God all is perfectly secure, but alas, in Hagar’s case and in Ishmael’s case, all this wonderful grace and consideration on the part of God seems to have been lost. And this is a very solemn word for each of us. We may take the flask and fill it, and drink of it, and yet turn away to the world. As is said in Hebrews, we may taste the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. We are warned here of the necessity of deep-rooted work, of thorough repentance and self-judgment. What you find with Ishmael is that his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. There is no evidence, you see, of accompanying evidences of salvation in her case. Think of a parent going deliberately into the world to select a wife for her son, or a husband for her daughter. There is no evidence of salvation there. Salvation is not only from judgment to come; it is from this world, and if I link my child on with the world, where is the evidence of salvation in that? And that is exactly what Hagar did. She selected a wife for her son from Egypt. The believer, on the contrary, in Genesis, makes a point of selecting a wife for his child that belonged to the family. Abraham caused his servant to swear on this very point. And so Isaac in regard of Jacob.
You can see that whilst this wonderful system of grace is brought within our reach, and we may taste of it in an outward way, yet we may not be saved [p. 129] from the world. And this, as I said, is a word for all parents here, that if we are to have our children saved, we must keep them out of the world. But then, what I am occupied with now is not that so much, as that this wonderful system of grace is brought to your very door this evening. God opened Hagar’s eyes and she saw the well of water and she went and filled the flask with water and gave the lad drink, and God was with the lad and he grew. You see, the elements of salvation are all present. May God help you young people to see the well, to see the wonderful system of grace that is available. Forgiveness is offered to you, the righteousness of God and the Holy Spirit on the simple principle of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless the word.
Pages 130 - 533 — “The Fulness and other Ministry”, U.S.A., 1937 - 1944 (Volume 191).