Who is God? The One Who Sees Me and You
- Kathryn Cox
- Feb 24, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 7
The “Eye in the Sky” wasn’t. In 1986, pre-launch work on the famed Hubble Telescope screeched to a halt after the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off the morning of January 28. As the world collectively mourned, officials postponed Hubble’s scheduled launch. Engineers moved the massively expensive telescope to a storage facility in California. At the cost of 8 million dollars a month (1), Hubble sat in this specialized unit (yeah, I bet it was specialized) until finally, on April 24, 1990, the Sky Eye reached its destination. But wait, this All-Seeing Eye still couldn’t – not yet. A mirror polishing machine made a minor faux pas: “The flaw was tiny, two-fiftieths as broad as a human hair…” (2) Yet this razor-thin mistake caused Hubble to transmit fuzzy images back to NASA headquarters. Taxpayers footed the bill for another $629+ million to send astronauts into space on December 2, 1993, aboard the shuttle Endeavour to fix the defect.
Irritated from a Distance
The perception of who God is probably has as many versions as the number of stars in the Milky Way. Although the repaired Hubble telescope is still living up to its “Eye in the Sky” name, how many believe God is sort of like this “out there,” “hovering over but not relevant in earth,” or “takes a monumental effort to reach” deity? In the same year of Hubble’s launch, Bette Midler released a popular song, “From A Distance.” I still remember huffing loudly at my car radio because all the stations played this annoying song ad nauseam (sorry if this is one of your favorites). It wasn’t Midler’s voice or the melody that made me turn the radio dial in my slightly rusted, paint-peeling, 1984 blue Buick Skyhawk (with luggage rack!). At 16, I was serious about my Christian faith and knew beyond doubt the lyrics of this song (originally written by American singer-songwriter Julie Gold in 1985) misrepresented the God I knew as far as Hubble could peer into the black, unknown abyss. If you haven’t heard the song, you can find the lyrics here: https://www.justsomelyrics.com/1467380/bette-midler-god-is-watching-us-lyrics.html Basically, the words infer God (well, whatever “god” is to Julie Gold) is completely aloof, watching the world from far off only seeing harmony and unity while, in reality, things are a terrible mess. What is the truth? Does God of the Bible see “fuzzy” like the famous telescope’s first faulty mirror? Or does He not only see very clearly, but “see and…”?
Jimmy Carter from a Distance
It’s one thing to see but another to see and respond with action. My pilot husband had the privilege of once flying former President Jimmy Carter and his wife on a private jet. Yes, President Carter physically saw my husband as he stepped aboard the charter, but I assure you we did not receive an invitation to his home after that trip. I’m certain many people wrongly think the Lord is perched on His heavenly throne, impersonal, as a former United States President would be to the ordinary masses. To bring true spiritual awakening, Christians must understand and teach the true character of the One True God. The Old Testament Hebrew names of God are key to grasping His nature. One of these unique names, used only once in scripture, challenges every “From a Distance” word.
Hagar’s Heartache Meets the God Who Hears
Hagar’s pregnancy was a mistake (or so it seemed). God told an old and childless Abraham, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you...I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.” (Genesis 26:4,24) Abraham’s equally elderly wife, Sarah, was barren, and the promise from God looked a bit iffy. Did they misunderstand? Did God need a brilliant strategy to “help” Him fulfill His promise? Sarah decided to have her husband marry her younger (and fertile) Egyptian slave, Hagar. Surely Hagar would give birth to the promised child! Problem solved! Yet Sarah and Abraham ignored one significant detail: “Then God said to Abraham, ‘Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. And I will bless her and give you a son from her!’” (Genesis 17:15-16, NLT)
Hagar did become pregnant, but also a tad arrogant and treated Sarah “with contempt” (Genesis 16:4). Sarah dishes it right back to Hagar, treating her so harshly Hagar runs away (Genesis 16:6). I’d like to think at least one reason for what God did next was to mock a dumb song that would be written some 4000+ years later. Regardless, God sends an angel to find Hagar to give her hope and instruction: You are expecting a son. Name him Ishmael, which means “God hears,” because He has heard your cry of distress. Return to Sarah and submit to her authority. I’ll bless you and give you more descendants than you can count through your son. (Genesis 16:7-11)
God Sees – Even the Wild Donkeys
After the angelic encounter, Genesis 16:13 says from then on, Hagar refers to God as “El-Roi,” which means “God sees me.” Not just “God sees,” but “God sees me.” I’m no theologian. I’m sure someone with years of Bible college can expound on El-Roi in flawless doctrine. All I can offer is my not-a-scholar, uncouth as a rusty-old-Buick thoughts: I see a nobody slave girl who married her benevolent but elderly master not for love but under order. As far as we know, Hagar did as she was told without protest. Now pregnant, but OOPS…no…never mind…that divine promise didn’t mean your child. I see a woman whom God could have let her and her unborn baby die in the wilderness – honestly, the prophecy concerning her son wasn’t glamorous: He will be like an untamed wild donkey. He will fight everyone around him including his relatives! (Genesis 16:12) However, God saw Hagar and her obedient heart. After being told to “return to Sarah and submit to her authority,” she did. It appears to me Hagar was even a bit stunned at how near the not-aloof-or-distant God of the universe came to her: “She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (Genesis 16:13, NLT)
From Genesis 16 to Revelation, no one else calls God by the name El-Roi. Still, how He observes and intervenes in a personal “I see you” way confirms Hagar hit the mark in her appellation. Here are a few (of many) examples where I see “El-Roi”:
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” Genesis 7:1 (NKJV) My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. 1 Samuel 2:1 (NLT) From Hannah’s prayer of praise to God for seeing her distress (childless) and then blessing her with a son, Samuel.
…Lord of armies, who tests the righteous, who sees the mind and the heart… Jeremiah 20:12 (NASB)
Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Matthew 6:4 (NLT)
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30 (NKJV)
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to Him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others…but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 (NLT)
Now a certain man was there (Pool of Bethesda) who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up….” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. John 5:5-9 (NKJV)
One day, about three in the afternoon, he (Cornelius) had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God come to him and say, “Cornelius!” He stared at the angel and was terrified. Cornelius asked the angel, “What do you want, sir?” The angel answered him, “God is aware of your prayers and your gifts to the poor, and He has remembered you. Acts 10:3-4 (GW)
Big Question, Easy Answer
Hubble has undoubtedly answered many “big” questions. In case you were wondering, in 2019, the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite teamed up with Hubble to weigh the Milky Way (since “We can't put the whole Milky Way on a scale,” reads the highly intellectual article). And because the answer to this question may change your life, I won’t delay giving you the earth-shattering conclusion: about 1.5 trillion solar masses. (3) Do you feel better? One question I dare not ask is, “How much money did this cost taxpayers?” Well, perhaps this answer is important to someone, but honestly, questions I’d rather have answered are, “God, do you see me? I’m a mess. Things aren’t going like I had planned. I feel alone. Are you there?” James 4:8 assures us yes, the God whom Hagar called “El-Roi” still is. It’s this simple: “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (NIV)
But You do see! You take note of trouble and grief in order to take the matter into Your own hand. Psalm 10:14 (ISV)
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