“So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs.”
Genesis 21:14-15
I love survival information; stories of survival in less than welcoming conditions have always caught my interest. When reading this passage it struck me that in the conditions of the wilderness of Beersheba, a sunspot of sorts with arid and hot climates, two people wandering with only a small ration of food and water wouldn’t stand much chance for survival. As I looked for information on how long the average healthy human being could survive while in conditions like the wilderness of Beersheba, I came to find the average survival rule of thumb is: 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.
After Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael off in the early morning with some food and water the situation dried up rather quickly. Conditions were more than likely pretty rough and as we see in the verses that follow it wasn’t just dehydration that ailed Hagar and Ishmael…it was loss of Hope as well.
In the Bible water often represents the Word of God (John 4, John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26) and the Spirit of God (Isaiah 44:3, Zechariah 14:8, John 7:37-39). Just as Hagar and Ishmael didn’t stand much chance for survival in the heat of the day while wandering through the wilderness without water, when “the water in the skin” or the living water of our hearts dries up, we too are bound for dehydration and gradual death both physically and spiritually. The common mistake that we as believers often make is that because we have a Bible in hand and are reading the scriptures we are okay, the truth is that’s only part of the equation.
Have you ever made the mistake of putting a bottle of some type of beverage to your lips and didn’t realize that the cap was still on the bottle? The satisfaction of the beverage is there but it’s not accessible unless the cover is removed. The Bible is like that bottle of water, and the only way that the cap comes off and we are filled with the living water of the Word and the refreshing Spirit of God is through intimate relationship and faith in Jesus Christ. We can read all we want but when the Spirit of God isn’t present things get pretty dry and our time in the Word isn’t fully satisfying.
“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
2 Corinthians 3:14-16
When times get hot and arid in life and it seems as though all hope is lost we often find ourselves looking for shelter in the most insufficient places, Ishmael wasn’t the only guy that found himself under a shrub, Elijah went under a broom tree, and Jonah tried to find some shade under some leaves as well. All these guys were in a hopeless state in their respective “hot” situations…perhaps you’re looking to duck under some shade from the heat of your circumstances? King David tells us that safety is found in abiding in the presence of God.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Psalm 91:1-2
Where are you today?
Are you looking for refuge from the heat of the day?
Are you dry and thirsty when in the Word of God?
Turn to Jesus, get back to intimacy with Him, He’ll take the cap off your bottle and pour you a fresh glass of satisfaction.
Browse Timeline
- « A fist full of faith let’s go of what it’s holding (Genesis 21:12-13)
- » Crying out to God (Genesis 21:16-21)
