8.17.2026 - Matt Hekman
The devotionals this week are by Matt Hekman.
August 17
God has many attributes, some we share to a degree, and others we do not. We do not share his independence (self-existence), eternity, or immutability (unchangeableness), to name a few. These are some of God’s incommunicable characteristics. God’s communicable attributes are ones that we share with him. We can be wise, loving, just, good, and merciful, for instance. We certainly are never these things perfectly, but the fact that sinful humans regularly exhibit these characteristics is a proof that we are created “in the image of God.”
This week we’ll study one of God’s communicable attributes: his Gentleness. We’ll start by looking at the story of Hagar and Ishmael.
Genesis 16:7-13
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
Backing up just a couple verses we find out why Hagar was in such a predicament. Abram had been promised a legacy of countless offspring, but it wasn’t happening the way he and Sarai thought it would, so they decided to improvise. When we decide we know better than God and make our own plan, bad things happen. Sometimes those bad things happen to other people. Hagar was forced into an impossible situation because of the unfaithfulness of Abram and Sarai, so she ran.
God had not made Hagar any promises, but he didn’t just let her go. Through the angel of the Lord, he “sough her and found her.” (v.7) The gentleness of God in this moment is surprising. He comforts her and gives her a promise. She too will have descendants “too numerous to count.” This was Abram’s promise. Now it was hers too.
Hagar felt the gentleness of God in this experience. As one who certainly felt unwanted and invisible, this encounter flipped that upside down. Verse 13 tells us, “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
This doesn’t fix everything, though. After Abram’s son Isaac is born, it becomes obvious that Hagar’s son, Ishmael will not have a place as Abram’s heir and Sarai decides it is time for them to go. But this is troubling to Abram as Ishmael’s father.
God shows his gentleness to Abram and gives him assurance as well. “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” (21:12-13) Even though Abram brough this trouble with Hagar and Ishmael on himself, God showed Abram gentleness, reminding him that, in the end, God had it all sorted out.
Lastly, we see one more example of the gentleness of God as Hagar leaves into the desert. She finds herself out of water and sure she is going to perish, or at least sure that Ishmael will perish.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.
17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” (Gen 21:15-18)
God again gently meets Hagar in her distress and reminds her of his promises to her. He shows her the well, providing the water she desperately needed. The passage closes with the beginning of God fulfilling his promise – Ismael has grown and marries. The great nation he will become has begun.
Sometimes God’s gentleness shows up in our desperation with reminders of promises he has already made. May God’s promises come to mind when you need his gentle voice reminding you of his love and that in the end, HE has it all figured out.