This week I am participating in a dance camp put on by Celebration Ministry of Arts. The focus of the week is El Roi: The God Who Sees. The devotional is covering the story of Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant.
At one part of the story, Hagar is kicked out of Abraham's household and wanders the wilderness with her son, Ishmael. They run out of supplies, and so Hagar puts her son under a bush and walks away so that she doesn't have to see him die. But after a little while, an angel appears to her and says that he has heard the boy crying, and tells her not to be afraid because he will make Ishmael into a great nation.
After this, the Bible says that God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.
When I was reading the story, I thought that part was interesting, but I didn't dive very deep into it. Then, during worship the next morning, we sang the song Open the Eyes of My Heart, and it reminded me of what I had read. Then I also remembered the story of Elisha, when he asks for his servant's eyes to be opened, and his servant saw the hills filled with horses and chariots of fire.
That got me curious about what other times the Bible talks about somebody's eyes being opened. So I looked it up. Here are the occurrences I found that used the words "eyes opened":
1. Verse: Genesis 3:7 Person: Adam and Eve What they saw: Their shame
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."
2. Verse: Genesis 21:19 Person: Hagar What she saw: a well in the wilderness
"Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink."
3. Verse: Numbers 22:31 Person: Balaam What he saw: An angel of wrath
"Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown."
4. Verse: 2 Kings 4:35 Person: the Shunammite's son What he saw: Elisha, who raised him from death
"Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes."
5. Verse: 2 Kings 6:17 Person: Elisha's servant What he saw: Hills filled with horses and chariots of fire
"And Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
6. Verse: 2 Kings 6:20 Person: Aramean army What they saw: They were in their enemy's capital city.
"After they entered the city, Elisha said, 'Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.' Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria."
7. Verse: Mark 8:25 Person: Blind man What he saw: Jesus
"Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly
8. Verse: Luke 24:31 Person: Two disciples What they saw: That the stranger on the road was Jesus.
"Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight."
9. Verse: Acts 9:40 Person: Tabitha What she saw: Peter, who raised her from death.
"Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, 'Tabitha, get up.' She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up."
These are the nine occurrences. Some of them were bad, some were good. Most of them were very different, so it may be hard to find a pattern.
The only pattern I could see was that each time someone's eyes were opened, their life was changed. When it happened to Adam and Eve, it changed the world. With Hagar, the Shunammite's son, and Tabitha, their lives were saved or given back to them. With Balaam and the Aramean army, they saw pending doom. With the two disciples, they saw the risen Savior for the first time. With Elisha's servant, he saw deliverance from his enemies. Finally, with the blind man, he saw Jesus. He was so excited that Jesus had to tell him to stay away from the village on his way home.
So the lesson here is that when God opens your eyes, your life is about to change dramatically.
