#44 My Enemy, My Brother Genesis 16

Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." The angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." And the angel of the Lord said to her: "Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of his brethren."

The Angel of the Lord here, messenger or voice of God, is often understood by many Biblical teachers to be the pre-incarnate Christ. I would say given the other instances of His mention or appearance before the birth of Christ, that this is the Son of God. 

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "here I am." Then he said, "do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. Exodus 3: 2-6 NKJV

Hagar is given direction to name the boy, Ishmael, which means "God hears". He was described as a wild donkey, and that his hand would be against every man and every man's hand against him. Abram is the father of two nations, the Hebrews and Arabic peoples. This prophecy has held true to this day. The Jews were in captivity, men have tried to exterminate them, and they have been at odds with the Arabs throughout history. The Arabic, or what we think of as Muslim nations have been at odds with Israel, with the U.S. and each other for thousand of years now. The Crusades did not take them out and God has continued to increase them, as from Abram's seed will come a blessing to all nations of the earth. People are our enemies by their choices and their actions; anyone who is an enemy off Christ would be considered our enemy because we are the children of Christ. That said, what is Christ response to our enemies. Well, it's Good Friday today, and that should tell you enough in itself. If there was no good Friday there would be no Easter Sunday. We were all enemies of Christ because we were all born into and then readily embraced the sin which he hates. His response was to die on the cross, and His direction to you is to love your enemies. 

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" Matthew 5: 44-46 NKJV