Day 6: Genesis 20-23

Day 6: Genesis 20-23

Not again!

Okay, so a few chapters ago we have Abraham telling Sarah to clain that they are siblings and not husband and wife. The Pharaoh of Egypt then takes Sarah, at that time known as Sarai, as a captive. God sends message to Pharaoh through plagues and she is released. In today’s passage we see a very similar story. Again Abraham and Sarah claim to be siblings. Again Sarah is taken by a king, this time King Abimelech of Gerar. Again, God steps in to save the day. Wow, if I was God, I think I would be getting tired of this story.

I am also bothered by the continual reference to Abraham as an alien. Didn’t God promise land to Abraham, several times it seems? Yet again we have Abraham as an alien in the land of Gerar. No wonder the Bible has so many interpretations and understandings.

Once this whole business of alienation and abduction is over, Abraham faces an angry wife, which we all know an angry partner is never a good thing. Hagar, the slave who bore Abraham’s son, is still in the picture. In fact, Ishmael, Hagar’s son, is even playing with the son of Sarah. After heading his wife, Abraham kicks out his son and Hagar, leaving them distressed. Again, what an interesting Lifetime mini-series this would make.

Distressed, without water in the wilderness, Hagar and Ishmael give up hope. Then, just as God always does for all of us, God steps in and makes a promise to raise the son to be a leader of a nation. And in water, a sign later to become a symbol of our connection to God in baptism, provides comfort and nourishment.

I have been lost and thirsty before. I have been thrown out of the house in which I thought I belonged. In fact, I bet many of us have. Maybe not our parent’s house, maybe not even the church house we grew up in, but we have all been there. We have all been lost and thirsty. In those moments God provides a well, the issue is if we take the time to see it and trust that it will always provide.

This is Only a Test

Abraham, the latest television drama, continues. This week we find Abraham being told by God to sacrifice his son, the son he loves and was given at an old age. Oh yeah, and the son that God had promised.

I wonder when Isaac knew he was in for trouble. In the story, at least in the NRSV version, Abraham responds to Isaac’s inquiry about the lack of a sacrificial lamb by saying, “God will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.” But knowing that punctuation was added during translation, I wonder if Abraham could have said something like, “God will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering…my son.” Or even, “a burnt-offering: my son,” indicating to Isaac that his fate was doomed, just as the soundtrack plays an ominous DUM DUM DUM!

In the account found in Genesis, no matter when Isaac discovers Abraham’s assignment, there is no struggle, no fighting. Abraham binds his son and lays him on the altar. Yet nothing is heard from Isaac. Lucky for Isaac, and the promised generations of Abraham, the angel of the Lord appears with a substitute, and all is well.

Wait a second, that’s it? What about Isaac? How did Isaac react? I mean really, if I was just tied up and thrown on a fire I would be rather upset. Oh wait, children are property. I am sure glad some things have changed. J