An Inadvertent Blessing

 

An Inadvertent Blessing

 

Genesis 21:8-21
21:8 The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

21:9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac.

21:10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac."

21:11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son.

21:12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you.

21:13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring."

21:14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

21:15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes.

21:16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Do not let me look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

21:17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

21:18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him."

21:19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

21:20 God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow.

21:21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

 

The Bible has an abundance of stories that challenge our “modern” thinking about morals and ethics. (This makes us curious as to how some find in it, “absolutes,” of what is considered moral and/or ethical behavior!) These stories about Abraham and his legacy from Genesis are no exception. 

 

Abraham had received a promise from God that he and his wife, Sarah, would together sire a great nation of people, “as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea.” But they were getting on in years, and it sure looked like the promise would go unfulfilled. Sitting at the breakfast table one morning, and fretting about it in their “over the newspaper” conversation, Sarah had a brilliant idea: The old boy could sleep with her young hand maiden, Hagar, and if she were to bear a child, Sarah could “midwife” the birth and claim the child as her own. I guess this was considered an acceptable practice—at least legally—in that primitive time, but there is no way it would pass muster with any culture’s mores around motherhood! Why, in our time, even surrogacy, when properly contracted by legal agreement, is often still challenged in court by the surrogate when motherly instincts kick in. On numerous grounds, one of the most “fought over” issues of our time has to do with a woman’s rights over her own body. This story of Abraham, Hagar, and the “stealing” of Ishmael by Sarah via adverse attachment just doesn’t sit well for most readers, today.

 

We know that the Bible tells us that later, Abraham and Sarah are given a supernatural dispensation by God to have a “full blood” child of their own when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, and they named him Isaac, a name that means “laughter.” Some may suggest that the boy’s name can also mean “joyful,” which his parents certainly were when God “made good” on the promise, but having a baby at 100 and 90? I think uproarious “laughter” is in order. This was either a bona fide miracle of God, or a whopper of a story. Perhaps it is a little of both?

 

But Sarah’s initial suggestion to “jump start” God’s promise of an heir by having Abraham impregnate Hagar is quite a plot, isn’t it? I once heard a preacher call it one of the worst cases of shpilkes (Yiddish for “ants in the pants”) in history. Abraham seemed quickly down with the plan, as many men might be, when their aged wife suggests they have a sexual affair with a young maiden, with her blessing. The Bible isn’t clear as to the true motive of Sarah. Does she have the same anxiety as Abraham over the delay of God’s promised blessing of a child? Or is she just tired of Abraham’s harping about it? Or, maybe she’s tired of the “extra effort” going on in her bed over Abraham trying to make the “blessing” happen? Even if we give her the benefit of the doubt, and believe her motives were more about the future of Israel than getting Abraham to cool his jets, the plan seems dubious, and the outcome would eventually get the best of her, which is what today’s text is about.

 

Sarah, after her own child, Isaac arrives, finds the presence of the older Ishmael to be vexing, and his mother regularly reminds her of the manufactured affair her husband had with Hagar, one which Sarah, herself, had arranged. She saw their presence as an irritant, and possibly even a threat, to the continued fulfilment of God’s promise to her, Abraham, and their son, Isaac. In a bigoted turn, Sarah rejects “Hagar the Egyptian” and orders Abraham to “cast out this slave woman” and her son. Sarah had no problem with “Hagar the Egyptian” serving her as HER “slave woman,” but now that she had birthed a son fathered by her hubby, and one that might someday be a rival to the precious child of her own blood, Isaac, she wanted them gone. Human nature being what it is, I suppose we should excuse this rude—even cruel—behavior by Sarah, but in our modern cultural understanding, it is hard. I suppose, also, we could understand that Ishmael’s presence might also be an ongoing reminder of her lack of faith that God would make good on God’s promise, that she and Abraham would have a son, together. But her lack of faith, or at the very least, a bad case of shpilkes, aren’t a great excuse, either. 

 

Abraham seems upset by the whole development, although in fairness, we must understand that in so much of the Old Testament, women are to blame for the misfortunes that befall men. At least that what the male-authored stories tell us. Still, Sarah does not come off well in this story in Genesis. Due to her indignancy, Hagar and her son, Ishmael are sent away by a reluctant Abraham. We do get the feeling from the text that Abraham is legitimately sorry for this action, but again, we should remember who is giving us the history!

 

One person who importantly also believes an injustice is being done is God. God comforts Abraham, telling him that God will make a “great nation” of Ishmael, as well. God “hears the cries” of the banished Hagar and sends an angel to comfort her, also telling her that her offspring will also be the father of a “great nation.” What started out as a human-designed “scheme” to provoke a blessing out of God, now results in a powerful, inadvertent blessing upon Hagar, her son, Ishmael, and the nation he would begin. Like Paul’s handkerchief that exhibited healing powers in the New Testament, this Jewish story would suggest that God’s “inadvertent” blessing went with Ishmael because he was also Abraham’s offspring, and Abraham was God’s “chosen.” Maybe, but I am more convinced that God, being a God of justice, could not allow the injustice of Hagar and Ishmael’s banishment to stand, and offered God’s blessing on them, as well. 

 

It would be a grand oversimplification to reduce all of the historical love lost between Jews and Arabs to the familial breach between Isaac and Ishmael, but it sure seems to have it as its origin. Imagine—some of the worst and longest violence-provoking hatred in the history of humankind stemming from this singular incident! Oh, what a lack of faith can produce! It should make one be a bit more careful about how, when, and where we trust God, especially when we believe we have heard a “word” of direction from the Almighty! On the downside, we DO have to see this whole text as a “faith story,” and not necessarily recorded history of an actual event, for putting the onus of eons of war and struggle on a singular act of bad judgment on the part of Sarah and Abraham, is ludicrous—as ludicrous as pinning the entire “fall” of humanity on the characters of Adam and Eve. Like humanity throughout history hasn’t been responsible on our OWN part for propagating and ramping up such “sins” from generation to generation?

 

This is where we should pivot to the REAL story within the story—the “inadvertent” blessing bestowed upon Ishmael by God, out of God’s own sense of justice. Ishmael will not suffer because of Abraham and Sarah’s shpilkes. Ishmael, too, will have a nation, and it will be great. It is not too far an abstraction to see that the nation that someday would give birth to the THIRD major biblical religion—Islam—is the nation begat by Ishmael. If we draw this conclusion, we must also concede the importance of Islam on the world scene, as well as to the biblical narrative. We are all in this human drama together! Christians who ONLY side with Israel are guilty of the same prejudice that caused Sarah to demand Abraham send Ishmael and his mom, packing.  God’s blessing extends to the Islamic faith as well, and if we are to ever bring the “Kingdom’s” peace to the world, it must include the people God chose to bless alongside the descendants of Isaac. 

 

We could spend a lot of time sharing “closer to home” stories about how “inadvertent blessings” is a way of life for God, and the cause of countless blessings upon humanity. As a tech-involved person, here is one of my favorites:

 

A troubled, young woman presumably with a drug problem, gave birth to an “unwanted” and unplanned child a few decades ago. She immediately gave the child—who was born with his own health issues due to his mother’s issues--up for adoption. A kind California couple who could not have their own child reached out in love and adopted the needy infant. The lad survived, and would become known by his adopted father’s last name—Jobs. Steven Jobs, who would go on to found a famous technology company that has brought rechargeable magic to masses, and that I must confess, a company that has acquired much of my personal disposable income!

 

 God is a God of justice, compassion, and “inadvertent” blessings! In spite of our human failings, and even the injustices which we are so good at propagating, God continues to do God’s part to “head off” the resulting failings and bless “both” parties! As long as humans contrive false dichotomies, divergent aims and policies, and polarizing circumstances, God will work to bless all “factions” in an aim toward an harmonious, Beloved Community.” In math terms, God adds and multiplies, not subtracts and divides. When we “send something away” because it is distasteful to us, God will seek to redeem it, and even pronounce a blessing upon it. This is the lesson we should take from this story! And the “lesson” is not that we should be less polarizing in our behavior to “avoid” God blessing our adversaries, but should instead just learn that God WILL bless our adversaries until we reconcile with them. God’s eventual goal is a shared blessing among all of God’s people, not a divided, “We’re better (or might right or more “orthodox”) than you!” human reality. Note, also, that God’s bias is toward the “least, the last, and the lost.” If we are to receive God’s blessing, we, too, should adopt offering a cup of cold water (or much more!) to the “least of these.” It’s the way of God. It’s the example of Jesus. And it is the mission of the Holy Spirit. Amen!