Genesis 21:1-21
When we read this story from a Jewish or Christian
perspective, we interpret it to mean that God blessed Isaac, the child of the
promise and that Ishmael was sent into the wilderness. Muslims tell the same story but in their
version, God blessed Ishmael. If we read
the Bible story carefully, it tells us that God blessed them both. Sarah may not have been able to bring herself
to love the child of Hagar but Abraham did. God definitely loved them both and blessed
them both, albeit in different ways. Unlike
most ancient myths and legends, these ancient Hebrew stories have characters
that are complex and compromised and fully human. There is good and bad in all of them. This story was written to engage our sympathy
for the rejected one and leave us wondering about the righteousness of the
chosen one.
Abraham’s story extends from chapter 12-25. It ends with Abraham marrying again after
Sarah died and his sons all scattering into their own countries, each one
gifted by Abraham. And when he breathed
his last, “his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him” and Isaac settled in Be’er-la’hai-roi
which is the place where Hagar fled after Sarah kicked her out the first
time!! (Genesis 16) Was
Ishmael still living there? Could it be that originally the father of the Jews
and the father of the Muslims actually got along? Can we each be blessed in different ways and
live together peacefully with our differences?
Omar Lopez (unsplash)
I acknowledge the ideas of Jonathan Sacks in his book
“Not in God’s Name”
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