I'm struck very much so far in my reading of the Bible by how often people totally misunderstand what God's plan for them is, how often they reason that "God helps those that help themselves" and see to putting into motion God's promises in their own way. Abram has done this at least twice so far, and both scenes involve the matriarch Sarai. Despite how she can be depicted in these scenes, I actually really like Sarai/Sarah. She laughs in disbelief often when I might have but she submits and believes anyway. She is sometimes so sure of God's promises that she imagines she must take action to help them come to pass. God promised that you would be a great nation? Well then, he'll have to begin with a baby right? And since I clearly can't have any, I bet He means for this to happen via someone else, but no matter what, we'll get it done!
Sarai's maid Hagar seems to have stuck around from their previous foray into Egypt, a kind of reminder almost of the last time Abram and Sarai tried to keep their little tribe going and Sarai ended up in Pharaoh's harem. That time, God's promise that he would make Abram's name great seemed to be in danger, but their attempts to do this their own way ended in tragedy for everyone. Now, they have their own plans on how to make of Abram "a great nation", sadly involving bigamy with a foreign, pagan woman, and we all know how well that went. Egypt in Genesis seems to symbolize a land that tempts the faithful with a way to "do it their own way", to become self-made men, only to end up enslaving them to sin. Sounds a little like the "land of promise" I live in. I wonder how Joseph's story of elevation to prominence in Egypt will fit into this? I feel like that story redeems the reputation of the country while at the same time condemning the Hebrews to the fulfillment of the prophecy of physical slavery. Eventually, after the Exodus, Jesus will go there with the Holy Family as a place of refuge.
I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to be in Sarai's position. Hagar knows that in the world's eyes she has gained status purely by being pregnant with that precious, precious child. Sarai knows God and knows the kind of extravagant promises he has made to Abram and herself due to their faith, and this gives her an assurance of her status that the world doesn't know. Could Hagar's child really be the one to fulfill those promises for them? God couldn't possibly do it any other way, right? Finally she begins to get angry, thinking that all this pain and suffering came from Abram's need to have children to "father a great nation". He gets the rewards, and she gets all the backtalk and disrespect. She knew enough and had enough faith to expect justice from God, but wasn't sure about getting it from Abram, so she appealed to both. Like previous men and women in the Bible who have tried to achieve God's ends by their own means, Sarai took what she wanted and then blamed others when the plan backfires.
When sins are committed, even against unbelievers or evildoers, God's justice includes them. Hagar received justice for Sarai's lashing out in the form of a promise of greatness for her son's descendents, even though she was also commanded in justice to return to her rightful place as Sarai's slave. The fair and just thing was done on both sides, a win-win, but justice may not always look good to either party. Ishmael (God hears) was born after a vision of El-Roi (The God who Sees), seeming to indicate that Hagar understands the watchfulness and vigilance of God for people, the God who swoops down to bring justice. Her son's legacy would not be that of the faithful follower of God, but instead was predicted to be changeable, rebellious, and tough. The angel makes it clear that God has other plans for this child who was conceived to bring his promise to bear. It is important that his mother recognize her subordinate status to the matriarch Sarai, the one whose child would become the head of the line leading to Jesus and the salvation of the world, but when she does, it brings blessings to her. I wonder how Arab Muslims look at this passage, given their claimed lineage from Ishmael? I can see how this would prove to be an inspiring tale for them and could be seen in a good light, but it seems so clear that Ishmael is the offspring of an attempt to force God's promises to come true in a certain way.
Once again, a promise misunderstood is a covenant made. Abram's misunderstanding of the promise that he will father a great nation seems to lead directly to God's upgrading this to a covenant, a giving of Himself and a taking of Abram and his tribe to Himself in return. His timing is perfect...an already old man at Ishmael's birth, Abram is made to wait another thirteen years until he is ninety nine for God to do this. Now there is no chance of him expecting a child's arrival to make sense. This time, the covenant won't be written in creation, in a day or in the sky...but it will be written onto man, marking him out by a change in the flesh as belonging to the Lord's tribe. As Christians, we do not circumcise and name, as a sign of this old covenant and membership in the tribe of Abraham, but we do baptize and name, a sign of a new covenant that marks us out bodily for membership in the global family, tribe, kingdom of Jesus Christ. Eight days...the seven (perfect number) and one more beyond it...the number of redemption. As a sign of giving Himself to us, God gives himself a title, El-Shaddai (God, the almighty). Not quite a name, but close enough. He also gives titles/new names to Abram(great father) and Sarai (my princess)... makes them Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarah (the princess).
Abraham clearly misunderstands some of God's intentions, and He is thus painfully clear at this point. If Sarah is going to have the honor of bearing a son that will carry this covenant forward, then Abraham and Sarah's former reasoning that Ishmael's drama-inducing birth was the fulfillment of the promise is laughably wrong. Abraham laughs to think he got it so very very wrong. Sarah's title as mother of the tribe has been usurped...and yet at the same time thinking of her as being able to take on that role via true, physical pregnancy and birth at her age seems absurd to him. Genius, Lord...says he...pure genius. Who'da thunk it. I've done that before. I've shaken my head and laughed in joy when God's plan for me, absurd as it so recently seemed to think it, becomes clear. The son that will bear their legacy is to be named Isaac, "laughing" in honor of the wonderful, joyous absurdity that is God's plan for us.
Abraham's fear that God's plan will not include Ishmael, given that Ishmael exists because of this attempt to take matters into human hands, is speedily dealt with as well. Ishmael exists, says God, because I wanted him to be and I care for him...but he isn't who I mean when I say you will have a great nation to descend from you.
Abraham's fear for Ishmael echoes in many human hearts. Women who are pregnant but abused (or men who are abused along with their children), women who become pregnant from rape, women pregnant out of wedlock. All of them wonder if God wants their children to be. All of them fear that, because of the way they were conceived or the situation they are born into, God is going to ignore these children or mark them out as lesser. There is a fear that, if blessings are due to the child born into "normal, godly" circumstances, then those blessings must come from depriving the children not born that way somehow. God has abundant blessings and mercy for every child, and He wants them to exist. They aren't an affront to Him. Ishmael is circumcised into the tribe along with everyone else.
God does have a problem with primogeniture, it seems, when the oldest son is unworthy, turns away from righteousness. Humans see status markers like "being born first", God looks on the heart. Shem, being righteous, is allowed to defend his leadership position as the first born, but Cain, Reuben, and Ishmael are displaced from God's favor by younger brothers because those younger brothers do what is right. They call on God's name in humility and defend his justice.
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