This chapter has so much more than what's written on the surface. But, I agree with you that it seems strange to allow your husband to sleep with someone else because you couldn't have a child. But, this is the 2nd thime that Abram chooses his own path, rather than God's. God has already promised him offspring, but Abram doesn't trust God to fulfill it....he feels he has to lend a hand to make it happen.
But, the bigger point to this, is the separation betweeen the Muslims and the Christians. If you read the Koran, you'll see that they also hold Abram/Abraham as a partriarch of the faith, but they don't recognize Isaac....they recognize Ismael. Isn't that nuts. This is where it all starts. This is marks the beginning of the feud between Christians and Muslims. “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael,[a] for the Lord has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
If you look at this verse in reference to the Islam/Christian confilct......it takes on an entirely new meaning, doesn't it?
I didn't know the connection to Islam. I didn't know when they broke off separately. So based on this we should not expect to ever be in peaceful coexistence with Islam.
This chapter has so much more than what's written on the surface. But, I agree with you that it seems strange to allow your husband to sleep with someone else because you couldn't have a child. But, this is the 2nd thime that Abram chooses his own path, rather than God's. God has already promised him offspring, but Abram doesn't trust God to fulfill it....he feels he has to lend a hand to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteBut, the bigger point to this, is the separation betweeen the Muslims and the Christians. If you read the Koran, you'll see that they also hold Abram/Abraham as a partriarch of the faith, but they don't recognize Isaac....they recognize Ismael. Isn't that nuts. This is where it all starts. This is marks the beginning of the feud between Christians and Muslims.
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
If you look at this verse in reference to the Islam/Christian confilct......it takes on an entirely new meaning, doesn't it?
I didn't know the connection to Islam. I didn't know when they broke off separately. So based on this we should not expect to ever be in peaceful coexistence with Islam.
ReplyDelete