Lecture Six - The Patriarchs (1)

The first thing covered by the professor was the veracity of the history.   She claims that there are enough contradictions, anachronisms, and such and not enough evidence to the contrary to say that these stories are accurate historically.  However, she does say that the Bible isn’t meant to be read historically, and that nobody complains about the accuracy of Shakespeare’s history.  Instead, the Bible stories should be read for the social, political and moral truths that are offered.  

Then we get into what I consider the best stories of the Bible.

First up is Abraham and there are several interesting twists and turns involving this fascinating character.   Abraham and his family are told by God to pack up their belongings and head to a land that He has promised them.  But this land is not empty.  People – people with whom God is displeased – still live there, but not to worry.  When the time is right, Abraham and his people will be allowed in.  

This story of the covenant between God and Abraham still affects us today.  God gives Abraham an area of land.  He promises Abraham that his descendants will be a great nation.  This nation – today’s Israel – is the centre of much controversy and conflict, especially with the people (the Arabs) who claim that they too are descended from one of Abraham`s offspring.  I am not sure what God was thinking when he decided to localize his support to one group as it appears to have not turned out so well, but I will leave that for others to figure out.

With all great stories, there has to be a plot complication.  Abraham is to be the father of a great nation but his wife, Sarah, is barren and is now well past childbearing years.   What to do?  He could adopt a slave to pass on his legacy but that just doesn’t seem right.   Sarah comes up with the solution.  She offers Hagar, her handmaiden, to be the mother of Abraham’s child.   When Hagar becomes pregnant, Sarah has second thoughts and begins to mistreat Hagar who runs away.  When God assures Hagar that all will be well, she returns.   She later gives birth to Ishmael, the father of the Arabs. 

  

I can’t begin to explain the cleverness of this plot complication, a complication that occurs in later stories as well.  God makes a promise, a prediction, that Abraham will be the father of a great nation.  Abraham accepts God’s promise on complete faith.  He has packed up his family and moved towards an unknown land.  He believes his descendants will be numerous, but cannot figure out how it will come about.  Despite being completely faithful to God, he does not wait for God to fulfill his promise without taking some action on his own.   So he sleeps with Hagar.  Back then, that would not be seen as the same moral dilemma that it would be today.   But what are we to make of the story.  If God were to make us a promise are we expected to do something that will hasten its occurrence or are we to sit back and wait for God to make it happen?   I don’ t know, but I will come back to this conundrum with a later story.

I don’t have a clue if we are to praise Abraham and Sarah for trying to find an answer to their problem.  Clearly though it didn’t turn out as expected.  Sarah actually laughs when she learns that she will be giving birth at her advanced age, in a sense mocking God’s power.  Once Isaac is born, she becomes even more shrewish toward Hagar when she sees Ishmael playing with Isaac so banishes them both to the desert.   God protects her and Ishmael and confirms once again the Ishmael will be the leader of a great nation.   So, nobody comes across as being particularly perfect here.

There is too much in this lecture.  Continued tomorrow.