Daily Scripture: Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Avram’s wife had not borne him a child. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar; 2 so Sarai said to Avram, “Here now, Adonai has kept me from having children; so go in and sleep with my slave-girl. Maybe I’ll be able to have children through her.” Avram listened to what Sarai said.
3 It was after Avram had lived ten years in the land of Kena‘an that Sarai Avram’s wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to Avram her husband to be his wife. 4 Avram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she conceived. But when she became aware that she was pregnant, she looked on her mistress with contempt. 5 Sarai said to Avram, “This outrage being done to me is your fault! True, I gave my slave-girl to you to sleep with; but when she saw that she was pregnant, she began holding me in contempt. May Adonai decide who is right — I or you!” 6 However, Avram answered Sarai, “Look, she’s your slave-girl. Deal with her as you think fit.” Then Sarai treated her so harshly that she ran away from her.
7 The angel of Adonai found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, 8 and said, “Hagar! Sarai’s slave-girl! Where have you come from, and where are you going?” She answered, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of Adonai said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 The angel of Adonai said to her, “I will greatly increase your descendants; there will be so many that it will be impossible to count them.” 11 The angel of Adonai said to her, “Look, you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You are to call him Yishma‘el [God pays attention] because Adonai has paid attention to your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, living his life at odds with all his kinsmen.”
13 So she named Adonai who had spoken with her El Ro’i [God of seeing], because she said, “Have I really seen the One who sees me [and stayed alive]?” 14 This is why the well has been called Be’er-Lachai-Ro’i [well of the one who lives and sees]; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore Avram a son, and Avram called the son whom Hagar had borne Yishma‘el. 16 Avram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Yishma‘el to Avram.
Reflection Questions:The Bible never mentioned Islam, because Muhammad did not found the Islamic faith until some 600 years after the New Testament writings. However, Muslims, Jews and Christians all revere Abraham as a spiritual forefather. In today’s Scripture, we read that before he and Sarai had Isaac, Abram fathered Ishmael by Sarai’s Egyptian servant Hagar. God promised Ishmael many descendants, who became the Arab peoples.
- Sarai gave Abram her servant Hagar as a secondary “wife” (verse 3). It was a common practice at that time. But Sarai was very unhappy with the results. Verse 5 quoted her as telling Abram, “This harassment is your fault.” Have you ever felt like blaming the results of your choices or actions on someone else? What has helped you take responsibility for the things you do, so that blaming doesn’t further damage your relationships?
- In Genesis 21:18, God pledged that Ishmael would father a great nation. Had you been aware that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all trace their spiritual line of descent to Abraham? Do the “Christian” extremists in Topeka who picket military funerals show that all Christians are bad? Does the fact that some Islamic extremists deny or dishonor the historic linkage between the three faiths discredit all Islamic believers?
Lord God, when you called Abraham, you told him that his mission was to be a blessing to all nations. Guide me, as one of his spiritual children, to live out that same mission today. Amen.
---------------------
Insights from Roberta Lyle
Roberta Lyle has been on the Resurrection staff since 2006. She oversees the Collection Ministry, coordinating the donations of clothing, beds, food, furnishings, cars and computers and re-purposing them through our ministry partners to provide to those in need in our community.The questions included with today’s Scripture reading asked whether the headline grabbing acts of one small group of “Christians” should be considered representative of all Christians. The acts of this small group certainly receive a lot of media attention not only locally but nationally. This question made me think about the number of times in a day that we read statements like the following:
I appreciated last week’s opportunity at the forum hosted at Resurrection to hear from Mahnaz Shabbir, who frequently speaks on behalf of the Islamic Community and was one of my professors at Baker University’s School of Business. Ms. Shabbir stated that, that while the Islamic community is vocal in its response to the acts of extremists, their responses tend to get buried. Join me in being more diligent in seeking out and listening to their voices so we will have a better understanding of the true nature of the Muslim religion.
(If you’d like to watch the forum that took place last Tuesday, click here.)
---------------------
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
- “”The views expressed here are not necessarily the views of the management.”
- “All content provided herein is for informational purposes only. The owner makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.”
- “Our company accepts no liability for the content of this email, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided .“
I appreciated last week’s opportunity at the forum hosted at Resurrection to hear from Mahnaz Shabbir, who frequently speaks on behalf of the Islamic Community and was one of my professors at Baker University’s School of Business. Ms. Shabbir stated that, that while the Islamic community is vocal in its response to the acts of extremists, their responses tend to get buried. Join me in being more diligent in seeking out and listening to their voices so we will have a better understanding of the true nature of the Muslim religion.
(If you’d like to watch the forum that took place last Tuesday, click here.)
---------------------
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
---------------------
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment