Children
of Abraham
Richard L. Shafer[1]
The other day, in a conversation
about terrorism, someone said, “The Bible says that “they” (Muslims) are always
fighting everyone.” Does the Bible
really say that? What DOES the Bible say
about “them” as fighters, or about their forebears “always fighting?”
In Genesis 16, Sarai, Abram's
wife, has been barren all her life, and so she gives her slave Hagar to Abram
so that he may have a descendant through Hagar. At Genesis 16:10, the
angel of the Lord said to Hagar, "I will give you a son, who will be
called Ishmael, because I have heard your cry for help. And later I will give you so many descendants
that no one will be able to count them all.
But your son will live far from his relatives; he will be like a wild
donkey, fighting everyone, and everyone fighting him." [2] So Ishmael is surely destined to be a
fighter.
Later, according to Genesis
21:13, God tells Abraham, "...but the son [Ishmael] of the slave woman
[Hagar] is also your son, and I will make his descendants into a great
nation." Farther on, at Gen. 21:17,
God said to Hagar, "...I have heard your son crying. Help him up and hold his hand, because I will
make him the father of a great nation...God blessed Ishmael..."[3]
So we have references to
Abraham’s descendants through Ishmael becoming a great nation, not necessarily
a ‘great nation of fighters.’ But
there’s more. Everett Fox says,
“Once
Isaac has been born, separation must be made between heir and firstborn. Despite Abraham’s obvious love for him,
Ishmael must leave; his mother must repeat her ordeal of Chapter 16 as
well. Nonetheless, the text emphasizes
that God is there “with the lad” (v.20); twice the Ishmael motif of “God
hearkening” resounds (v. 17); and God promises that the boy will eventually
attain the same exalted status as his brother (vv. 13, 18).” [4]
Now we can understand why the
two sons of Abraham are separated, but that doesn’t seem to be a reason to
refer to Ishmael’s descendants as “fighters.”
In fact, the separation of the sons seems of less import to Muslims than
to Jews and Christians. The Qur’an
(Surah 14:39, 40) tells us that Abraham said, “Praise be to God who has given
me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age.”
And, “Lord, make me and my descendants steadfast in prayer.”[5]
But, if we read just a little
further in Genesis 22, we learn that Abraham is tested, and he is prevented
from sacrificing Isaac at the last moment.
Here, perhaps, we see the beginning of the Bible’s view of the
separation among Abraham’s descendants, and perhaps some foreshadowing of the
fighting which will come soon enough.
First, the Bible dismisses Ishmael as a son of Abraham. In verse 2, God refers to Isaac as Abraham’s
“only son, whom you love;” and in verse 16, as “…your son, your only son…” And then, immediately thereafter, God
promises to Abraham, “…your descendants shall possess the gate of their
enemies.”[6] (In the New International Version, “Your
descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies.”)
This is not about taking
sides. It’s about learning what the
Bible really says. So let’s read
together, and then ask one another: WHO
seem to be the fighters here? WHO are
they fighting?
======
Copyright Richard L. Shafer,
2006
[1] This is one of a series of occasional columns in which the author, raised in the Christian tradition, searches for common ground and common history among the teachings, beliefs and practices of adherents of the Abrahamic faiths -- Islam, Christianity and Judaism
[2]
The HOLY BIBLE, Contemporary English Version, American Bible Society,
[3] Ibid.
[4]
Fox,
[5]
THE KORAN, translated by N.J. Dawood.
Penquin Books,
[6] According to the Revised Standard Version of the HOLY BIBLE.