Day 11: Selfishness, Sacrifice, and Suffering

Today we read Genesis 20 and 21, Job 9 and 10, and Proverbs 2:6-8. Abraham and Sarah revert back to fear, self-preservation, and selfishness as they deceive King Abimelech and cast out Hagar, the slave immigrant from Egypt, and her son, Ishmael.  We learn about the immutable character of God who works to protect and care for those His people sinned against. We discuss how some believe Abraham’s son Ishmael is the descendant of Mohammad who becomes the prophet of Islam. Also note, when God called Ishmael a "wild donkey" this metaphor in Hebrew is something more like a horse running free than something negative. He was offering Hagar the image of something good from a good God. The story of Job continues as we sit uncomfortably with the fact that God’s wisdom is not ours and we may not deserve suffering but find ourselves smack dab in the middle of it. Yet we are God’s and we can cry to, cry at, and cry out for Him in our suffering and He will hear us and be with us, even-if and even-when we might or we do lose what is important to us.

Resources:

“I Raise a Hallelujah” Song and Story: https://bethelmusic.com/videos/raise-a-hallelujah/

 

Noegel, S. B., & Wheeler, B. M. (2010). The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism: Scarecrow Press. 

 

Dr. Tim Mackie and Jon Collins, Bible Project Genesis Scroll podcast, Trees of Testing and Blessing, Episode 4 (66 minutes) 1/2022

https://bibleproject.com/podcast/under-trees-yahweh/ 

 

Fr. Mike Schmitz (Bible in a Year) Podcast (20 minutes)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/day-10-hagar-and-ishmael-2023/id1539568321?i=1000593364643

Credits:

Podcast music by Stockaudios from Pixabay. Speaker, Dr. Rachel Bodell. Podcast Sound Engineer, Alan Darling. Podcast Artwork, Will Gerard.