The lives of Abraham and Sarah (originally Abram and Sarai) take center stage in this week’s Torah Portion. The name of this week’s Torah Portion is found in the first verse of the Scripture reading:

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” – Gen. 12:1-3

The very first words that God spoke to Abram, according to the text of the Bible, were לך לך – Lech Lecha – Go forth! These words are also the name of this week’s Torah Portion and they define well the life of Abraham as one who was called to Go!

God had a unique plan which He wanted to see fulfilled in and through Abram and his wife Sarai, but first they needed to leave their country and family and go to the Land that the LORD would show to them. God promised to make a great nation of Abram, to bless him, and to bless all of the families of the earth through him.

As we read through the chapters and verses of this week’s text, Genesis chapters twelve to seventeen, we read how Abram and Sarai obeyed God and sought to fulfill the promises that God made to them, although, it was’t always an easy road. At one point, the LORD came to remind Abram of His promises to Him but Abram struggled to understand his situation:

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.” Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. – Gen. 15:1-6  

Abram was a man of great wealth and the LORD had promised him even more but there was one huge problem, Abram and Sarai had no children. Abram was making provisions for all of his assets to go to his servant, however, the LORD told Abram that this would not be the case, but rather a son from Abram’s own body would be the heir. Abram believed God!

Helping God?

It was after ten years of dwelling in the Land of Promise that Sarai suggested a plan to Abram to help alleviate the pressure of their childless state as a couple:

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. – Gen. 16:1-4

What started out as a possible solution to the difficult situation of Abram and Sarai only became more complicated after Sarai gave Hagar to Abram in order to bear a child for them. As soon as Hagar became pregnant, a division arose between Hagar and Sarai. That which was supposed to bring peace and joy brought contempt and frustration in the family circle. 

It is easy for any of us to fall into this trap of trying to help God out with His plans for us. We know God’s promises but do not yet see the fulfillment of them. We wonder where God is and why He has not brought about the promises that He has spoken regarding our situations. To God a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day (Ps. 90:4. 2 Pet. 3:8) but to us mortals every day, month, and year that passes without seeing a change in our situations seems like an eternity. 

Waiting For The LORD

We need to learn from the scenario of Abram and Sarai and not take matters into our own hands without first seeking the LORD. The rash decisions we make to solve our problems may have huge repercussions later in life. We need to wait on God and remember that He always sees us. There is a good reminder of this principle in this week’s reading from the prophets: 

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. – Isaiah 40:27-31

First and foremost, we need to remember that God sees us, even in our most desperate and lonely situations. Secondly, we need to remember who God is and that there is no limit to His strength and ability. He never grows weary or lacks power. Thirdly, we need to learn to wait for the LORD and let Him give strength in our weakness, whatever that weakness may be. 

God’s Way & God’s Timing

It would be another fourteen years after Sarai and Abram decided to have a child through Hagar that God spoke to Abram (whose name was changed to Abraham) about the son of promise:

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. – Gen. 17:15-19 

The time had come for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham in order to give him a child from his own body and through his wife, Sarah. Since Abraham had already fathered a son through Hagar, Abraham was hesitant to receive this word from the LORD being content to simply let God’s promises come upon Ishmael. But God said No!

The Distraction Of Ishmael

God had a plan of redemption that would come through Abraham and his seed through his wife Sarah. Ishmael was not part of that plan. In fact, Ishmael would be a constant source of contention against God’s plan. 

When Hagar was pregnant with Abraham’s child, the angel of the LORD spoke the following words to Hagar:

The angel of the LORD said to her further, “Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. He will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.” – Gen. 16:11-12

Ishmael was born to be a man of contention, always living in hostility against his brothers. God had also promised to make a great nation from Ishmael (Gen. 16:10) and said that he would become the father of twelve princes ( Gen. 17:20). 

Ishmael is the revered son of Abraham in the Quran and Muhammad is believed to be a direct descendant of Ishmael. Muhammad was born in Makkah and the Makkan people trace their ancestry back to Ishmael and Abraham (Pickthall,M.M. The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an. Amana Pub. Maryland, USA. 1999. P. xi). It is crystal clear that the prophecy regarding Ishmael, as recorded in the Bible (Gen. 16:11-12), and the outworking of Islamic ideology to wipe Israel off the face of the earth are working together to be a constant source of irritation to the descendants of Isaac physically and to the sons of promise spiritually. Was there any choice to avoid the distraction of Ishmael?

The Roots Of Hagar

Ishmael is the son of Abraham with Hagar and we are first introduced to Hagar in Genesis chapter sixteen as Sarah’s handmaid. How and when did Hagar become the handmaid to Abraham’s wife Sarah? 

The only thing we really know about Hagar’s past is where she was born and her home country: “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.” ( Gen. 16:1) Hagar was an Egyptian. The only time we read about Abraham and Sarah going to Egypt is in Genesis chapter twelve soon after they arrived in the Promised Land:

It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. – Gen. 12:11-16

As a result of a famine in the land of Canaan, Abraham and Sarah traveled down to Egypt. Abraham knew that his wife was beautiful and asked her to tell a lie or a “half truth” on his behalf and to say that she was his sister. 

Sarah obeyed Abraham’s request and was presented to the Egyptians as Abraham’s sister. Pharaoh took notice of Sarah and took her for his wife. In order to compensate Sarah’s family, Pharaoh gave Abraham various livestock and animals along with male and female servants. Abraham and Sarah did not remain long in Egypt because God had struck Pharaoh’s house with a plague and it was revealed that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. As a result, Pharaoh sent them away:

Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. – Gen. 12:20

Abraham and Sarah left Egypt at them time and it appears that Abraham was able to keep the gifts that Pharaoh had given to him for Sarah.  

One Little Lie

It is most likely at that time, while Abraham and Sarah were in Egypt, that Hagar was either given to Abraham as part of the bride price or as a handmaid to Sarah in order to assist her as Pharaoh’s new bride. Hagar the Egyptian continued with them as they left Egypt and sojourned in the Land of Canaan. As a result of Abraham persuading Sarah to lie as well as becoming part of the lie himself by accepting the bridal price for his wife, Hagar became Sarah’s handmaid and became part of their family. That one little lie which Abraham concocted in order to preserve his own life, would later result in a son, Ishmael, who would be a constant source of conflict and contention to the children of promise.

Based on our human reasoning, we can easily manipulate situations for our own good. We may think that one little lie will not hurt us or anyone else but we never know how one thing will lead to another. We need to learn the lesson from Abraham and Sarah regarding Hagar and Ishmael and not tell “little lies” for the sake of a current convenience. Little lies will always result in bigger consequences. 

Living A Blameless Life

One year before Isaac came into the world, God came to Abraham and foretold the birth of their son. As a prelude to this announcement, God gave Abraham a spiritual wakeup call: 

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. – Gen. 17:1

The LORD reminded Abraham who He is and challenged Abraham to “…Walk before Me, and be blameless.” The word used for blameless here is the Hebrew word תמים – Tamim, which is a powerful word meaning “perfect, whole, complete, or without stain.” This word “Tamim” is the same word used of Noah in Genesis 6:9 to describe how Noah was a righteous man who walked with God with a whole heart.  

As we seek to walk with God with a pure heart we need to keep in mind that it is the little lies and deceptions that we choose along the way which will eventually cause great havoc in our lives. We cannot always understand the ways of God but part of our walk of faith is choosing what is right even when it does not make sense while trusting God with the outcome. Let us heed the call of God to Abraham: to walk before the LORD and be blameless!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 12:1-17:27

Haftara: Isaiah 40:27 – Isaiah 41:16

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