Sarah, Abraham and Isaac

Sarah is a very interesting character to me. She is a faithful women. She had to be to be the wife of Abraham. There’s always the adage that, behind every great man is an even greater woman. Though we don’t have a lot of information about Sarah, though more than most scriptural women, we don’t know exactly what she was like. I think it’s interesting that some of the passages about her portray her as faithless and pushy. She may have been, at least in the situation with Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac. In Gen. 21:9-13 Sarah is bothered by the possibility of Ishmael receiving all of his father’s inheritance so she tells Abraham “cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.” While her method of delivery might not have been socially pleasing, the Lord agreed with the result. Abraham was worried about casting them out, but the Lord said,

“Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.”

This situation is a good example of the necessity of different, very human, personalities to bring forth gospel purposes. There are many examples in the scriptures of people who don’t exactly conform to gospel standards, yet propel learning and growth. I think that it is common to have a “spiritual persona” expectation. For example, a spiritual persona might be someone who is humble, quiet, but wise, helpful, understands their purpose and is obedient. But someone else might think a “spiritual persona” is someone who speaks their mind, valiantly fights for peace, is obedient but not quiet. Maybe it’s the difference between Captain Moroni and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s. They are obedient and valiant, but in different ways. So, Sarah, just because she “laughs” or was pushy, doesn’t mean she’s not fulfilling her purpose or helping others fulfill theirs. It takes all kinds, right?

Enough cannot be said of the sacrifice Abraham is asked to make. After being a near victim of unrighteous and unnecessary sacrifice to nonexistent gods, years later Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac. I will refer again to the scripture that says: (Gen 18:17-18) the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and might nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” The Lord knows Abraham, as well as Isaac. Asking both Abraham and Isaac to take part in human sacrifice was definitely a mortal test and surely was full of emotion and grief. But I also wonder if Abraham had so much spiritual wisdom (since the Lord did not “hide from Abraham that thing which I do”) that the emotion and grief were a bit muted or at least counter balanced (compared to how I would react anyway). This really speaks much of what kind of father Abraham must have been to Isaac, for Isaac to comply to the command as well.

Come to think of it, what are the current commands for sacrifice for Abraham’s time? It must be of the first born (which technically was Ishmael), it must be animal (never has the Lord asked a human life except for himself) among other details. I can’t image that asking to sacrifice Isaac made much sense to Abraham, emotionally or doctrinally. I wonder when Abraham said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb,” if he knew exactly which Lamb he was talking about. Did he know he needed to do this as a type? When he was at that point with the knife in his hand, was he thinking of the now or the future. Was this more of a test for Isaac, to mold him into the prophet he would become? Probably all of the above. What a blessing it is to have these men as examples of obedience and being one with the will of the Lord.

Integrity and "After all you can do"

I find it interesting that this reading begins with Abraham 1 which describes the method and victims (children and virgins) of sacrifice from the Pharaohs and Egyptian, Abraham included as one of the sacrifices. The last two chapters are about Abraham receiving Isaac as a son and then being asked to sacrifice Isaac in the very same method (though different motive) the Egyptians were sacrificing children to their idols.

In the beginning of Genesis 17, Abraham is commanded to be perfect. The footnote for perfect refers us to “integrity” in the Topical Guide. Yes, Abraham needed integrity for the experiences that were coming his way. But, before I get to that, I want to say a little bit about Sarah and Hagar.

These two women must have been very good women. Both of them very full of faith. Abraham and Sarah were told that they would bear children and have a great posterity, but it just wasn’t happening. So I believe that Sarah, in effort to help the Lord fulfill his promise, offered Hagar, her handmaid, to bear a child with Abraham. Previous to this read through I thought that Sarah might have given up, but it struck me this time around as an “after all you can do” (2 Ne 25:23) situation. Sarah was doing all that she could do to fulfill the Lord’s command, so was Hagar and so was Abraham. As we come to find out the Hagar (and Abraham and Sarah) did receive the grace of the Lord for their efforts for Ishmael also was blessed with a great posterity.

I think I’ll write about Abraham and Isaac’s sacrifice in a different post.

A great phrase

I began the reading this week and really liked this phrase in Abraham 1:15 "the angel of his presence stood by me." You usually don't hear the add-on "of his presence" when somebody says angel, but that is what they are (or the Spirit), the angel of his presence. What a lovely phrase.

Readings Feb 22-26

"God Will Provide Himself a Lamb"

Mon, Feb 22: Abraham 1

Tues, Feb 23: Genesis 15, Genesis 16

Wed, Feb 24: Genesis 17

Thurs, Feb 25: Genesis 21

Fri, Feb 26: Genesis 22

One more thing: Lot

I'm actually typing this a week after I posted about this lesson. We just had this lesson today and it bothered me a little that Lot gets such a bad rap sometimes. Yes, he faced the door of his tent toward Sodom – does that mean he liked the things going on in Sodom? I don’t think so. We were (and often are) asked “What are the things we do to face our tents toward unrighteousness?” Answers like, listening to bad music, being unkind, financial irresponsibility and such come forth. The thing is, Lot lived in Sodom, but he was the one told to get out of the city before it’s destruction, which means the Lord communicated with him. He was the one that received the three ‘men’, he was the one who would not let his daughters be ravaged by the men outside his door. In fact, 2 Peter 2:6-7 says this:

“And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And deliver just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked; (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing a hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

The footnote to the first “vexed” states: “oppressed by the outrageous behavior of the lawless”. So, just for the record, well, my record at least, Lot was a righteous man. Perhaps his door faced Sodom because he prayed over them as soon as he walked out. Maybe he didn’t. But knowing where his door faces, to me, is not enough evidence to judge him.

Living Righteously in a Wicked World- with a hint of soap opera

Abraham is a great example of that. As I mentioned in last week’s post, he was perfect – or whole. He followed the commandments and used the atonement so far as he was commanded to do. He rescues his brother (brother’s son, Lot), he partakes of the sacrament with Melchizedek, he pays tithes to Melchizedek. Abraham even refused to take goods which he reclaimed for Sodom because he didn’t want to be beholden to the king (smart man). He is ready for heavenly visitors and treats them with honor and respect and actually listens to them. He feeds them with the best they have, with no thought of recourse. Then ultimately in Gen 18:17-18 the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and might nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” The answer essentially is no, because Abraham is so obedient and teaches his children the right way, that there is no need to keep anything from him. I would say that this is living righteously in a wicked world.

Sarah is an interesting example of living righteously in a wicked world. She is told by the three angels that she will have a son. The scriptures say she laughed within herself because she had passed the time of having children. The scriptures make it seem as if she is rebuked for laughing, but I think she is just getting an education. She is of the world (how can my old body, that obviously is not equipped anymore with necessities for childbirth, have a child?), but not of the world (she realized that there really is nothing too hard for the Lord v14). I wonder that the word fear used in v 15 is not being afraid, but knowing truth.

Negotiations between the Lord and Abraham in Ch 18 are interesting. I am so intrigued with this. When I read through it this time, it occurred to me that there are other instances in the scriptures where the Lord does let the righteous die and there are instances where the Lord destroys wicked cities. Mostly I thought of Alma and Amulek, when they had to witness the death of righteous people. Amulek asked Alma why they could not use their power to save the people and Alma said that the “Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand. . and he doth suffer that they may do this thing. . . that the judgements which he shall exercise upon [the persecuters] in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them,” Alma14:11. Why is it in that instance, the righteous were allowed to die, but in the instance of Sodom and Gomorrah (the city all evil is compared to), the whole wicked city might be saved for the sake of ten righteous people? Then as it turns out, most of the people saved from Sodom were not that righteous. Many lessons I have listened to on this subject teach about the mercy of the Lord in saving a whole city for the purpose of a few righteous. But comparing it with the story of Alma and Amulek (and others in The Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants) I wonder if it’s another example of mercy and wisdom and the will of the Lord. I have to think about this more.

Pillar of Salt I have to say a bit about this because it is just so curious. I read a bit in the student manual about how the area of Sodom and Gomorrah is under part of the Dead Sea somewhere and since it is a very salty sea, perhaps Lot’s wife turning to salt was a foreshadowing. Maybe. Though I don’t think that’s important. Lot and his family were specifically commanded “look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed” 19:17. Lot then tells the messengers that he cannot escape to the mountains, he should go to a small town (missed the point). Lot’s wife then turns around to look at Sodom and Gomorrah so she was turned to a pillar of salt. Whether her demise is literal or figurative, it doesn’t matter. She did perish, and it was because she disobeyed an express commandment. If you are going to live righteously in a wicked world, and especially if the Lord provides an escape for you (he does for all of us), live righteously and don’t look back!

Readings Feb 15-19

Living Righteously in a Wicked World

Mon, Feb 15: Genesis 13

Tues, Feb 16: Genesis 14

Wed, Feb 17: Genesis 18

Thurs, Feb 18: Genesis 19

Additional reading: Genesis 12; Joseph Smith Translation, Genesis 14:25–40; 19:9–15.