THE BIRTH OF MONOTHEISM

Our story starts as a spry young man by the name of ______, left his father’s

house for God commanded it.ABRAM

At the age of four score six

• "Now the LORD had said unto Abram in a vision: • I will make of thee a great nation, and I will

bless thee, • make thy name great; • thou shalt be a blessing: • I will bless them that bless thee, and curse

him that curseth thee: • in thee shall all families of the earth be

blessed.

86

Abram awoke and the dream he had was so real it engulfed him. His belief in the vision got him to go to his wife to tell her about it.

Honey, you must be crazy, ain’t nothin’ coming out of this’

• Abram’s wife Sar’ai, at 77 she said to her husband, “I am an old woman” “Impossible” go to my handmaid, conceive with her and you shall have your heir.

• (Ladies) how many of you would allow your husbands to do this?

HAGAR

•

• Being a man, who knows what Abram did or thought:

• Probably not for he waited 10 years before took her as his #2 wife and slept with her

“WooHoo…a PYT”

That handmaid was an Egyptian and

possibly a teen – 15?

A Heart of Stone

• When she conceived, Sar’ai’s heart hardened and she despised her and mistreated her for now she felt Hagar saw herself as Abram true wife

• The mistreatment became so great that

Hagar ran away.

“No, no, no, no, no…It wasn’t me, it was that other woman’s fault”

• Hagar, now in the wilderness, sat and wept by a spring in the desert. An angel was to have appeared to her an said “Fear not, for the Lord has sent me” “Go back to your mistress and submit to her”

• (Ladies) How many of you would do this? First go back to a woman who despised and mistreated you and YOU are the one who must to apologize.

• Maybe the reason she went back was because the angel had relayed that God said that, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.“

• ..or maybe she knew she could not survive out in the desert, pregnant and alone.

• In Biblical text it says that the angel tells Hagar, “Your son will be wild, and every man hand will be against him” and “He will live in hostility toward all his brothers”

• Could we describe this as what is happening to the Muslims today?

• Hagar did go back, apologized to her mistress and Sar’ai’s heart was opened once again and she allowed Hagar to return.

The Birth of Ishmael

• And as the angel had told her, Hagar bore a son, named she him Ishmael.

• At the age of four score six Abram(86)

Hey buddy, remember me from 13 years ago? It is time we took things a step further.

• Abrahamic Covenant

God’s promise to Abram

• (1) I am gonna make you the father of many nations

• (2) I am gonna make your name great

• (but, hmmmm, instead of Abram we are going to change it to Abraham)

• (3) I am going to show you the way to the promised land, this shall be your own homeland

OUCH!!!

And to seal this deal known as the Abrahamic Covenant blood had to be spilled - circumcision. Abraham was told by God, "Every man child among you shall be circumcised." "...it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you."

…and as for Sa’raiYou will change her name to SarahOh, and by the way I am going to bless her

and give you another son through her.And she shall be the mother of many nations

The Birth of Isaac

Hagar’s Gotta Go, cast her out

What father would kick his son, whom he loved, out into the wilderness?

• Being a father, who loved

his son, he did not want

to just throw them out again.

So he prayed to God – and

he received his answer…

They would be okay.

Hagar and Ishmael are Banished

Abraham now takes Hagar and Ishmael out into the desert and leaves them there knowing that God would provide for them.

When there food and water were gone, and

Abraham did not return…..

Hagar ran to the hills seven times looking for help.

• God heard their weeps and an angel out of heaven called Ha’gar. “What aileth thee,

Hagar? God, has heard the voice of the lad – go get

him – hold him in your arms – God has a plan for him - “I will make him

a great nation.”

At this point, a spring well appeared and she filled it and she and her son were able to survive

Abraham did not completely abandon his son. They did meet again and it is said lived with his other family for a while also.

In fact, Abraham and Ishmael were to have built a house together for Ishmael in Mecca. This was later rebuilt as the Kaba – the holy shrine of Islam.

And Ishmael and Isaac came together again to bury their father who died at the age of one hundred three score and fifteen (175).

ABRAM

SAR’AIABRAHAM

HAGARSARAH

ISAAC

ISHMAEL

When the father dies, who usually receives the fathers blessing? The father’s wealth? The father’s covenant?

Who was the first born son in this story?

vote

Depending on which version you read, the time of 13 years is read differently in historical texts.

For those of you who say it is Ishmael….

– He is the direct ancestor of Muhammed – founder of Islam

– Which means all of you should be Muslim.

For those of you who say it is Isaac….

• He is the direct ancestor to Joseph, earthly father of Jesus, whose followers began Christianity.

• Which means all of you should be Christian.

For those of you who say the covenant remains with Abraham and you are still

waiting for the Messiah ….

• You are today’s Jewish people.