Welcome Dear Reader to this week’s edition of Gregory’s Bible Stories.
Today Gregory learned about how Abram’s wife Sarah was having a little trouble with her slave, Hagar, when she decided that Hagar should go to bed with her 86-year-old husband and bear his child. Gregory couldn’t help imagining what that conversation must have been like.
But Must We Call Him Ishmael?
One biblical day, when God’s pal, Abram, was 86 years old, Abram’s wife, Sarah, noticed they didn’t have any children. And what with Abram being 86 and all, Sarah got the terrific idea that instead of her having kids with Abram, Abram should have kids with her slave, Hagar, instead. The conversation might have gone something like this:
Sarah: Say Abram I’ve been thinking about your descendants.
Abram: Uh huh.
Sarah: I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but we don’t had any kids.
Abram: Uh huh.
Sarah: And, frankly, while it would have been nice to have some little Abrams and Sarahs running around, I’m over it.
Abram: Uh huh.
Sarah: And since I know the Lord was planning for you to have more descendants than you could count, I thought it might be fun for my slave girl, Hagar, to start the ol’ descendant ball rolling– if you get my drift.
Abram: Uh huh. Is she pretty?
Sarah: Is Hagar pretty? Uh . . well, let me put it this way, she’s got a great personality and nobody sews a better pair of men’s slacks than Hagar.
Abram: Uh huh.
Sarah: You want I should send her over to your tent tonight?
Abram: Uh huh.
Eight and a half months later:
Sarah: Abram, I’ve had it with Hagar, ever since she become pregnant with your child she despises me. And it’s all your fault!
Abram: Uh huh.
Sarah: Would you mind if I treated Hagar cruelly?
Abram: Uh huh.
Sarah: Should I take that “uh huh” as a “go for it”?
Abram: Uh huh.
An hour later:
Sarah: Well I hope you’re happy Abram. You said I could treat Hagar cruelly, guess what? She ran away. Happy?
Abram: Uh huh.
45 minutes later, Sarah’s slave, Hagar, was walking along the road to Shur when an angel of the Lord met her at a well in the desert.
Angel of the Lord: Hagar, slave of Sarah, where have you come from and where are you going?
Hagar: Hey do me a favor and drop the “slave of Sarah” when addressing me.
Angel of the Lord: Yeah okay whatever.
Hagar: Anyway, in answer to your question, I’m running away from my mistress for she treats me cruelly because I despise her now that I carry her husband’s child in my womb.
Angel of the Lord: Yeah okay whatever. Hey listen, if you go back and be her slave, I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them.
Hagar: What is the fascination with the descendant counting? Please don’t tell me that’s all there is to do where you’re from.
Angel of the Lord: Yeah okay whatever. Hey guess what? You will have a son and his name will be Ishmael because the Lord has heard your cry of distress. Your son will be like a wild donkey.
Hagar: You’re saying that like it’s a good thing.
Angel of the Lord: Yeah okay whatever. Be that way.
Hagar: No it’s just that I’m trying to figure out which I should be more elated about, the Lord making my son be like a wild donkey or the Lord naming him Ishmael.
Angel of the Lord: Well, you might also be interested in knowing that your son will be against everyone and everyone will be against your son. He will live apart from all his relatives.
Hagar: Why don’t you just come right out and say it. He’s going to be a total jack ass.
Angel of the Lord: We prefer the term wild donkey.
Hagar: Yeah okay whatever. Be that way.
After that Hagar continued along the rocky road to Shur (luckily she was Shur footed) and she asked herself, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?” So she called The Lord who had spoken to her “A God Who Sees.”
A couple hours later after Hagar gave birth:
Hagar: Well Abram, I just gave birth to your very first descendant. It’s a boy! And he’s absolutely perfect except that instead of crying he brays. Plus he doesn’t seem to like anybody and nobody seems to like him. Don’t worry though, you’ll get used to it.
Abram: Uh huh.
Hagar: Oh and one more thing. We have to call him Ishmael. I know it’s a horrible name and that no baby should be named Ishmael, but who wants to to tell the Lord He has horrible taste in names? Not me!
Abram: Uh huh.
And there you have it, Dear Readers, this week’s edition of Gregory’s Bible lesson. Please stay tuned next week when the Lord decides to replace signatures on all his covenants with circumcisions and hilarity ensues.
Until next time . . . I love you
Loosely based on Genesis 16
