BRAGADAYJAH 60

The child Isaac grew and was weaned. Even from today’s experience we know that there is no set age for weaning a child. Some mothers cut off suck in a matter of months, some in a matter of years, while some give no suck at all. It usually depends entirely on the mother and the child. Going back to the days of Abraham and Sarah, there is no definitive information that would indicate categorically the weaning age. But it would seem any time between 3 and 9 would be an intelligent guess. For instance we know that before Hannah had the child Samuel, she had promised him to the Lord. And we know that later she took the child Samuel and handed over into the custody of Eli the priest as soon as he was weaned. Accordingly we think that at some midway point between 3 and 9, the child was weaned. Five or even six may be suggested as the age at which Hannah would have felt safe to part with her only child and give him to the Lord forever. In any event, Abraham, the same day Isaac was weaned held a great feast. It was no doubt as the bible tells us a great and wonderful occasion; the kind of feast, for example that Solomon held when he broke ground in the building of his magnificent temple. At that time all of Israel was invited. It was a feast that lasted fourteen days, and as one can well imagine, a great deal of eating and drinking took place, and a jolly good time was had by all, before Solomon sent them away. At Abraham’s feast, one may be sure there was also a great deal of eating and drinking; and to be sure wine will invariably affect some men’s behavior. Whether from too much wine, or too much jealousy, Ishmael took offence to Isaac, and or the occasion of his celebration, and that lead to trouble in the family, as we shall see shortly. More

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God answered Abraham’s prayers for Abimelech, as indeed he must, for it was God himself who told Abimelech that if he returned Sarah to him, Abraham would pray for him. So Abraham prayed, God answered, Abimelech was healed, and his wife and maidservants, whose wombs God had stopped up, were allowed to conceive. This is one more piece of convincing evidence that God is in control; that he knows the beginning from the end. The fact that Abimelech’s household were all barren was entirely within the will of God. So now the Lord visited Sarah, and did unto her as He had promised. God’s promise to an old woman that she would conceive and bare a son was no longer a laughing matter; for Sarah did conceive, and Sarah did bare a son whose name was called Isaac. And Abraham when Isaac was eight days old circumcised him as God had commanded him to do. Now Abraham was a hundred years old at the time of Isaac’s birth, which means Sarah was then ninety years old. Sarah herself could not help mocking herself at the timing of the birth of her son Isaac. “God has made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. Who would have believes it? Who would have believed that an old woman such as I would be suckling a child”, Sarah emoted. Sarah was clearly a woman of great wisdom and possessed of a great sense of humor. One could well imagine the spectacle of a ninety year old woman giving suck to a baby. So Sarah did not sit back and allow the younger woman to laugh at her. She laughed at herself; therefore, there was nothing left to laugh at. Today they would call Sarah’s strategy, reverse psychology; but in any age, it was likely to work. More

BRAGADAYJAH 58

So now Abraham and Sarah were restored, because of what the Lord said unto Abimelech in a dream. Indeed Abimelech had done nothing wrong in taking in Sarah with the intention of marrying her. But innocent or not, the law of God forbade lying with another man’s wife; and so Abimelech was in danger of committing a grave sin, and would likely have done so if God had not intervened. Here is what God said to Abimelech, “Yes I know that you did what you did innocently, based on what you were told about Sarah’s status; but it was I who withheld you from sinning against me; therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. Now, therefore, restore to the man his wife; he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live; but if you do not restore her, know of a certainty that you shall surely die; not only you, but everyone connected to you.” God, then, left Abimelech in no doubt how he felt about the whole matter, what he should do by way of reparation, and what would happen to him if he failed to make amends. Is it not worth noting before moving on how God views adultery? Taking another man’s wife? God said you have sinned not against Abraham, but against me! No wonder Abimelech was so meticulous in dealing with Sarah and Abraham thereafter. He duly restored Sarah and paid compensation to Abraham. We may also note in passing the basis for Abraham’s and Sarah’s pretence. Firstly Abraham thought to himself that he was among Godless people, that is to say, they did not have the fear of the Lord in them. Therefore, he thought, “they would surely kill me and take my wife.” In so thinking, he was probably correct; as indeed they did take Sarah away from him. Secondly, Abraham reasoned, Sarah was in a sense his sister since she was the daughter of his father but not his mother. Therefore they decided, saying they were sister and brother was not absolutely a lie. So they used the trick against Abimelech. So now that Abimelech had made full reparation, Abraham prayed to God for Abimelech and he and his household were healed. More

BRAGADAYJAH 57

Abraham is featured in the Bible as one of the leading heroes of faith; but in truth and in fact he was no hero; at least not at first, while he was going through his journeys with God. On the contrary, Abraham showed himself as being quite the opposite. If there was a hero, surely it was God. The first time Abraham faced hunger he ran away without thinking it through first. Then when he was on his way he suddenly realized that there was a flaw in his plans and tried to cover them with a lie. But what happened in Egypt? God saved him, and saved Sarah. Then there was the question of Hagar. Although God had promised him over and over again he would have seed, he lost faith and accepted Sarah’s offer of her personal maid as an alternative to God’s plan. And now here again we find him running into Abimelech’s country where he repeated the same failed lie he had used before. Abraham, therefore, may be liked unto a good student who is prepared to learn. Even though it may take him repeated trials and failures, he was under the pupilage of a good teacher, and would eventually pass the final test. With every failure God only saw the end result. Like every good teacher who knows by experience that a certain student will eventually make it. God knew Abraham, and as has been said above, had not regard to his failures, but his successes. The key point to note here is that God was with Abraham; and if God is for you, who can be against you? When Abimelech found out that Abraham had deceived him concerning Sarah, Abimelech not only retuned Sarah to him unharmed, but in addition gave him goods, such as sheep and oxen and servants, and silver and land whereon to live as long as he was pleased to do so. More.

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It is clear that after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham and Lot became permanently separated, hence Lot’s daughter’s statement that there were no others around and hence their bold if sinful decision. And while Lot dwelt in his cave his two pregnant daughters with him, Abraham was journeying southwards, dwelling firstly between Kadesh and Shur, finally settling in Ge’rar in the territory of King Abimelech. It would seem that the lie has a way of repeating itself. Once it is rolled off the tongue, it leaves a taste behind which the mouth likes to savor from time to time or as need arises. When Abram went down into Egypt into the Pharaoh’s country, he pulled the stunt which could have had very serious consequences for both himself and his wife Sarai, had not God intervenes; yet on this occasion, now in Abimelech’s, county he tried the same failed stratagem by saying Sarah was his sister. It would seem that after all the intervening years, Sarah in her 90’s nearing a hundred was still both beautiful and attractive to men; so once again Abraham pulled the she is my sister trick. And once again, sure enough, King Abimlech took Sarah into his palace. But once again, God intervened before the King could touch her by warning him in a dream, “You touch that woman, and you are a dead man; for she is another man’s wife.” So once again, God used His omniscient, omnipresent power, to do his will; and as always, exactly at the right time, to save his elect from their own folly. More

BRAGADAYJAH 55

So the place that Lot ran to, to find greener pastures was burnt to the ground never to resurrect again and from which he was able to escape, he and his two daughters by the mercy of God, generated by God’s favor towards Lot’s cousin Abraham. At the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham got up early in the morning, and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and saw what used to be those two great cities, now turned to ash. But Lot was a scared and restless man and so he went out from Zoar and took up dwelling in a cave in the side of the mountain, he and his two daughter, apparently oblivious of Abraham’s continued existence. And it came to pass that when Lot was grown old, his daughters feared for the continuation of the race, apparently because they were not in touch with any other human beings. And so the elder daughter told the younger that since there was no other man on the earth by which they may produce, that they should lie with their father, and so they were both agreed In execution of the plan, they made their father drunk with wine; and while so inebriated, the firstborn went in and laid with her father in his drunken stupor and she conceived. The following night they again made their father drunk and the younger laid with him also and conceived; so both girls were pregnant at the same time for their father. In course of time the firstborn bore a son, whom she called Moab who is the progenitor of that nation we came to know in history as the Moabites; and the younger when she gave birth, called her son Ben’ammi, whose descendants are the people known as the Ammonites. More.

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Having rescued Lot and his family, the Angels told Lot that they should not look back; but that they should escape onto the mountain; but it would seem that lot was afraid of heights and had had his fill of large cities; so he pleaded with the Angels that he may be allowed to go instead to a little city which in addition was not very far away. And so the angels acceded to Lot’s request and allowed him to settle in the little city, since the angels could not carry out their task of destruction until Lot and his family had settled in; so the name of the city was called Zoar. By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun was high in the sky; and thereafter the Lord rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from heaven. And the Lord overthrew those twin cities and all the plain, and all the inhabitants and every living thing that grew or was on the ground. Whatever the reason, Lot’s wife notwithstanding the angel’s instructions not to look back, could not resist doing so, and was turned into a pillar of salt. We will remember that it was those plains surrounding Sodom that first caught Lot’s eye when his men and those of Abram fell out; and we will remember also that Abram had given Lot first choice, and lot had chosen the plains. Now these were destroyed and he was forced to move. It must have been a very rich and prosperous possession for Lot and his family; and Lot must have increased in riches much; no wonder then that his wife could not resist one last look at what she was leaving behind; but alas, it was her very last look and, she was to become a statue in that place for ever. More