May the mumbling commence!
Time to play the Hebrew game! It’s a game played in many circles that have
long histories. I’ve heard it called the
Mennonite game and the Brethren game.
Who are you related to? Where are
you from? Who do you know? The book of First Chronicles begins with
several chapters (nine to be exact) of genealogies. For an outsider (like me), it may seem rather
dull reading. But it is reading
essential to the identity of the Jewish and Muslim peoples.
I find it interesting when stories either surface or do
not surface in the midst of genealogical data.
Take for instance the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael and
Isaac. Read from First Chronicles
chapter one:
The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael.
The sons of Ishmael were
Nebaioth (the oldest), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,
Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of
Ishmael.
The
sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian,
Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.
The
sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.
All
these were sons of Abraham by his concubine Keturah.
Abraham
was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. (Verses
28-34)
Note that nothing is said of either Sarah or Hagar. At the start of this section of genealogy,
Isaac gets the place normally reserved for the firstborn son – even though he
was not. But, directly after that order,
Ishmael has his descendants named long before Isaac’s descendants.
Because of these juxtapositions the conflict is
preserved without having to explicitly say anything about it – particularly for
those familiar with the story. Ishmael
was firstborn son, but Isaac was the son of the promise. And the promise has always been based upon
faith in God. Have faith that God is
ever faithful to His promises. Read from
Romans chapter three:
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be
accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not
based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by
obeying the law.
After all, God is not the God of the Jews only, is he?
Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and there is only one
way of being accepted by him. He makes people right with himself only by faith, whether
they are Jews or Gentiles. Well
then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law?
Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the
law. (Verses 27-31)
Remove every boastful bone from our bodies, O Lord. We are totally clean from sin only because
our faith in You. And, with that freedom
comes responsibility to trod the path of faithfulness to the heart of the
Law. Help us to be faithful together.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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