May the mumbling commence!
Sarai was included with the promise
of the Lord. And she was never
excluded. God comes straight forth with
that promise… a promise that caused great surprise and joy and laughter. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
God continued speaking to
Abraham, “And Sarai your wife: Don’t call her Sarai any longer;
call her Sarah. I’ll bless her –
yes! I’ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I’ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her.”
Abraham
fell flat on his face. And then he
laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father
a son? And
can Sarah, at ninety
years, have a baby?”
Recovering, Abraham
said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well
before you!”
But God
said, “That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah,
will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I’ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a
covenant that lasts forever.
And
Ishmael? Yes,
I heard your prayer
for him. I’ll
also bless him; I’ll make sure he had plenty of
children – a huge family. He’ll father twelve princes; I’ll make him a great nation. But I’ll
establish my covenant with Isaac whom Sarah will give you about this time next year.”
God finished speaking with Abraham and left. (Genesis 17:15-22)
Now read the same passage from the
NIV translation:
God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call
her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and
will surely give
you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples
will come from her."
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to
himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred
years old? Will Sarah
bear a child at the
age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If
only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"
Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear
you a son, and
you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I
have heard you: I
will surely bless
him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase
his numbers. He will be the father of twelve
rulers, and I will
make him into a
great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah
will bear to you by this time next year." When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. (Genesis 17:15-22)
There are many differences in the
NIV and Peterson’s work. Many are
surface-level and do not affect the meaning.
That being said, I believe there is
a significant difference between the words can and will. Peterson makes Abraham a little more doubtful
about the possibility that God can do what He says. Can you do it God? On the other hand, the NIV translation does
not have Abraham question God so boldly through the use of the word “will”.
I think will is more appropriate. I think this because Abraham immediately
began to call Sarai Sarah. Abraham
believed. Abraham was caught by surprise
and joy.
And I think that the NIV is also
truer to the plea and worry that Abraham had for Ishmael. Abraham wanted the covenant promise for
Ishmael. God rejected that request but
gave Abraham hope by promising to bless Ishmael in different ways. That’s one of the many outcomes of trying to
help God along.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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