Genesis, Ch. 12, 16-18, 21-23

          It is a little strange how Abraham reacts when he is told to go to Egypt, with having his wife pretend to be his sister for her sake when in reality it would have been perfectly okay all along. I guess this shows that Abraham does love her and doesn’t want anything to harm her, but on the other hand it also shows his complete and total devotion to God even though following God’s orders could (according to Abraham) result in people dying—he was even willing to kill his own son, no questions asked. Abraham could just be worried because of things he hears from others coming from Egypt and other secondhand sources, but we’ll never know. At least he takes them seriously, although he could have prevented Sarah being taken as a wife to the Pharoah if Abraham had just gone and talked to him in the first place. But Abraham simply listens to what God tells him to do, and he does it, like when he is told to sacrifice his son Isaac. He calmly goes with his son and is all ready to kill Isaac—“And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.”—no questions or mourning for what he is about to do; it is God’s word, so he will do it, absolutely. It’s important to have faith, I think, or at least be dedicated to it and, obviously, have a good belief in it, but it’s a little different to have such a blind devotion that you would kill your own son because of something God told you.

            Sarah sending Hagar to bear a child for her ended up like I thought it would, or at least up to the point where jealously came in and Hagar was sent away. Sarah being the wife and higher up on the social ladder gave her the opportunity in the first place to offer her servant to her husband; Hagar didn’t really have a choice. And of course there was jealousy involved: Hagar was carrying Sarah’s husband’s child, a child that Sarah wanted for her own, but of course Hagar would want to keep her own baby.