Women with a Story to Tell 7

  Sarah had a baby boy, and she is sharing her joy with everyone around her who is laughing with her at the irony. Wouldn’t it be nice if such wonderful moments of shared joy would last forever?

  In the last devotional we examined the Hebrew word translated as ‘laugh’. We found that Abraham laughed at the irony of God promising a child to a couple too old to have a baby. Later, Sarah did the same. Neither of them wanted to admit to God that they had laughed at his promise (chapters 17 and 18). When a baby was actually born (Chapter 21: 1-6), both of them had to admit that their nervous laughter had turned into joyful laughter as they realized that the joke was on them. Sarah named the baby He-Laughs.

  Ironical laughter, nervous laughter, and joyous laughter with friends. These are all versions of the same word, but there is more. There is also ‘laughing at’ someone in derision. In Genesis 38, Judah is afraid that “We will be laughed at.” In Genesis 39, Potiphar’s wife tells the household that Joseph came to “mock us.” Both are the same Hebrew word for ‘laugh’.

 That leads us to the next occurrence in the Sarah and Hagar story. 

 “The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” (Genesis 21: 8-10). 

 “Playing with” is a translation of the same Hebrew word for ‘laugh’. Seems innocent enough. So, why did Sarah go off the rails? Possibly because ‘laughing at with derision’ is closer to the meaning. Several English versions translate the word as ‘laughing’ or ‘playing’. Some go a little further and translate the word as “making fun of” or “poking fun.” Some say Ishmael was “mocking” Isaac. A few translations say “teasing” or “scoffing at” him. 

 A more extreme interpretation implies sexual play. Where does that come from? Later on in the text, in Genesis 26, “King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw him (Isaac) fondling his wife Rebekah” (26: 8). This is probably the right translation in the context since Abimelech had taken Rebekah into his harem thinking she was Isaac’s sister, and this is the way that he finds out she isn’t. That translation is rare but possible. However, it is not necessary to understand this text. 

 Sarah has shown herself to be volatile, as when she disciplined Hagar so harshly that Hagar ran away. Now, for at least the second time, Sarah is haunted by her original decision to meddle in God’s affairs. Notice her reason for her sudden anger this time. It is not just that Ishmael is perhaps teasing little Isaac, rather it is the matter of the inheritance. Ishmael is Abraham’s oldest son, so Sarah belittles her as “this slave woman with her son.”

 Abraham loves Ishmael and wants to take care of his future. Remember that Abraham had said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in your sight!” (Genesis 17: 18). But God doesn’t miss a step. He assured Abraham that he had not forgotten Ishmael and will bless him accordingly. All people have worth in God’s eyes. God has a specific future for Isaac: “my covenant I will establish with Isaac….” (Genesis 17: 21). That does not exclude other people from God’s blessings; in fact, the point of the covenant is to bless all the nations.  

 God has everything under control, but Sarah once again is anxious and so makes a demand to Abraham: “Cast out this slave woman with her son.”

 On a family level, I am reminded of the dynamics when one member cannot let something go. God can work around it, but there is damage. One member wants to ‘cast out’ another, and once done, repairing relations would require contrition and confession. Very few people are willing to embrace the humility to do that. But just because someone ‘casts out’ someone else doesn’t mean that God has to agree. 

 On a cultural level, some people seem to be moving toward casting out the slave women with their sons. By that I mean that people want to whitewash American history by ignoring the sins and horrors of 250 years of slavery. African American slaves had no standing before the law as if they were not completely human. Then they suffered through 100 years of Jim Crow laws that privileged white people. Now black and brown people have endured about 60 more years of racism. 

 Like Sarah, some would like to cast out the slave woman so they do not have to face the evidence of our sin. Remember, though, that God has promised a blessing for the slave woman and her son (Genesis 21: 13-17). We can ‘cast out’, but God will still work his plan of salvation and abundant life for all his children.