WEEK FOUR: ABRAHAM & SARAH BIBLE BOOKENDS

GO FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR KINDRED AND YOUR FATHER S HOUSE TO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. I WILL MAKE OF YOU A GREAT NATION, AND I WILL BLESS YOU, AND MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT, SO THAT YOU WILL BE A BLESSING. Genesis 12:1-2

LOOK TOWARD HEAVEN AND COUNT THE STARS, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO COUNT THEM. SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE. Genesis 15:5

BIBLE BOOKENDS ABRAHAM & SARAH (IN FIVE WORDS) 1. Go. 2. Aliens. 3. Laughter. 4. Brother. 5. Test.

ABRAHAM & SARAH GO.

ABRAHAM & SARAH: GO A CALL STORY A structure that repeats itself over and over in the Hebrew Bible 1. God calls 2. Human protests 3. God promises 4. Human goes (and fails) 5. God persists in promise

ABRAHAM & SARAH: GO A CALL TO Adventure Uncertainty Wonder Vulnerability Challenge Trust

ABRAHAM & SARAH ALIENS.

ABRAHAM & SARAH: ALIENS WIDOW. ORPHAN. ALIEN. Sarah and Abraham were: Immigrants. Undocumented immigrants. Illegal aliens. Alien resident in your town. This is a foundational piece of the identity of the Hebrew people.

ABRAHAM & SARAH: ALIENS WIDOW. ORPHAN. ALIEN. Part of the identity of the Hebrew people. A refrain throughout scripture. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your town. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord brought you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord commanded you to keep the Sabbath.

ABRAHAM & SARAH: ALIENS WIDOW. ORPHAN. ALIEN. Part of the identity of the Hebrew people. A refrain throughout scripture. When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen [or native-born] among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Leviticus 19:33-34

ABRAHAM & SARAH: ALIENS WIDOW. ORPHAN. ALIEN. Part of the identity of the Hebrew people. A refrain throughout scripture. and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. Ezekiel 47:22

ABRAHAM & SARAH: ALIENS WIDOW. ORPHAN. ALIEN. Part of the identity of the Hebrew people. A refrain throughout scripture. The second most common phrase in the Bible, remember the widow, the orphan, the alien in your midst.

ABRAHAM & SARAH LAUGHTER.

THEN ABRAHAM FELL ON HIS FACE AND LAUGHED, AND SAID TO HIMSELF, CAN A CHILD BE BORN TO A MAN WHO IS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD? CAN SARAH, WHO IS NINETY YEARS OLD, BEAR A CHILD? Genesis 17:17

SO SARAH LAUGHED TO HERSELF, SAYING, AFTER I HAVE GROWN OLD, AND MY HUSBAND IS OLD, SHALL I HAVE PLEASURE? Genesis 18:12

LAUGHTER (AND TEARS) POOR EXCUSE FOR FAMILY Abraham offered Sarah to pharaoh; it doesn t appear she had a choice. (Genesis 12:10-20) Sarah told Abraham to have sex with her slave. Hagar didn t have a choice. (Genesis 16:1-6) Abraham again lies about Sarah and offers her to Abimelech. (Genesis 20:1-18)

LAUGHTER (AND TEARS) POOR EXCUSE FOR FAMILY Abraham bargains with God about Sodom & Gomorra. (Genesis 18:26-33) Lot offers his daughters in exchange for Abraham s safety. (Genesis 19:8) Lot s wife becomes a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26) Lot s daughters sleep with their father (Genesis 19:32-38)

LAUGHTER (AND TEARS) GOD BREAKS BARRIERS God meets Hagar running away from Sarah and Abraham and offers her a promise: I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude. (Genesis 16:10) Hagar names God, El-roi, the first name given to God in the Hebrew Bible. God sees me. God forgives Pharaoh and Abimelech and Abraham. God s love is not only for this family, but for all of creation.

ABRAHAM & SARAH BROTHER.

BROTHER. GOD BLESSES ISHMAEL Read Genesis 21 together.

ABRAHAM & SARAH TEST.

BIBLE BOOKENDS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS God promises to bless Sarah and Abraham in order to be a blessing to the whole world. How have you been blessed by other people? God is with this family, even in their brokenness and failure. How has God been with your family in the midst of uncertainty, brokenness, or failure? How do you understand God s work for the outsider and the alien?

BIBLE BOOKENDS HOMEWORK Read Genesis Gen 25:19-36:43 Pray Genesis Gen 32:22-30 Read it multiple times. Light a candle. Sing it. Memorize it. Write it on your mirror. Invite someone else to join us next week! Email me any questions that crop up or things that you re still curious about.