Genesis 17:25, How Old was Ishmael when Abraham Sent Him Away? Part II of II
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
//Yesterday, I provided verses that make it sound like Ishmael was an infant when Abraham sent him and his mother Hagar away into the desert. But if we back up four chapters to today’s verse, we read that Ishmael was 13 when he was circumcised. Sometime afterward, another son, Isaac, is conceived. We can figure that nine months after that, Isaac is born. At least 18 months after that, Isaac is weaned (Gen 21:18 – according to Jewish rabbinical tradition, weaning occurs between 18 months and 5 years). At this time, Hagar and Ishmael are still living with Abraham and Sarah (Gen 21:19). Finally, Sarah demands that Hagar be sent away.
So Ishmael is at least fifteen years old when this happens. Definitely not a baby in arms. Did Hagar really carry a 15-year-old boy on her shoulder off into the desert? Did she really lay him down under a shrub to let him die?
Most scholars recognize that we have two independent stories here about Ishmael. If you’re familiar with the Documentary Hypothesis, it is the priestly source which reports that Ishmael grew into a teenager while still with Abraham. It is the Elohim source which reports that he was sent away with his mother, probably as an infant. These two contradictory traditions should not be read as a single story.
Genesis 21:14, How Old was Ishmael when Abraham Sent Him Away? Part I of II
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
//The story is this: Sarah (Abraham’s wife, mother of Isaac) grows jealous of Hagar, and demands that Abraham send her away. So Abraham gets up, puts Hagar’s son Ishmael on her shoulder, and sends her off into the desert with a bottle of water. The story continues like this:
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Question: How old do you imagine Ishmael, the boy, was? Small enough to be carried, small enough to be laid under a shrub to die? An infant, right?
Hardly. More tomorrow.
Book review: Morality is the Problem
by Jake Yaniak
★★★★★
We have the Moral Argument all wrong. Universal morality isn’t evidence of God’s existence, it’s the reason we need God. Human morality is flawed from its foundation, a fiend from whom we need salvation.
Yaniak’s new book is philosophy made interesting, from a Christian perspective. Besides presenting an unusual take on the dilemma of the origins of human morality, he has a style of writing that draws you in and keeps you interested. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though I confess occasional bewilderment. Like any good philosopher, Yaniak spins his web in circles. For example, he rails against the illogic of determinism, then relies heavily on causation from the beginning of the world. In a discussion about Problem of Evil, Yaniak seems to prove that God exists but could not be the God of the Bible. So it takes a bit of concentration to pick out his fine brush strokes, and I’m likely to misrepresent him somewhere in the paragraphs ahead!
In seeking to elucidate God, free will, moralism, and good and evil, Yaniak flirts with both pantheism and materialism, while staying an arm’s length from both. God, for example, is not the apple, nor in the apple, nor encompassing the apple, but is the state of the apple. God is its existence, and a tenuous existence it is indeed, once you follow the logic.
Yaniak’s flirtation with materialism is equally intriguing, especially when he discusses Original Sin. We are not merely born of Adam, we are Adam. This he argues by tracing backward: At what point did I become me? At birth? Conception? Why do we choose these arbitrary benchmarks? I am me while yet I am my father, though in an earlier state. While yet I am my father’s father. I am Adam. I ate the apple in the Garden of Eden.
By ignoring the duality of mind and body, or soul and body, effectively discarding any moment of incarnating “life,” we are all Adam. It doesn’t matter whether we read the story of Adam and Eve literally or figuratively. We are all one, and the implications are astounding. Judgment becomes swift and righteous. When I murder my brother, I am immediately suffering for my wrong, for I am he. Salvation also carries new meaning. Good and evil take on a different light. My relation to my neighbor, and to the fly on the wall, is merely a matter of degree … the ancestry simply traces further back through evolution. Who is to say it is wrong for Hitler to murder Jews while we happily step on cockroaches? We tend to sympathize with one and not the other, letting our sympathies drive our morality, but this is to misunderstand both God and who we are.
Yaniak returns often to the topic of gay rights, probably because it is such a hot topic in Christianity today. His eventual conclusion boils down to a definition of love which seems beneath us, but I confess the topic made for a fascinating moral playground.
In the end, I must rate this as one of the most fun philosophical journeys I’ve taken in many years. You won’t think about life the same after this one.
Self-published, © 2013, 250 pages
ISBN: 978-1-49211-336-2
Book Excerpt: John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened
“He didn’t come.”
The old man blinked and said nothing.
“He’s not coming back for us, is he? The Temple will never be rebuilt.”
“Matthew, you must write again. You must write a new gospel. I will give you the words.”
“I cannot.” Matthew nervously stroked his beard, then caught himself and dropped his hand to avoid calling attention to the sorry little patch of oversized whiskers on his chin. Twenty-eight years old and still he couldn’t outgrow his baby face into a proper Jew.
He shifted his weight, folding his arms inside his cloak, and stared resolutely down at the man, a fellow Jew quietly dying. Goatskin stretched between two parallel poles that rested upon a stack of bricks at one end and a log at the other formed a makeshift cot for the weathered old man. Matthew recognized the brick pile from fifteen years ago, now overgrown with moss, for this was the very dirt courtyard in which he had carved wooden swords and triumphed over dragons and Romans. In those days, good was good and evil was evil. The best days of his life. The mud-brick home of his childhood stood but a few feet away. Little had changed, but nothing felt the same.
The wind shuffled leaves around Matthew’s boots as he waited for a reply. “I cannot write it,” he repeated. “If Jesus came not as Messiah, then his life was a lie. God no longer takes our side.”
–John’s Gospel: The Way It Happened, 2013, prologue, by Lee Harmon
Numbers 6:2, Was Jesus a Nazirite?
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD …”
//In Bible times, there existed a means of donating a boy or girl to the service of God. Presumably, this meant cultic service at the Temple. A Nazirite could be either male or female, as today’s verse indicates, and did not require one to be of the lineage of Aaronite priesthood. Anyone could be a Nazirite. Numbers chapter 6 indicates the rite of passage, and how the vow is offered. In particular, one agreed not to drink any wine, not to shave one’s hair, and not to touch that which is unclean, like corpses.
Yet few took this opportunity, at least as a lifelong dedication. We have two Old Testament examples–Samson (Judges 13:7) and Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11). In the New Testament, we have John the Baptist (Luke 1:15).
But was Jesus a Nazirite? Maybe. Jesus was a Nazarene, but there is much confusion over what this word means. Matthew, in verse 2:23, claims that Jesus hailed from Nazareth, and thus fulfilled the Biblical requirement that he would be a Nazarene. But the word “Nazarene” might stem from the word “netzer,” meaning a branch or off-shoot, referring presumably to the claim that Jesus would be a descendant of David. Or it can mean Nazirite.
Not that Jesus would have been a Nazarene/Nazirite from birth, but perhaps he later took the vow of purity, dedicating himself to God. And indeed, maybe he did, as he spoke these words:
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. –Mark 14:25
1 John 4:2, Knowing Whether Instruction is from God
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God
//How do we know, when we hear instruction from another, that it comes from God? In the book Unfettered Spirit, Robert Cornwall presents three rules to help us critically examine any instruction we may hear. I thought these rules to be interesting enough to repeat. Three verses from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians will highlight the three rules.
1. First, as with today’s verse from 1 John, the instruction cannot contradict Jesus, or that Jesus is our Messiah.
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. –1 Cor 12:3
2. Next, it must be spoken in love.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. –1 Cor 13:1
3. Third, it must be to the benefit of the Church.
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. –1 Cor 14:4
Book review: The Illusion of “Truth”: The Real Jesus Behind the Grand Myth
by Thomas Daniel Nehrer
★★★★
Wanna meet the real Jesus? From page one, I was hooked by Nehrer’s jaded dismissal of believers and scholars alike, and his promise of delivering the real Jesus. Nehrer, the mystic, reveals Jesus, the visionary … and he does it entertainingly well.
Nehrer is not religious, and finds no value in the Bible (other than as a historical oddity) outside the parables of Jesus. No sugar-coating, here. But don’t let Nehrer’s self-aggrandizing style turn you off. He over-values his credentials a bit–for example, his mystical background allows him to “see clearly what Jesus meant with his parables”–and thus commits the same error he warns us against: perceiving Jesus through the lens of his own worldview. But there’s nothing wrong with a little positive endorsement, right?
Nehrer promotes embracing “Oneness,” by which he means the connection between Self and experienced Reality. He prefers the term “Clear Awareness” for seeing deep into the Oneness and understanding how life works. That was Jesus’ insight: he understood life.
140 pages into the book, it shifts unexpectedly into a fictional narrative of Jesus’ “lost years.” Jesus is a smart, hard worker able to contribute at multiple jobsites, but he is driven to keep moving and learning. Nehrer feels he is “uniquely qualified” to take a stab at reconstructing where Jesus’ wanderlust carries him, because of his own extensive travel and spiritual journey as a young man. This fictional account continues for roughly 200 pages, and was my favorite part of the book, as Nehrer’s fiction is quite engaging.
In Nehrer’s recreation, Jesus is self-confident, not a goody-goody but quite likeable. He speaks in religious language when necessary, perhaps inventing a Heavenly Father image to help his listeners displace the vindictive, judgmental Yahweh. His vision is encapsulated in what he calls the Kingdom of God, describing (you guessed it) how life really works, but his greater knowledge is so contrary to the established religious regime–particularly the Temple class–and so difficult for everyday people to grasp that he struggles to make progress, and is eventually put to death.
A final section then discusses how Christianity was born out of the misunderstood message of Jesus. An interesting take on the life of Jesus, but far from the direction my own studies have led me.
Christian Alternative Books, © 2014, 401 pages
ISBN: 978-1-78279-548-3
Luke 14:23, Converting the Donatists
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
//For anyone not familiar with the Donatists, they were the primary strand of Christianity in Africa in the fourth century. Followers of Donatus (though he was not its founding leader), the Donatists considered themselves purists in that they did not recognize the authority of anyone who had ever denounced his or her faith to avoid persecution. Such persons, they insisted, needed to be properly rebaptized—by a recognized authority, of course—back into the Church.
This schism in the church was one of the primary problems Saint Augustine fought to correct during his tenure as Bishop of Hippo. So how did Augustine combat the Donatists, restoring a single universal (Catholic) church? Verbal persuasion proved ineffective, and the schism grew violent. Imperial troops were brought into Africa to tear down Donatist churches and force their congregations back to the Catholic basilicas. Augustine at first opposed the use of force, but when it became clear that no other method would work, he turned to today’s verse. He took the phrase “compel them to enter” and applied it to mean forceful coercion of the Donatists.
Not all Donatists were persuaded by force, as one would expect of a movement founded on reverence for martyrdom, but never again would the Donatists be a major competitor to the Catholic Church.
Psalm 23:4, Thy Rod and Staff
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
//I recall as a child wondering about this verse. What could possibly be comforting about the rod and staff? Who likes getting beat with a rod?
In case anyone else wonders about this verse, let’s put the phrase in context. The psalmist says rod and staff are a comfort when walking through the valley of the shadow of death. They presumably remove the fear of evil. But how?
The shepherd’s staff had a hook on the end, which he could use to snag a wayward sheep and bring it back from danger. The rod was carried not to correct the sheep but to defend against enemies. It was a long wooden pole with often a metal tip to protect against wild animals.
Both are symbols of God’s care and protection.
Book Excerpt: Revelation: The Way It Happened
“Our Lord holds the seven stars?” Matthew looked up questioningly.
“I will explain in due time, my son. Now, sit with me.”
“Yes, Father,” Matthew acquiesced, rightly perceiving this as not the time for attitude. He sat down, leaning against the rock wall, quite happy to delay his studies even if the interruption didn’t give him opportunity to play; even if he received no silver for his attention.
“You remember my telling you about Jesus of Nazareth, don’t you? The Son of God, they called him?”
“Of course I remember!” Matthew couldn’t help rolling his eyes as he recalled all the days he’d spent with his father’s Christian friends. “Some called him the Messiah, but others say he died a criminal’s death at the hand of the Romans.”
“Yes, the Romans crucified him on a cross. My heart has been heavy, Matthew, ever since we escaped the Holy City and fled here to the church of Ephesus. The fathers here have been kind to us these twelve years, but still I wonder. How could things have gone so wrong? If Jesus is the risen Messiah, why didn’t he fight for us during the war? How could he let our holy Temple be destroyed? How could God allow such destruction in Zion, and then how could his Son delay his return for so long afterward? Have we been forgotten? Or was Jesus not the Messiah after all? These thoughts have often troubled me.”
Unsure of how to address his father’s doubts, Matthew coughed into a fist, buying time. Fathers should have answers, not questions. This already felt like an uncomfortable initiation into the adult world. “Jesus told us the Temple would be destroyed,” he remembered. “Not one stone left upon another. What he said came true!”
Samuel smiled and placed an affectionate hand on the shoulder of his only surviving child. “You’ve been paying attention at the communion meals, haven’t you? I knew you were ready for this discussion. Matthew, do you remember John, the son of Zebedee?”
–Revelation: The Way It Happened, 2010, p. 9, by Lee Harmon
Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
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| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
(Bloggers: you may be eligible for a free review copy! Just contact us.)
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The God Show
Lee Harmon interviewed on The God Show about the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and Lee's latest book, John's Gospel: The Way It Happened.
About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
Contact me here.
About Leslie
Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
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