Abraham

=Abraham=

==Summary:  In the stories of Abraham, there were many constant themes and morals portrayed to make the stories significant. In the first story, //Abraham: A promise, a Test, // God tested Abraham's will to wait for his first born son, Isaac. When Abraham was 75 years old, he took his wife Sarah and his brother's son Lot to set out for the land of Canaan. Then, the Lord came to Abraham and told him he would shield Abraham and Abraham's reward shall be very great. This made Abraham wonder what the Lord would give him seeing that he thought he would die childless and the one in charge of his household was Dammesek Eliezer. That same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, "To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates." Sarah, Abraham's wife, borne Abraham no children. She told Abraham that he should have a baby with her Egyptian maid servant, Hagar, because she thought she could have a son of hers. Later on, Hagar wants to run away from Sarah because Sarah got jealous of Hagar's ability to have a son. Then, Sarah treated her harshly, and she ran away from her until an angel of the Lord came and told her to go back. The angel told her that she should bear a son and call him Isaac. She said that Isaac should be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him. Hagar then bore a son to Abraham and Abraham gave the son that Hagar bore him the name Isaac. After Abraham and Sarah grew old, they where told by the servant that they were to bare a son by the time they arrived in the city next year. Sarah then laughed because she was frightened by having a son at such an old age. There was much controversy on whether she laughed or not because it was offensive towards Abraham. They then had the son, Isaac, when Abraham was a hundred years old. When the son was grown up, and Abraham and Sarah were even older, they saw Hagar and Sarah wanted her husband to get rid of the slave-woman and her son because the son was not supposed to share in the inheritance with Isaac. This distreseed Abraham greatly because it concerned a son of his. But, God said to not be distressed over it and to do what Sarah tells him to do because it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued for you. Next, Hagar tried to leave the boy because she though that soon her and her son would die. This is when God then found the boy crying and promised the boy he would make him his own nation. When the boy grew up, he dwelt in the wilderness and became a bowman. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the Land of Egypt. After this, God put Abraham to the test. He told him to take his son and go to the land of Moriah to offer the son there as a burnt offering. When Abraham and his son reached the land, Abraham built an altar for his son Issac. Abraham was about to slay his son when an angel said to him, "Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from me." The test was to see if he feared God and Abraham did fear God. With the test passed, he freed his son and offered a ram that was stuck in a bush. He called the site Adonai-yireh. That means, "On the mount of the Lord there is a vision." ==

==In the story //Sarah//, written by Delmore Schwartz, is in Sarah's point of view. An angel was accusing her a laughing and she denied it because Abraham promised her that she will have many children she would have after marrying him. She says the joke was on her because she had to wait ninety years to have a child. ==

== The story //The Parable of the Old Men and the Young,// written by Wilfred Owen, relates to the test of the first version. It is when Abraham is about to slay his son, but an angel tells him to stop. The angel also told him to go get the ram caught in a bush and offer the ram as pride instead of Issac. Abraham did not listen to the angel and killed his son and the descendants of Europe, one by one. ==

Discussion Questions: Why would God want to "test" Abraham?
How is it a test? Why do you think Sarah deny the laughing? Is there a meaning to the different ending in //The Parable of the Old Men and the Young?//

Supplementary Material: Each of the stories shared the story of Issac, but in different point of views. In
==//Abraham: A promise, a Test, // it was a more of the original bible story. In //Sarah//, it is Sarah's reaction of being accused of laughing after finally getting a son. //The Parable of the Old Men and Young// is a first similar to the bible story, but the ending is changed by Abraham slaying Issac. ==

Outside Material:
Abraham, an angel, and Issac at the alter. Sarah is comforting Issac who looks upset about something.

Study Guide/Quiz Questions:
What is the reason God tests Abraham? What it the importance of the place Adonai-yireh? What is the reason behind Sarah laughing? Why does Abraham slay his son in //The Parable of Old Men and the Young?// In what story did Abraham pass the test?