Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Note: This review was originally posted on my blog "Shelf of Friends" on February 21, 2012.

Statistics:
Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Pages: 432
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Range: YA
Publication Date: 9/27/2011
Publisher: Little, Brown, & Company

What's it about?

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

The above line is how the book begins, and really it's an apt summary of the novel. But this isn't angels and demons in a Biblical sense. These angels and demons are creatures of another world (or perhaps dimension is the better word choice), creatures locked in a war thousands of years old. Not a war of good and evil, but a war that is very common in our own world: a war between a more technologically advanced race and their "barbaric" neighbors.

But that's just the background of this novel. This story is really about Karou, an art student in Prague. She seems like an ordinary student, despite her cobalt blue hair that seems to grow that way straight from her head. She works hard at learning her art. She's trying to get over a boy who refuses to recognize he's been dumped. And she has a job--a job that involves collecting teeth for the monsters who raised her: Issa who is half human and half serpent, Twiga who has the neck of a giraffe, Yasri with a parrot-beak and human eyes, and Brimstone the Wishmonger, with his giant ram's horns. Brimstone collects teeth of all sorts, animal and human, and grants those who bring them to him wishes.

Karou runs errands for Brimstone and his seemingly monstrous crew, and despite their strange look they are her family. The reader can easily see how Karou loves her and they love her in return--despite the fact Karou seems to be merely human.

But then mysterious hand prints are discovered burned into the doors that lead to Brimstone's dimension. And suddenly, Karou is alone with no access to her monstrous family.

There is a war going on between Brimstone's people and the people who left the hand prints on the door, and Karou is stuck in the middle. She embarks on a journey to figure out how to get back to Brimstone, while discovering the angelic enemy. And Karou begins to discover she may be more involved with this war than she ever knew.

It's Ya. Tell me about the boy!

Akiva is not a mere boy. Akiva is an angel, one of the very angels fighting against Brimstone and his more demonic seeming crew. He is beautiful--as only an angel can be--but also like an angel he is deadly. He is a trained killer, having spent all of his life in a war against the demons.Karou and Akiva first meet as enemies, but Akiva's strange attraction to her--this seemingly ordinary human girl--is what saves her life. The dangerous, mysterious Akiva does seem rather cliche for a paranormal romance at first, as does their strange attraction to each other which seems almost against their will. But there is more going on than there seems to be, and Akiva hasn't always been a dedicated soldier to the war.

I'm always willing to give strange attraction story lines a pass at first when magic is involved (because magic can create strange attractions people can't explain in many fictional scenarios), as long as by the end of the story the magic is explained and makes sense. And in this case, it makes sense, though it does take over half of the book for it to actually make sense.

What makes this book different from every other YA paranormal romance?

I don't read a lot of paranormal romance, so I can't honestly say what differentiates it from the rest. But for me it has to be the world building. First off, the magic! At first, all the reader knows is that you can trade Brimstone teeth for wishes, and like Karou, I wondered "what the heck does Brimstone need all those teeth for? And how does teeth power wishes?" Well, I'm not sure the book ever really explained how teeth powered wishes (maybe the second book), but when I discovered what the teeth was used for...well, it was unexpected. And fantastic. And make perfect sense for these monster who are fighting a war against angels. Which brings me to my second point.

The war. I loved how the war was based on perhaps one of the most common and ancient situations in our world's history. This wasn't some esoteric or ridiculous reason for war. No apples of beauty or Helen of Troy here. It made perfect sense, and the demon's need for teeth fit right into it. Which is how thing should work in great world building. Everything should be tied in together for the world and societies to make sense.

I eagerly await the next book which promises to spend more time on the other world/dimension and less in ours. We got a great window into the demon's world in this book. They were presented as extremely sympathetic, whereas the angels were not. I hope that a deeper look into this world will give us a fully realized angel society that is equally sympathetic. Because that makes for the greatest stories, where you feel sympathy for both sides who are locked in this endless battle.

If this was a movie, what would its rating be?

The book takes place during a war, so there is violence. I would only describe it as PG-13 violence though. There are a few distinct violent scenes: one-on-one fights, bloody battles, and an execution. But there is no glory in the violence, and if anything the main characters are tired of war and wish the battles could end.

I can't remember any cases of bad language, so it's probably in the PG or PG-13 range.

This book does have several sexual situations. None of it is descriptive. It's very PG-13 fade to black, but it is a paranormal romance so the feelings and desires that accompany these situations are described in detail. Karou clearly thinks having sex before marriage is ok (and before the events of the book she did sleep with her boyfriend though she regrets it because he's a jerk), but I love Brimstone's response when he discovers it. He says, "Stop squandering yourself, child. Wait for love." And that it something I can get behind. Don't squander yourself. Wait.

Overall, how was it?

I've never made a secret of the fact I'm not a huge fan of paranormal romance, and I'm going to be honest, I spent over half of the book waiting for some huge plot driven story line that never came. But this story left me with the promise of more plot in the sequel. Because there is a war going on, and the events of this book most definitely made one side more likely to come out victorious. I can just imagine that in the next book we're going to see politics and battles that lead towards the end of the war. So in many ways this book was only a set up book for bigger events to come.

But if you like stories about angels, books about romance and past lives, or beautifully written stories with fantastically built worlds, you'll probably like this story.

Rebekah and the Patriarchal Narrative

[Note all verses in this post are in the English Standard Version.]

I recently posted here my lesson on Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, famous for generally two things: (1) following a strange man back to a strange land to marry a stranger and (2) devising the plan for her favored son, Jacob, to steal his father Isaac’s blessing from her least favored son, Esau.

I feel like most Christians have agreed on the first famous act: that Rebekah was an incredibly faithful woman--a woman willing to follow God's call to leave her family behind, move halfway across the world (okay, an over-exaggeration but without mail or anything it would certainly feel that way), and marry a complete stranger. I'm pretty sure my faith isn't that strong, so Rebekah puts me to shame.

When I was being taught this story as a kid, this first act was viewed as faithful...with possible underpinnings of "of course a woman doing as she's told and being willing to follow God makes her great!" But this characterization of Rebekah being faithful was always altered dramatically when I was presented of the story of Rebekah devising the plan for Jacob, not Esau, to get the blessing.

Honestly this story was presented to me as thus: Rebekah was a devious woman who deceived her poor old blind husband so her favored son could be chosen. And poor Esau didn't even do anything wrong. Poor Esau. Poor Isaac. Even a little bit, poor Jacob because his mom made him do it. Evil manipulative Rebekah. And it’s not just my teachers who served up this interpretation. For better preparing my lessons on the women of the Bible, I often turn to resources, and in this one I turned to Liz Curtis Higgin’s Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible. In the book, she presents Rebekah as not just a deceiver, but a great betrayer. She betrayed her poor feeble husband. And Jacob’s taking of the blessing is likened to Judas betraying Jesus [1]. Strong words. This was a book I studied in college Bible study, which simply reiterated what I had been taught in my grade school Sunday School classes.

So when I was preparing this story for my Middle Schoolers I was prepared to have to do a lot of...explaining...and reminding the girls that just because the woman so far that we've studied have been characterized by basically being mean to each other and laughing in the face of God, women aren't actually inherently bad. I was prepared to have to deal with this fact that all the women of Genesis from Eve on are basically petty and bad.

This was what I thought. From what I'd been taught.

In my study of Sarah a few weeks ago, I discovered that Sarah's act of laughter at learning about Isaac wasn't actually an act of disbelief. That there was no evidence to support she knew of God's promise or that these men were angels. To her they were just random men predicting a post-menopausal woman would have a child--which would make me laugh too. I was also easily able to balance Sarah's faults of her meanness to Hagar with her faithfulness to Abraham, and how she honestly thought she was doing the best for her family. Sarah, I hope, came across as a three-dimensional woman with flaws and good points.

But with Rebekah I thought the only balance would be her early faithfulness in marrying Isaac. That everything after would just be bad.

So I prepared my lesson, easily handlings the act of faithfulness, and not struggling until I got to the idea of a baby holding another baby's heel. I pulled out my commentary to see what it said about the matter and learned something--that heels could symbolize betrayal and deception. And since I already had my commentary out I decided to read ahead and see what it thought about this business of Jacob stealing Esau's birthright.

I discovered something startling.

That Rabbinic tradition holds that Isaac was blind in more than one way. Not just physically blind, but blind to his favored son's shortcomings [2]. That Esau was not perhaps the best man, and Jacob was the more righteous of the two.

What?

Is there support for this? For Esau being not as righteous as Jacob? Well, let’s look at who Esau is. He’s a man willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of soup. This is Genesis 25:29-34.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.)31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

This can possibly indicate a couple of things, but what it doesn’t indicate is that Esau didn’t think Jacob was serious. Jacob makes him swear it—a serious business in the ancient world. Esau would know Jacob was deadly serious. So we’re left with the idea that either Esau is not very bright or he just doesn’t care about his birthright. Lack of brightness is not a sin; however, lack of caring about your inheritance from your father, the son of Abraham, through whom God has established his covenant, well that’s a little more problematic.

The other thing we know about Esau is when Jacob stole the blessing, he wanted to murder him (Genesis 27:41):

41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Now I don’t know about you but this doesn’t come across to me as a metaphorical “I’m going to kill my brother” like we might say now, when really we mean we’re going to yell at them and nurse a grudge until it wears off. I get the feeling Esau was actually going to murder him. And this is supported by the fact that Rebekah immediately sends Jacob away. She sends him away—back to her brother Laban, half a world away—because she is afraid Esau might murder him (Genesis 27:42). And let’s not forget that murder of a brother is a serious issue in Genesis. There’s this whole story in Genesis 4 colloquially referred to as “Cain and Abel” in which an older brother killed a younger brother. Cain killed Abel, and God had this to say about it:

10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 

To say God was displeased with the murdering of a brother seems an understatement. He gave Cain a curse so great that Cain said it’s too great to bear.

And I’m not saying stealing of a blessing is not a serious issue, one worthy of anger, but murdering your brother seems like a reaction not in keeping with God’s idea of how one should behave.

At the very least Esau is a careless young man with anger issues. Is Jacob a perfect man? No. He has his own issues—his willingness to take advantage of his hungry brother clearly shows that. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Hosea 12:2-4, which does condemn Jacob’s struggle with his brother.

The Lord has an indictment against Judah
    and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
    he will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
    and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
    he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
    and there God spoke with us

I’m not a strong enough Biblical scholar to say too much on this, and I don’t have a commentary on Hosea. However, it seems clear to me Jacob’s struggle with his brother is condemned but his struggles with God—his wrestling of an angel and his seeking of favor—are lauded. But I also feel those things are connected in these verses. He strove with his brother and with God—it’s the same inquiring and unsatisfied mind that led to both. Jacob was a flawed man who sought God. (Which isn’t to say Esau couldn’t have been the same, but I don’t think Jacob is ever described as having murder in his heart.) And if I look back at those verses about Cain, it seems that is a sin God takes quite seriously.

Maybe the Rabbinic tradition of Esau’s lack of moral fiber isn’t entirely without merit.

This all leads me to so much thought. As I was taught this story, Isaac was right because he was the man, even though he was just as guilty of favoritism as Rebekah. Even though it didn’t seem he consulted his wife about who should get his blessing. The prior characterization of Rebekah in this story is that of faithfulness. Not deceit. So why suddenly would she become deceitful? Because she favored Jacob? Her love of her son was greater than her love of God? That seems unlikely. After all, this was a woman willing to leave her entire family behind for God. And sure, the love of a child is greater than the love of a sibling or parent (so I’m told), but…leaving your whole family behind to travel basically by yourself to a strange nation to marry a complete stranger because God told you so is a far greater act of faith than anything Isaac has done in Genesis.

Or is it more likely that it was Isaac whose love for his son blinded him to God’s will? That Isaac was blind to his favored son’s ways? After all, we’re talking about Isaac here, the man who didn’t learn from the stories of his father, and pulled the same “lie and say my wife is my sister” business (Genesis 26:7). Isaac who the Bible says favored Esau because Isaac “had a taste for game” not because Esau had a stellar character (Genesis 25:28). Isaac is far from a perfect man.  So maybe, Isaac wasn’t just blind literally but blind metaphorically. But Rebekah, the mother who raised them, saw all. And since she was merely a woman, Isaac wouldn’t listen to her.

Everything going forward in the Bible from here hinges on Jacob being Israel, that he is the father of the Jewish people. He had the blessing, not Esau. And is it really possible that a mere mortal woman could thwart the God Almighty’s plan? Or is it more likely that Rebekah was still as faithful as ever, not blind to the truth, and she did what she had to do to stay faithful to her God—to ensure God’s blessing and the divine inheritance from Abraham continued through the son worthy of that blessing.

Who chose Jacob as the father of Israel? God or Rebekah?

Or as an early Christian leader, (we’re talking 350-ish AD), John Chrystostem put it: was it “a mother’s affection, or rather God’s design?” [2]

The apostle Paul supports this reading, that it is God who chose Jacob and Rebekah’s actions were in accordance with God’s plan, in Romans 9:

10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!

But it’s perhaps the book of Malachi, which Paul is referencing here in Romans 9:13, which is most condemning:

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

It seems pretty clear that God chose Jacob. That Rebekah could not have thwarted God’s plan. If God wanted Esau to be the progenitor of his chosen people, he would have chosen him.

It seems to me Rebekah made the right call, made the faithful call, and did what God wanted her to do. She did not deceive her husband for her own gain, but to save him from his own folly. She did not just secure a future for her favored son, but secured a righteous future for all her descendants to come. Rebekah is not the villain of this story; she is the hero.

I think my Sunday School teachers growing up taught me wrong. That they were deceived by the idea that a man who leads and makes a choice—like Isaac choosing Esau—is doing right, while a woman who makes a choice and uses the only means she has (deception in Rebekah’s case) to bring about God’s plan is doing what is wrong. But the text does not support this.

My eyes have been opened.

It’s amazing what you can learn teaching Middle School Sunday School.

References (other than the Bible):
[1] Higgs, Liz Curtis. "Chapter 5: Rebekah the Mother." Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible: Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2007. N. pag. Print.

[2]Mathews, K. A. Genesis 11:27-50:26. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2005. Print. The New American Commentary.

Rebekah

So last week we talked briefly about Isaac. Who remembers who Isaac is? [Let them answer]. Yes, Abraham's son, the chosen one who God's covenant would go through. So Isaac grows up to be a young man and Abraham is getting very old. Basically Abraham begins thinking, "Hmm, it's time for my son to settle down and get a wife and this whole "Abraham will be the father of many nations" thing to begin!" And of course the first step to that is Isaac needs a wife.

But who remembers where Abraham is living? [Let them answer.] That's right he's living in the land of Canaan. Now who else lives in Canaan? Does anyone know? [Let them answer.] Basically there is a bunch of people who generally we can just refer to here as "Canaanites" but they're not all....pleasant people. Does anyone know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? [Let them answer.]

Basically Sodom and Gomorrah were towns in Canaan that were so full of sin that God destroyed them. We didn't go over that story in this class, but it took place before the events of this one. You guys remember that Abraham had a nephew, Lot? He was living in Sodom when God sent some angels to see if the city was worth saving. These angels get there and Lot's family is literally the only family to offer them hospitality. The rest of the city basically only offers them violence--like basically tries to murder these angels and Lot for not giving the angels up. So God tells Lot's family to flee the city, and then destroys the place with fire from heaven.

That is how bad some of the surrounding area is. So it's no wonder Abraham doesn't want his family to marry into these other people. Not to mention these other people wouldn't believe in God. So Abraham tells one of his servents to go alllll the way back to Abraham's home town and find him a girl from there--preferably from among his family. Like cousins and second cousins.

Yeah marrying a cousin seems weird to us, but back then, it wasn't considered wrong to marry a cousin, unlike it is today. In fact it really wasn't considered wrong to marry a first cousin until like 100 years ago, and that's because we didn't know the genetic repercussions of this sort of intermarrying. Basically marrying your cousin can causebirth defects because you guys likely would have the same recessive genes, which means while you may not be sickly even though you have some recessive gene for a sickness, if you and your wife have the same recessive gene, your kid might be. However, back then, this wasn't really a concern. Because they didn't understand about genetics, and possibly because the population was so small there may have been less genetic abnormalities.

So yes, Abraham basically wanted his servant to go find a cousin for Isaac to marry. So the servant travels alllll the way back to Ur.

Can someone read Genesis 24: 10 -14

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the girl to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

So what's happening here? The servant has made it al the way back to Ur and he's finally at the town and he's basically like "HOW AM I GOING TO CHOOSE FROM ALL THESE WOMEN?" How will I know which one God wants me to bring back?

Now as we've discussed before, hospitality back in the day was a big thing. So this servant guy is not crazy to ask these random women for water. Basically according to the hospitality ethics of the time, if a stranger asked you for water you were honor bound to provide it. However, she would NOT be required to provide water for the animals. Basically this servant is looking for God to point him to a girl with a kind heart who is willing to go the extra mile and hoping that God will allow that to be the girl he's supposed to bring home for Isaac.

So can someone now read Genesis 24:15-20

15 Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.

Bingo! This is the girl! Not only did she give him water, but she offered water to his camels. But even though the Bible already told us in verse 15 that she's the grand-niece of Abraham (draw the family tree up so they can see how it all works together), the servant didn't know that. He has to ask to make sure. Can someone read verses 23 - 28

 23 and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.” 28 Then the girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.

So she confirms she is indeed in the family of Abraham and offers him a palce to stay, and what does he immediately do? He praises God! And what does she do? She runs home to tell her family!

So Rebekah has a dad and a brother who are still alive. And basically as soon as Rebekah brings this servant there they offer him hospitality. But the servant immediately wants to get to business and explains the whole situation--how Abraham sent him to find a bride for his son Isaac and how the servant thinks Rebekah is that bride.

Now back then Rebekah's dad and brother, who's name is Laban, would have been perfectly within their rights to make this decision without consulting Rebekah at all. Women were basically considered property, to only be transfered to a new house upon marraige. And basically they do tentatively agree with the servant upon hearing this story, because they are not about to go against what it clearly God's will. But let's read how exactly this goes down. Can someone read verses 54 through 61.

4 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.” 55 Her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.” 57 They said, “We will call the girl, and ask her.” 58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

“May you, our sister, become

    thousands of myriads;

may your offspring gain possession

    of the gates of their foes.”

61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

So Rebekah's family agrees she should go off and marry Isaac but they ask for ten days, probably to say goodbye and maybe prepare some stuff for her to take into her new life. But the servant is antsy and is basically like "I need to get back to Abraham now." This makes the family hesitant, because remember that's super faraway. As we discussed before, they're basically marrying their daughter off to someone who lives on Mars--some place for them that is that far away. Basically they will never see her again if they send her off there. So while they were willing to do it with the appropriate amount of time to say goodbye and emotionally prepare everyone, they're not willing to do it just all of the sudden. So they decide to ask Rebekah.

Now if you were Rebekah how would you feel about this? Going off with a strange servant who claims to be the servant of a grand uncle you've never met to marry a guy you've never met? Would you be willing to do that? [Let them answer.]

Yeah, I wouldn't be super comfortable with that either. But Rebekah, she says she's willing to go! She realizes this is God's will and knows that sometimes God asks us to do stuff that doesn't always seem that fun--like move far far away from your family. But she's willing to do it since it's what God asks of her. That's a large amount of faith Rebekah must have!

So her family quickly says goodbye but doesn't send her off along. They send a nurse and some maids with her.

So needless to say when Rebekah gets all the way back to Canaan, she and Isaac get married. And eventually she also gets pregnant! Can someone read chapter 25:24-26

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

So Rebekah gives birth to twins! Fun fact this is the first set of twins in the Bible, but not the only set. But there is a lot going on here. First off the first son, Esau. He is described as "red" and "hairy." When the Bible describes someone as red it's more they're saying a "ruddy complexion" which is synomous with a healthy complexion [1]. This same word was used to describe King David  [1 Samuel 16:12]. So it could also mean handsome. "Hairy" as well would not necessarily be derogatory for hair growth is valued, and once again a sign of health [1].

So the whole Jacob grabbing the heel thing. This is more than just a baby being born grabbing another baby's heel. This is a Biblical omen. Jacob's grabbing Esau's heel is an attempt to superseed him and also "conveys the idea of deception, betrayal, and opportunism" [1]. It's used sometimes in the Bible to indicate a trusted friend's deception which we can see in Psalm 41:9 [1]. I won't make you turn there. I'll read it:

Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,

    who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.

So this idea of Jacob grabbing Esau's heel may not be literal, I mean Jacob may not actually have been born holding his brother's heel. He may have been. I'm not a doctor. I don't know if that's physically possible or not. But regardless this symbolizes that from the day they were born Jacob was wanting to be the oldest--even though Esau was born first--and foretold that Jacob was going to turn against his brother.

So how does this relate back to Rebekah, their mother? Flip back to Genesis and read the next two verses: Genesis 25:27-28.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Isaac loves Esau but Rebekah loves Jacob. Basically there is blatant favoritism in this story. Do you guys ever feel like your parents have a favorite? [Let them answer. They probably do sometimes feel that way.] Well let's see what the Bible thinks about this favoritism, how it's going to go for Jacob and Esau.

Can someone read Genesis 27:1-4

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. 4 Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”

Okay so Isaac is old and basically going blind. And since he knows he might die soon he basically wants to give his blessing to his oldest and favorite son. So what is a "blessing?" You know I scoured the internet, looked in my commentary, and read all the footnotes in my Bible and I'm still not entirely sure. What I do know is that it's not quite a birthright or inheritence. It's probably something more spiritual, more to do with passing down Abraham's legacy from Isaac to one of his son's. Just like Abraham's legacy of being God's chosen people only went through Isaac and not Ishmael, it seems like the blessing might be Isaac's choosing of which of his son's would be the chosen one through him God's convenant would continue. Now did he only have to bless one of them, couldn't he have blessed both?

Honestly I don't know. We do know that Jacob later blesses all of his son--all TWELVE (Genesis 49:28)--and they are all pulled into the covenant of God and that the Jewish people descended from those twelve sons. However, maybe Isaac didn't know he could split up his blessing? Maybe God told him he could only choose one? Or maybe he just preferred Esau so much he didn't want Esau to share it? I don't know. But what we do know is that he only picks one, and of course he picks his favorite son.

Can someone continue reading verses 5 - 10?

5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. 9 Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes; 10 and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”

Rebekah hears what Isaac is going to do, and since Jacob is her favorite son, if she gets to choose who the Abrahamic tradiation goes to, of course she's going to choose Jacob! So she concocts a plan. She's basically going to have Jacob pretend to be Esau and steal the blessing from his brother.

This is a huge coup. Like huge. Rebekah is basically going behind her husband's back to do what she thinks is right without talking to him. Now Rabbinic tradition holds that Rebekah being not blind and as old as Isaac saw more than he did. That Isaac's blindess was not just literal but also metaphorical in that he was blind to Esau's faults. That Esau was in fact wicked and she saw that, and that's why she did this, so that the blessing would go to the good son. But the Bible doesn't really tell us that. All we really know about Esau is that well he's a bit of jock--likes to go hunting and is a strong man--and that he has a bit of a temper on him.

Regardless, Jacob was Rebekah's favorite son and she made a decision here--a decision that affect the future irreplacably, for good or for ill.

Next time you think maybe women don't have a lot of agency or don't affect things in the Bible, that most of these stories seem to revolve around men, I want you to remember Rebekah. Because it's Rebekah's actions that shaped everything else that is to come. It is Rebekah who determined which son God's chosen people would be descended from.

And it's Rebekah who saved Jacob when his father and brother heard of what had happened. Basically Jacob gets the blessing from Isaac--who remember is old and blind and can't really tell--and Esau comes home and reveals that he never got a blessing, which makes Isaac realize what happened. Both are furious. Can someone read Genesis 27:41-45?

41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

So Rebekah sends Jacob away to her brother Laban, probably saving his life but as we'll see next week also giving Jacob the opportunity to meet the woman he would love.

This is the reason when I asked myself whether I wanted to focus on Isaac or Rebekah this week, I chose Rebekah. Because even though it was Isaac who was the son of Abraham whom God's convenant went to, it's Rebekah who determined the future of all the Hebrew people. Rebekah who through her faithfulness followed a strange man to a strange land to marry a stranger. Rebekah who took her children's destiny into her own hands, not letting a man make that determination for her--for good or for ill.

And if we go by the idea that Scripture should interpret Scripture, then Rebekah's decision is a good decision. Paul talks about this in Romans 9 and says that Rebekah's decision here was as God would have had it. If you read Romans 9:10-14, which I'll read for you it says:

Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. 11 Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 12 not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written,

“I have loved Jacob,

    but I have hated Esau.”

14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!

Paul is saying that this is all by God's design. That Rebekah made the choice God wanted her to make.

So next time someone tells you that women in the Bible have no power, that God never uses women, remember Rebekah. Rebekah always took the initiative, whether it was offering to water camels or choosing which one of her sons would carry his father's legacy. She was a headstrong woman who did what she thought was best for not just for herself but in God's eyes. And nothing after this chapter in the Bible would be the same without her decision. Because God used her to change the course of history. 

Sarai/Sarah

Alright today we are continuing our study of people of the Bible. Who did we talk about last week? [Abraham] And what did we learn about Abraham? [Let them answer.]

That’s right. We learned Abraham was a man who followed God and importantly made a covenant with God. Remember a covenant is a contract or promise, in this case between God and Abraham. Does anyone remember what was agreed upon in the covenant?

[Let them answer. In our class our memory verse Genesis 17:7 is literally written on the board, so some of them may just pick out the answer from that verse.]

That’s right. God promised Abraham to be the God of him and all his descendants. But at this point as far as we know does Abraham have any descendants? Nope. He does not.

The reason we are re-capping all of this is because it’s important to the person we’re going to be discussing today. Today we are discussing Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Now when we first met Sarah, it was Abraham got his call to move, and back before either of them had their new names. Back then Sarah was called Sarai. Like Abraham, Sarah was very old. And she and Abraham had no children.

God had promised Abraham a child, particularly a son, many times in the sections we read last week. But we don’t know if Sarah was there when God spoke to Abraham, or what Abraham told her. In light of that, let’s read Genesis 16:1-3.

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. 

Alright so here Sarah is like “I have no kids, and my husband needs kids, and obviously I can’t help him with that” so she gives one of her slaves to Abram. From Sarah’s perspective, she’s just looking out for her husband, trying to ensure his line. Like I said earlier, we don’t know that Abraham actually shared God’s promise with her, so I want to be clear, right here Sarah is not necessarily showing that she doesn’t trust in God. She may or may not know what God promised Abraham. She’s just trying to do what’s best for her family by her husband.

Now you may be concerned by this whole, giving a slave to your husband so he can have a baby with her thing. And yes, definitely to our modern sensibilities this is very disturbing. But back then, this wasn’t an uncommon practice. During this time period, if a woman couldn’t have children it was a huge shame. She was a failure not just to herself but her husband and her whole family. She was failing to do the one thing a wife back then was really 100% required to do, and that was continue the family line. In cases like this, it was not uncommon for wealthy women to have their husbands have children with their slave instead, and then the child of that slave would basically be considered the wealthy woman’s child.

I don’t think I can underscore to you guys enough how badly Sarah would have been looked down upon for being unable to conceive. Of course Abraham would still love and respect her, but society as a whole would have treated her very poorly and said some not nice things about her. It was considered disgraceful to not be able to have a child, for a woman back then—it still is a little in our modern society, though that’s only a fraction of the taste of what it would be like back then. In modern society people more look at you with pity. Back then you would have been looked down upon with scorn.

So Sarah was just acting in custom of the land, and so was Abraham. But the key difference between Sarah and Abraham here is that Abraham, by agreeing to going along with the plan, was showing a lack of faith in God. The Bible points out in verse three that they had lived in this land for 10 years. That means it’s been ten years since God made the promise that Abraham’s descendants would get all this land. Abraham is probably thinking, “Hey God, it’s been ten years. You promised me a son.” But God hasn’t delivered that on the time scale Abraham was thinking was appropriate. Abraham wanted a son now. So he probably thought to himself, “Well God didn’t necessarily say a son by my wife, maybe this is the way he meant.” So Abraham goes along with it.

Can someone read verses 4 through 6?

He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.

So what’s happening here? Hagar, the slave gets pregnant. And because of that, she basically thinks she’s better than Sarah, which at least in this context she kind of is. Sarah couldn’t get pregnant and yet Hagar could. Remember what I said back then a woman who couldn’t have children was a huge shame, like practically a scarlet letter type situation. So Hagar feels like she is better than Sarah now and despite the fact Sarah is her mistress, she starts treating Sarah with contempt. Do you all know what contempt means? [If they don’t define it. Contempt: the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving of scorn.]

Sarah goes to Abraham to point out this situation, hoping I imagine for Abraham to intercede on her behalf, because Abraham is still the head of the household despite whoever is pregnant. But Abraham is basically like “Whatever, it’s your slave. Technically you own her. Do whatever you will.” Abraham completely washes his hands in this situation, which is not a good thing. And then Sarah does something worse. She responds to Hagar’s contempt with harshness. Instead of being kind and dealing with her well—because Hagar is only pregnant because that was Sarah's plan—Sarah is so mean to Hagar that Hagar does what? That’s right. She runs away.

Running away back then also wasn't as easy as going to the next village. It would have been practically a death sentence for Hagar. At best people would have viewed her as a pregnant widow, at worst they would have viewed her as a pregnant adulterer. None of these situations ended in her being wealthy or happy, but rather poor and destitute. So the situation would have to have been very very bad for Hagar to not just consider but actually run away.

I want to be clear that everyone in this story comes off poorly. Sometimes this story is told in a way where it’s just about women being “catty” and Abraham is not culpable at all. This is not the case. Sarah was doing what was best for her family. Hagar was doing what her mistress asked of her. Abraham was the one who didn’t trust God thus allowing all the bad behavior to follow. But yes, Hagar let her new position as the bearer of the child of Abraham get to her head. And yes, Sarah was very harsh with her because of that. No one comes off well in this story. It’s quite the family drama.

Alright now can someone read verses 7 – 16, this section is a little bit longer, but can someone read it?

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
    you shall call him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
    and everyone’s hand against him;
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”

13 So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15 Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

So Hagar runs away. And you would think since Hagar having a baby wasn’t necessarily what God promised Abram, and wasn’t exactly part of the plan, this is the part where she goes out in the desert and just mysteriously disappears and is never heard from again. God just let’s her silently die in the desert so things can go perfectly according to his plan. But is that what he does? NEWP. Cuz God doesn’t work like that, does he?

So what does God do? He sends an angel after Hagar to provide her water and to tell her to go home, but also to make a promise to her. Her descendants would also be greatly multiplied and she too would have a son and his name would be Ishmael. Ishmael by the way means God hears. God heard Hagar’s cry and he came to them and saved them. So Hagar goes back to Sarah, but that is not the end of this story.

Alright let’s skip ahead to chapter 18. Remember how I said that God had promised Abraham a son but it was not clear if God had made that clear to Sarah? Well in Chapter 18, God appeared to Abraham in the form of three visitors. They were probably angels of God. But Abraham didn’t necessarily know that and I definitely don’t think Sarah did. Alright can someone read verses 9-14.

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

So these strangers, who Sarah doesn’t necessarily know are angels of God, predict she is going to have a son and she laughs. Keep in mind she is like ninety years old or so here. So do you think it was crazy of her to laugh?

This is the Sarah who had given up so much on having a child of her own that she gave her slave to Abraham, so he could still have a child, just not with her. She’s old. Too old. After a certain age, women just can’t have babies, biologically. It was probably just as crazy for Sarah to get pregnant as it would be for a virgin.

Yet, as we studied at Christmas, a pregnant virgin is not impossible with God. Neither was a pregnant old Sarah.

Of course during Sarah’s time there was no story of Mary. She was the first—the first!!!—woman in the whole Bible that is talked about being unable to have a child who God gives a child too. She had none of the stories we had. All she had was the word of these men who she didn’t necessarily know were angels of God.

Even the Sarah wasn’t in the tent, God heard Sarah’s laughter and he commented on it. And reprimands them that basically all things are possible through God and then he doubles down on his promise. Not just that they will have a child, but basically soon.

So even though Sarah didn’t believe it, God reiterated his promise. And let’s see if God kept that promise, shall we? Please turn to Genesis 21:1-8

The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

God upheld his promise and Sarah had a son. Now let’s talk a moment about what Sarah says in verse six.  ”God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” These words have meanings on multiple layers. The name Isaac literally means laughter. So of course God brought her Isaac—he brought her laughter. And everyone who heard would know his name meant that. But whereas before Sarah was laughing with disbelief—how could a woman her age have a child—now she could laugh with joy. She finally did have a child. But maybe she was also a little laughing at herself, for having disbelieved before and now she knew better for God had given her a son.

I think one of the most important lessons of this story is perhaps that God doesn’t count on our good faith or necessarily even good behavior to bear out his promises. If God promises you something, he will not revoke it. Whether that is a child or salvation. God promised Abraham a son, and Abraham didn’t trust God to do it in the right time so he did his own thing. However, God didn’t punish him and not give him Isaac. God still gave him Isaac. Sarah treated Hagar—a slave Sarah had pulled into the family drama—so abominably that Hagar ran away. Sarah practically laughed in the face of the angels of the Lord when they told her she would have a son. And yet despite her bad behavior and disbelief, God still blessed her.

Because God doesn’t back down from his promises.

Donkeys, Parables, and Pop Culture

When Jesus preached, he used stories. Of course we call them parables now, but Google tells me the definition of a parable is simply thus:

“Parable, noun, a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.”

Yep, that’s right. Jesus told stories.

There is power in stories, which is why people have always told them. Even our parents telling us of memories and lessons from their own youth is them passing on their stories. Without these stories, we would be left completely on our own, and we know would know nothing beyond our own experience. We like telling stories and listening to them. We like being transported to lives that are not our own. But most importantly, stories allow us to experience things outside of our own lives. They teach us lessons we might never learn on our own.

Or they show us truths reflected back at ourselves like a mirror.

Despite this, growing up, I got the distinct impression while my fellow Christians thought we could be taught through stories truths about God, it was only certain kinds of stories. Stories written by Christians, for Christians, about Christian topics. You know the books I’m talking about. It’s your Left Behinds, Frank Peretti’s or Francine Rivers’ novels. Now I’m not saying those books can’t teach you about God. They certainly do. I learned a lot from those and other Christian writers. But I also learned a lot from the Jewish by birth, atheist by belief Isaac Asimov (I, Robot; Foundation), and the decidedly not Church approved J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter).

My parents never stopped or discouraged me from reading these books, but it was with the knowledge that if I was reading the book in the car on the way to church, I left it in the car when I got to church—even if I was just going to be wasting the next hour while my mother practices handbells with nothing to do but fidget in the pews.

The crazy thing to me in retrospect is that some of Jesus’ most powerful parables don’t even reference God. Stories of farmers and wheat (Matthew 13). Stories of men and their sons (Luke 15). The word “God” or even references to the religious establishment aren’t made. Yet it’s clear to everyone these stories are about God.

Which means stories don’t have to be explicitly about God to teach us something about God.

* * *

As a known Marvel fan, people often have a habit of asking me my favorite Marvel movie. I imagine they expect a certain answer, probably judging on the fact that I have a dog named Bucky and can often be found sporting a Winter Soldier hoodie. Needless to say it can be a little shocking when I answer, “Thor.” This is especially surprising to those who also love Marvel movies, since at best Thor is hailed as a “just okay” movie.

This inevitably leads to the question, “Why? How can that movie be your favorite one?”

The answer is both simple and complicated, so depending on the time I have with them it can range from anything from a simple truth “Loki is my favorite Marvel character” to the deepest truth: “God used the movie Thorto convict and change me, and since that day I have never been the same.”

It’s true, on a Saturday in May in 2012, I sat on the couch of my home crying as the movie went to its closing credits, knowing that through this merely okay movie about superheroes, God had spoken to me.

* * *

Balaam’s tale is told in the latter half of the book of Numbers—a book of the Bible that gets a bad rap because of the whole numbering everyone in Israel thing, but also has quite a few interesting tidbits. Like Balaam (Numbers 22).

Balaam was a sorcerer in Moab when the Israelites came to the Promised Land for the second time--that is after their wandering in the desert for 40 years. With their punishment over, they had the full power and authority of God behind them to reclaim the Promised Land—where people like the Moabites already lived. Needless to say as the Moabites watched the Israelites cut through other tribes like a hot knife through butter, they got a little nervous.

The king of Moab at the time—a dude named Balak—was getting a little worried the Moabites were going to be next, and after watching the Israelites kill everyone else, he decided his best bet was to call the number one sorcerer in the land: Balaam.

"Behold, a people came out of the Egypt; behold they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite of me. Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed."

--Numbers 22:5-6 (NASB)

(I like in particular that the Israelites are so mighty that Balak really only thinks a curse might slow them down and give Balak a chance—just a chance—of defeating them. By no means does he talk like this curse will end them once and for all.)

Now, Balaam despite not being an Israelite and being a sorcerer, thought God was real. Granted, he thought of God as just one of many gods or powers at work in the land—he even tried to corrupt Israelites with this later (Numbers 31:16)—but in this case, he thought it might be a good idea to ask God what he should do (Numbers 22:8).

As one might expect, God said:

“Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed"

--Numbers 22:12 (NASB)

Balaam, not being an idiot, decided to listen to God.

Unfortunately the king of Moab wasn’t taking no for an answer, so he sent more people to implore Balaam to come. Balaam responds to these people with:

Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God.

--Numbers 22:18 (NASB)

In the Bible it seems at this point, Balaam was quite firmly in the “don’t cross God” camp, and he was just going to stay put where he was. Then that night God came to him and said:

"If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do."

--Numbers 22:20 (NASB)

So Balaam—once again not being an idiot—did what he was told. He went saddled his donkey and went with the Moabites.

Now in the very next verse (Numbers 22:22) it says that “But God was angry because he was going.” Which on my first read caused my head to turn and go “Huh? Didn’t God tell him to go?” I’m not a Bible-expert but the footnotes of my Bible say this:

God let Balaam go with Balak’s messengers, but he was angry about Balaam’s greedy attitude. Balaam claimed that he would not go against God just for the money, but his resolve was beginning to slip. His greed for wealth offered by the king blinded him so that he could not see how God was trying to stop him.

--Footnote from the Life Application Bible

Now, to me personally, that seems a little of a stretch of what the text actually says. Maybe Balaam’s will was growing weak. I’d need to seek out extra commentary on the fact. But reading through the next few passages I put forth a slightly different interpretation.

God was angry because Balaam had to go. After all, this Moabite king is trying to kill His chosen people. But He also wanted Balaam to go because He wanted Balaam to prophesy to the king of Moab, which he does in Numbers 23. However, maybe God knew that Balaam as he was right now—a sorcerer with no loyalty to God above any other “gods”—might not actually listen to Him and give His words to the king, which God wanted Balaam to do. So in order to scare the bejeezus out of him—to ensure that Balaam would in fact obey God, a strange experience happened to Balaam on his journey to the king.

God put an angel with his sword drawn—ready to kill Balaam—in his path.

Now Balaam couldn’t see this angel, but his donkey could. And the donkey rightly decided that this was not a creature she wanted to cross paths with (Numbers 22:23).

This pissed Balaam off because he couldn’t see the angel and he thought his donkey was just being stubborn. So he beat her. This repeated two more times on the journey, the angel would move, the donkey would be able to go ahead, then she would see the angel again, rightfully stop moving, and Balaam would beat her (Numbers 22:23-27).

Then something astounding happened.

And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"

--Numbers 22:28 (NASB)

The donkey spoke.

Now, if I was Balaam the next verse would read something like “And Balaam died of shock.” But that’s not what happens. Balaam converses with his donkey. He basically accuses the donkey of making him look like a fool (Numbers 22:29). The donkey responds by pointing out she had been trustworthy all her life to him before this and had never done anything like this before, so basically he should trust her now.

Then God opens Balaam’s eyes and he’s able to see the angel, and basically realizes the donkey saved his butt. Balaam immediately repents of going to see the king and says he’ll turn back, but the angel reiterates God’s earlier message.

"Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you."

--Numbers 22:35 (NASB)

And guess what? That’s exactly what Balaam does. He goes to the king and prophecies and his prophecies take up the next two chapters (Numbers 23 & 24).

God spoke to Balaam through a donkey.

God spoke to Balak through a non-Hebrew, idolatrous sorcerer.

If God can speak through an animal and sorcerer, I’m pretty sure He can speak through and use anything to get his point across.

* * *

When I share with people that a Marvel movie changed my life, they are always surprised. Even the most Christian of friends, even my pastors, have looked at me with expressions that start somewhere around “oh really?” and end at “Are you insane???”

I believe God can speak to us through anything, and sure, the average Christian would nod their head along in agreement with that statement. But in my experience with the Church, when most people say “anything” what they really mean is: the Bible, our preacher, nature, and our families. No one bats an eye when a mother talks about the truth about love she learned from her infant child (and nor should they), but when I say I learned a truth of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through a movie about pagan gods turned superheroes, people are usually skeptical at best.

Yet I was taught all my life—for good reason—the God can use anything. He can use the Bible, our preacher, nature, our families, donkeys, sorcerers, and even Marvel movies to speak to us.

And I think if the parables show us anything, it’s that sometimes we mere mortals need stories to help us understand. Because God is beyond what our brains can comprehend, but sometimes in stories we can glimpse a truth we might never have been able to find on our own.

So that’s the reason for this blog. For this series I’m calling “Modern Parables.” To explore different stories in pop culture—movies, books, musicals, TV shows, and even video games—and show how they’ve helped me understand better the Bible, my faith, and my God.

I can only hope that God can use something even more unlikely than Marvel movies and donkeys--that is me--to speak to you. 

January 2017 Memory Verse

“I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”

— Genesis 17:7

For our first lesson in January we were discussing Abraham, and how God made a covenant with him. For me this is a key verse in that covenant that I want them to remember that highlights a few things: 

1. It's a covenant not just with Abraham but all his descendants.
2. It's an everlasting covenant. 
3. Most impotrantly: The covenant establishes that God chose to be the God of Abraham and his descendants, and that from this point forth God will be their God.

It's one of the first longer verses I've required of them, but I think it has enough redundancy in it that they can get the hang of it. 

Note: Verses posted are from the NRSV version of the Bible since that is the version the Middle Schoolers are most familiar with.

Abram/Abraham

[Note: All Bible versus are in NRSV because that is the edition the Middle School Sunday School Bibles at my church are in.]

So today we're starting our study of People of the Bible. To make this easier and give you guys context I thought we'd start close to the beginning and go from there. So today we're going to talk about Abraham.

What do you guys know about Abraham? [Let them answer, see what they say. Write it on the board.]

Hmmm okay. Let's see if the story of Abraham reflects any of this. You guys go get your Bibles, and I want you to turn to Genesis 12.

So some context before we dive right in. The story of Abraham starts a long long long time ago. Like a long time ago. We're talking around 4,000 years ago. We're talking about a society that is extremely tribal and a large "city" might be say a thousand or two thousand people, which is a fraction of the size of Albuquerque. They couldn't even imagine anything this big. But the average person didn't live in a city. And this was the bronze age, so people had bronze and metal tools but still a lot of stone tools.

So Abraham when we first meet him is known as "Abram." Abram is not some poor dude eking out a living on a farm. Abram was quite wealthy--wealth he would have inherited from his father and wealth he expanded during his life. This wealthy Abram was living in a land called Ur which is modern day Iraq. When you guys think of modern Iraq's climate and environment, what do you think of?

[Let them answer. Probably gonna say something like hot, desert, maybe also some inappropriate comments based on their understanding of current events.]

Well back then Iraq wasn't a desert. It was an area of the world that your history teachers may refer to as Mesopotamia or the Fertile Crescent. It was great for crops and planting and raising animals. Which is pretty much what Abram did.

Alright can someone read Genesis 12: 1 - 9 (NRSV).

12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 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. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.

[Note: At this point in my class someone asked who Lot was, and I put a family tree for Abram on the whiteboard starting with Abram's father Terah and only showing down to Abram and Sarai and then Haran to Lot. But no further because we're not talking about Ishmael and Isaac this week.]

So God says "Hey Abram, I need you to move." And Abram says "yeah okay." I want you to think about that for a moment. How would you feel if God told you to move to a strange land? And this wouldn't just be like moving across New Mexico or even the USA. For Abram this would almost feel as crazy as God asking him to move to Mars. So let's say God came to you and said "Hey move to Mars." How would you feel?

[Let them answer.] 

[Note: one student was really excited about the prospect of moving to Mars--because Mars is cool--but the rest were more hesitant.]

And it wasn't just Abram who moved. It was him, his wife, his nephew, and all the "persons they acquired." This could be anything from slaves to just servants and employees whose livelihoods were dependent on the wealthy Abram. So let's say your boss came to you and said like "I need to move our whole company to Mars." And your choice was to stay and find a new job, which you may or may not be able to do depending on your skill-set, or go. What do you do? How do you feel?

[Let them answer.]

Basically this is a crazy move of faith, not just on Abrams behalf but on everyone who is following him. In Ur Abram is wealthy and well respected, but who says he can maintain that in an unknown land? What happens when you follow your boss to Mars and discover Mars is inhospitable? That wealth doesn't do you much good on Mars, does it? And to these people that's what it would have felt like. This is a crazy move of faith. Abram and everyone who followed him had to have some faith to make this move. For Abram that's faith in God. For everyone else that's faith in Abram, faith that he's not crazy and really is hearing what God commanded him.

So they travel to Canaan. Who knows what Canaan is known as today?

[Let them answer]

Israel. And what does God say in verse 7, "to your descendants I will give this land."

You guys this is so incredibly important I can't even begin to stress it to you. This is not just important for everything that happens in the Bible but this is important for modern current events happening in Israel and the middle east right now. And we're going to see why as we go forward, but I want you to remember this. God gave Israel to Abram.

Alright we're going to skip ahead a bit. There is some interesting context in these intervening versus that involve a famine, a journey to Egypt, a trip back to Canaan, and a war between a bunch of kings which Abram and his nephew Lot get caught up in. But for our purposes we're going to skip to Genesis 15. Can someone read Genesis 15: 1-7 (NRSV).

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”

So in this section God is promising Abram a son. Remember Abram is very old and he has no heir. He has a nephew Lot and he has men who work for him but he has no children. So if he dies his estate goes to someone sort of random. Sort of like...has anyone seen Downton Abbey? [If Yes]. It's like how the estate goes to Matthew a guy they didn't even know they were related to .{If No} well that's not important. (either way) What's important is, everything Abram owns would not go to his descendants because he has none.

But here God is promising he will have an child, and not only that but his descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. That's...quite a lot when you think about it!

We're going to talk about next week the particulars of how that happens, who Abraham's children are and how everyone feels about it--when we talk about Abraham's wife, Sarah--but for now we're going to skip ahead a bit to Genesis 17: 1 -8. Can someone read these verses?

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.”

Have any of you ever heard at Church a reference to the idea of the "Old Covenant?" [Let them answer] Does anyone know what it is? [Let them answer.]

This is it. This is the old covenant. God spoke to Abram and made an agreement or contract with him. That's basically what covenant means. An agreement or contract between two parties, in this case the parties are God and Abram. In this covenant what does God promise Abram?

[Let them answer.]

Basically that his descendants will be numerous and he will be the father of many generations. And that God gives him the land of now Israel. And most importantly that God will be their God.

When people refer to Jewish people as God's chosen people this is what they mean. God chose Abram--whose name here he changes to Abraham. Why did he chose him? We may never know. Probably because God knew him to be a faithful and righteous man who would obey the call to move across the world when asked. But the Bible doesn't expressly say. But God did choose him and make this covenant with him. To establish his line, his offspring, and be the God to his people. This is what makes Jewish people God's chosen people.

And Abraham didn't have to do much in return. Does anyone know the one thing God required of Abraham? [Let them answer.]

He required that Abraham and all his men be circumcised--a  medical procedure that we're not going to talk about. You can read your Bibles or ask your parents if you want to know what it is. But basically it was an outwards physical show of the covenant. God didn't require Abraham have perfect faith or even follow a bunch of rules. Just this one thing--which is a one and done thing.

But the reason the story of Abraham is so important is that it is the basis for everything else to come. Abraham and his faith is the reason why the people of Israel, the Jewish people, are set apart, and the reason why they claim Israel as their land. But as we'll see next week Abraham and his family, namely his wife Sarah and Abraham's own sometimes wishy-washy nature, are also the reason why everything didn't go exactly according to plan.

Abraham wasn't a perfect man. But he was a man who literally followed God. Something we can strive for in our own lives as well.

Bumped by Meg McCafferty

Note: This review was originally posted on my blog "Shelf of Friends" on February 14, 2012.

Stats:
Title: Bumped
Author: Meg McCafferty
Pages: 336
Genre: Dystopian
Age Range: YA
Publication Date: 4/26/2011
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
 

What's it about?

In the future, a virus will sweep through mankind that will make nearly everyone infertile. Nearly everyone, except teenagers. In this future where procreation depends on the young, birth control has been allowed and being pregnant has become the latest fashion piece. No ensemble is complete unless a girl has a nice round bump of a baby growing inside.

Melody is a teenage girl who has contracted out her womb to a rich couple who want a child. Melody is pretty much a perfect choice being intelligent, beautiful, and athletic. But because she's on contract, she can only reproduce with a male selected by the rich couple. So while Melody waits for a guy to be picked, her friends are all on their second or third pregnancies. Being a virgin without any pregnancies to her name, Melody finds her popularity quickly slipping.

And it doesn't help when her twin, Harmony, suddenly shows up at her house. Harmony has grown up in a deeply religious society, one that is a cross between Amish and extremely conservative Christianity. Harmony has come to save Melody's soul, to bring her to God and to keep her from selling her body and her womb. But having grown up extremely sheltered, it is no surprise that Harmony is shell shocked by the world.

The two identical twin sisters have starkly different beliefs, but through a case of mistaken identity, the two come to question everything they've been taught and they begin to take their futures into their own hands.

It's YA. Tell me about the boys!

We have two girls, so of course there is more than one boy! Zen is Melody's best friend, but that's all he can ever be. Even if Melody didn't have to abstain in favor of some boy her rich benefactors are going to pick, Zen is not the sort of boy any girl would date. Despite his good looks and intelligence, he is much too short, making his genes not favorable.

Jondoe on the other hand is the most desired male stud (for lack of a better word). He's everything a couple could want in their kid's genes: beautiful, intelligent, and athletic. On the surface he seems like any other superstar: arrogant and extremely confident. But beneath the surface superstar Jondoe is a boy named Gabriel, whose personnel beliefs might seem odd for such a premier stud.

Ram is a shy quiet boy from the same sheltered community as Harmony, who follows Harmony from their community out into the world. He just wants to take her back and live a normal life, even though he has his own secret that means he can never truly fit in their religious community.

These three boys are vastly different. All three have varying beliefs and feelings about how the world has turned out and their role in it, helping to flesh out this controversial world.

Wait....what? Is this book glorifying teenage pregnancy?

No. In fact, I believe that's the point the author is trying to make with this book, that often in today's world teenage pregnancy has been glorified, whether it's Juno or Teen Moms. In the world presented, teenage pregnancy has been glorified: both in the secular world and the religious community. In Melody's world, being pregnant is the cool and fashionable thing to do; it's also a smart financial decision, and her parents are relying on the money her womb will bring. In Harmony's world, it's her religious duty, a role that she must fulfill in order to be viewed as an adult and a real woman. As we follow both girls through the story, we discover the danger of both views and of when this pressure is being put on such young girls. There is a world of adults who want children, and they're exploiting teenagers and even preteens--making them sacrifice their lives and their bodies to the cause of procreation.

I assure you it does not glorify pregnancy, if anything it argues for why teenagers should not get pregnant, and the dangers of a world where such extreme pressure is put on teenagers.

Does this book portray Christianity negatively and poorly?

This was a real worry for me in this book, being a Christian myself. I completely agree that in a scenario like this, societies like the one Harmony's from. I don't agree with her society, finding it highly judgmental and too much emphasis on becoming what they want you to be, but I think it would exist. Groups like that exist now.

The book also presents a different view of Christianity which probably aligns more with what I believe, except what they believe about allowing their kids to have sex for procreation and for money outside of marriage. Now I can generally get behind what these people said about children being the greatest gift of all and such, and how their kids are filling a need and showing love by having babies--but it left me wondering what happened to artificial insemination in this world. I could totally see what these parents were thinking and then letting their son's donate sperm and their daughters get artificially inseminated. I guess sex is cheaper and easier than artificial insemination, but still. I just don't see any Christians being cool with their kids sleeping around for money to produce kids for other people.

So basically this book presented two views of Christianity that I don't really agree with. But if you're a Christian it definitely makes you think--how would Christians react to this situation? What would be our response? And what is the right course of action when only teenagers can get pregnant?

If this was a movie, what would its rating be?

I can't recall any bad language, and there is pretty much no violence. But this book is pretty much all about sex and pregnancy, so yeah. I would definitely not have been comfortable reading this as a middle schooler or early high schooler, and probably wouldn't let my kids that age read it either. But for older teens, it can lead to really good discussion and thoughts about what would happen in this scenario and about the pressures around teens regarding sex. None of the descriptions of sex are graphic, it's very PG-13 fade to black, but there is some honest talk about pregnancy that can be disturbing for those of us who are squeamish, though there is no birth seen on screen in the book, so not graphic in those terms. But pregnancy is a way of life for the teens girls in this book, and it doesn't always end well for all of them.

Overall, how was it?

This book presents a very interesting world that can lead to a lot of interesting discussion. If you're looking for a dystopian about a pair of girls overthrowing an evil regime, this isn't that book. If you're looking for a world not that different from our own where one virus changes everything, this could be that book. It definitely leaves you waiting for the sequel, wondering what's going to happen next--how these girls are going to go on with their lives after the events of this book.