Abraham and Sarah (and Hagar) - A Biblical 'Baby Mama' Drama

(Just quick note before I begin.  The reference to Baby Mama was described by a student in which I replied "Even if I did see that movie, I wouldn't tell anyone I did")

Today, as my students and I embark on a journey through learning about the Abrahamic Religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), I wanted to share with you the story of Abraham, his wife Sarah, Sarah's friend and Abraham's concubine, and their two kids.

Abraham's story starts just like many others.  God (YHWH, Adonai, Allah, etc. etc.) appears before and tell him that he must leave his father's house to start a new faith.  This new faith, would be focused on one god (ahem, monotheistic) as opposed to what Abe's fellow Canaanites believed in. (Many gods!)  In a land of polytheists, Abraham was tasked with the chore of pushing monotheism along with completing ten severe tasks to show his faith in God.

And so, as a metaphoric slap-in-the-face to his dad, Abe left for greener pastures (The Promised Land).  Over the next ten years, Abe and his wife were unable to conceive a child.  Enter Hagar, an Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah, with a name that is quite unpleasant to say but I'd imagine she had quite the body.  Sarah decides to tell Abe that he should sleep with, and conceive a child with Hagar.  (Sarah is quite the wife, am I right gentlemen?)

Abe sleeps with Hagar.  She becomes pregnant.  Sarah flips out, goes postal, goes ballistic and tells Hagar to take her fetus and get out of the house.  (As we read this, many of my female students saw this was quite ironic how Sarah wanted her husband to sleep with Hagar then gets angry and bitter.  So I suggest this shows us the two-sidedness of the female personality.  The boys laughed, the girls gave me piercing stares...)

Hagar follows the order and begins to travel into the desert.  Thankfully, shortly after God stops the young handmaiden and tells her that if she returns to the house of Abraham, her son (Ishmael) will be the head of many great tribes.  Hagar returns to the house, Ishmael is born and things get a lot weirder.

Thirteen years later, God promises Abraham that he will allow Sarah and him to conceive a child (Isaac).  But first, Abe must uphold a new portion of the covenant between him and God.  All males in the new faith must be circumcised to differentiate between themselves and the non-believers.  Abe, all of the men in his household, his 13 year old son Ishmael and Isaac (the newborn) are all circumcised.  (To translate the looks on my male students faces when they hear this:  YEEEEEEOOOOUCHHHH!!!)

To add to the weirdness some more, Sarah (now deciding that Isaac is good enough for her) chooses to kick out that trashy handmaiden Hagar and her unwanted son.  Forcing them to wander the deserts to find a new promised land.  Isaac would remain in Canaan (Modern-day Israel) and form the Twelve Tribes of Judaism while Ishmael's descendants would become the Arab tribes and eventually create Islam.

There's much more to tell, but I like to keep the posts short.  Let me know if there's other Biblical/Religious ideas you'd like to hear more about!