God Approves of the Hateful and Jealous

THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES CALLED:

GENESIS

15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.

15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

15:7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

        There are a few things that need to be mentioned about the above verses before we go any further. I’ve researched a little into the etymology of the word ‘bowel’ and have found it to derive from words meaning intestine, abdomen, throat, heart etc., which do not accurately describe functions of the body, or the organs with which one would use to conceive a child.

        Why does an almighty God require a sacrifice in order to fulfill a wish? This sounds archaic and heathen, not to mention it is a total waste of food. The only difference between this god and the many pagan Gods, is that more often than not, pagan Gods asked for gifts of the field and harvest, over animal sacrifice. Why would an all powerful being ask his servant to kill something in his honor? What a barbaric ritual!

        According to the bible it happened, and although this is ‘The God of The Old Testament’ as often argued to prove some divine point, isn’t this animal sacrificing God is the same God in the New Testament?

5:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

15:19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

15:20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

15:21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

        Why was Abram put to sleep in order to speak with the Lord? How could he be sure that he wasn’t just dreaming?

16:1 Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

        This is an account of the horrible actions of ‘God’s Chosen’. Abram’s wife couldn’t conceive an heir so she handed over a servant for him to wed and have his way with, and then when according to plan the servant became pregnant Sarai became hateful and jealous. Abram’s answer to this, ‘do with her as it pleaseth thee’. So the servant has done all that was asked of her, was given into marriage without her consent, conceived a child and was treated badly for all of it, so badly that she fled; one can only imagine how harshly one would have to be dealt with in biblical times in order to flee. Yet these horrible people still stay in the Lord’s good graces. New Testament or Old Testament God remains unchanged.

16:7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

16:8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

16:9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

16:10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

16:14 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16:16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

        So the Lord the ‘Savior’ sends Hagar the servant who fled from people that punished her out of jealousy and indifference, right back to those same people! This is like sending abused children back to the home of a sex offender! How can anyone read this and still believe that God is good?