# 25 - Hagar Escapes - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, the episode highlights Hagar’s story of rejection and redemption as she and her son Ishmael are cast out into the wilderness. Through their suffering, God reveals Himself as the one who sees and hears, providing hope and sustenance in their darkest moment, reminding us that no one is ever truly forgotten by God.
Episode 25 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Genesis 16:13, “She called the name of The Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,”
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Show Notes:
(02:11) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(03:36) Hagar Escapes - Cinematic Retelling
(26:44) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
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Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
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Speaker 2: I would have you achieved this promise another way. I
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Speaker 2: would present my maid to you so that you could
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Speaker 2: conceive a child with her. The child would be of
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Speaker 2: your flesh and blood, and you would only have to
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Speaker 2: adopt him as your heir. In that way, we would
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Speaker 2: achieve God's promise to us. We could build our family
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Speaker 2: through this child you would conceive with another.
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Speaker 1: And so Hagar did as her lady instructed. That very
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Speaker 1: night she was escorted to her lord's tent.
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Speaker 3: My nothing but a mayor to you to be broken
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Speaker 3: in bread. However you see fit. You will snatch this
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Speaker 3: child of mine the moment it is free, and claim
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Speaker 3: it as your own.
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Speaker 4: Master Abram, congratulations, Hagar has born your son.
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Speaker 5: The boy's name.
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Speaker 6: Will be Ishmael. Let me ask you this is anything
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Speaker 6: impossible for God Almighty? Is anything too hard or too
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Speaker 6: marvelous for him to achieve?
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Speaker 7: No?
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Speaker 6: At the appointed time, I will come back to you.
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Speaker 6: In about a year, she will have a son.
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Speaker 2: How could this be? After all this time, when I
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Speaker 2: am worn out and my lord is old? Will I
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Speaker 2: have this delight? I can't help it. You're never going
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Speaker 2: to believe it. It's finally happened.
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Speaker 8: God's promised to us, with child, You're going to be
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Speaker 8: our father.
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Speaker 9: Sarah has given you a son, Isaac Master.
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Speaker 8: The boy's name is Isaac.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael loved his father and wanted him to be happy,
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Speaker 1: But all this laughing was beginning to grate on him.
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Speaker 1: Each peal of laughter and joy turned to mockery in
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Speaker 1: Ishmael's ears. Their joy was his loss.
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Speaker 10: In the barren wilderness of Bear Sheba, where hope seemed
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Speaker 10: a distant mirage, a mother's cry pierced the heavens, and
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Speaker 10: a child's tears touched the heart of God. Cello, my friends,
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Speaker 10: from here in the holy Land of Israel, i'm ya
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Speaker 10: l Eckstein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome
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Speaker 10: to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic
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Speaker 10: story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons
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Speaker 10: of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story,
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Speaker 10: we find this truth that we are all chosen for
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Speaker 10: something great. Let's begin. Have you ever felt the sting
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Speaker 10: of rejection, the ache of abandonment? Has it ever felt
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Speaker 10: like someone else's joy is your sorrow? In this dramatized
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Speaker 10: story inspired by Genesis twenty one. We see very things
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Speaker 10: in the lives of Hagar and Ishmael. But what if
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Speaker 10: the desert of our own despairs the very place where
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Speaker 10: God meets us. What if, in our moments of deepest need,
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Speaker 10: we find the well spring of his mercy. Let's journey
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Speaker 10: into the desert together and seek the answers that lie
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Speaker 10: in this story.
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Speaker 1: The speeches were just beginning. Torches illuminated the joyful faces
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Speaker 1: of Abraham's household, beaming as Abraham waxed poetry about his
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Speaker 1: newborn son. The teenaged Ishmael was already well into his
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Speaker 1: fourth cup of wine, fury rising with each ship.
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Speaker 11: I still can't believe the joy I felt, both for
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Speaker 11: Sarah and me in these three years.
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Speaker 12: Who would have thought that I, a hundred and three
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Speaker 12: year old man, would be giving a speech at his
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Speaker 12: son's weaning celebration. Why I was already as old as
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Speaker 12: an oh when God promised Isaac to me, and that
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Speaker 12: was over thirty years ago.
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Speaker 8: I finally have a son. Ha ha ha ha.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael winced at the words, murmuring into his cup.
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Speaker 13: You already had a sun, foolish old man.
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Speaker 1: Hager gave him a sharp look. Isaac grunned, and he
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Speaker 1: returned to his cup, listening to his father ramble on
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Speaker 1: about how the birth of his son Isaac had completely
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Speaker 1: changed his life. It had been a long three years
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Speaker 1: for Ishmael as he watched the babe grow, every day,
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Speaker 1: drawing closer to this weaning ceremony, the day that marked personhood.
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Speaker 1: Isaac had survived infancy and crossed over into the threshold
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Speaker 1: of childhood.
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Speaker 5: The day also.
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Speaker 1: Marked the unofficial acceptance of Isaac's claim to airship. Abraham continued,
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Speaker 1: face bursting with youthful exuberance.
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Speaker 11: I'm reminded of that glorious encounter I had all those
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Speaker 11: years ago as we celebrate Isaac now the fruition of
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Speaker 11: our God's incredible promise. Our God has truly blessed my soul.
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Speaker 11: I'm overwhelmed by how great he is.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael sighed as his father referenced the promise that had
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Speaker 1: shaped his entire life. There was a time when that
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Speaker 1: promise had applied to Ishmael. His mother often told him
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Speaker 1: the story of his birth and how she was elevated
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Speaker 1: from slave to wife, begrudgingly so, especially if you were
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Speaker 1: to confer with lady Sarah. But despite's resentments, Ishmael was
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Speaker 1: the legitimate heir of Abraham in the eyes of the law.
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Speaker 1: His mother reminded him of this often when he endured
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Speaker 1: scathing looks from Sarah, or when the other boys teased
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Speaker 1: him about his mother's lowly heritage or his distinctly Egyptian features.
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Speaker 1: His mother told them it was only because of their
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Speaker 1: jealousy that they poked and prodded at his ego. This
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Speaker 1: came to shape Ishmael's worldview. The law was on his side,
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Speaker 1: no matter what anyone had to say about it. But
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Speaker 1: despite that assurance, Ishmael was emboldened to work hard and
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Speaker 1: earn his father's affection. He would prove that he was
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Speaker 1: a worthy heir, despite how it came to be.
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Speaker 8: I imagined the mystery the majesty of our God, as
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Speaker 8: if he was clothed in a splendor, and the light
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Speaker 8: of his glory covers all of us and into the
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Speaker 8: heavens like a great head.
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Speaker 1: The faith of his father's, his father, the prophet of
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Speaker 1: the God Almighty. Ishmael just didn't understand it. His father
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Speaker 1: spoke of his God as if he were a friend
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Speaker 1: and a guide, but also to be feared and respected.
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Speaker 1: Ishmael found he would rather rely on the strength of
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Speaker 1: his hands and the sharpness of his mind. But he
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Speaker 1: had played the part of dutiful son and heir. He
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Speaker 1: followed the customs, prayed the prayers, and had even been
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Speaker 1: circumcised with the rest of the household. He was marked
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Speaker 1: by this God and a part of this governant, the
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Speaker 1: same as every other man in Abraham's house. But deep down,
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Speaker 1: Ishmael felt separated from them, exemplified by his distinct Egyptian
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Speaker 1: features passed down from his mother.
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Speaker 8: And even the clouds and the winds, and.
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Speaker 2: Abraham, our guests want to eat your rambling.
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Speaker 14: Yes, my love, you're right, I've gotten carried away. Please,
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Speaker 14: my friends, let us feast and drink to my promised son, Isaac.
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Speaker 14: May he always bring his mother and me joy, as
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Speaker 14: well as to all he meets.
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Speaker 1: The crowd murmured their agreement, and smatterings of conversation struck
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Speaker 1: up throughout the tent. Ishmael was seated at the end
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Speaker 1: of his father's table with his mother. From this vantage point,
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Speaker 1: it was painfully obvious that she was slighted by the
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Speaker 1: other women, though she had been raised from the status
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Speaker 1: of slave. She had not overcome the stigma. Ishmael's blood
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Speaker 1: boiled at this familiar hurt on behalf of his mother.
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Speaker 1: When most of their party had eaten their fill, Sarah's
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Speaker 1: nursemaid brought the now ween child Isaac out and placed
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Speaker 1: him in his mother's hands. The other women fawned over
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Speaker 1: the boy and showered Sarah with their attention. It was
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Speaker 1: more than Ishmael could stand. He stood abruptly from the
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Speaker 1: table and went to recline with the other young men
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Speaker 1: at a table further out of via shot.
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Speaker 8: Released from your duty as air already, Ishmael, Oh, yes,
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Speaker 8: how does it feel to be overshadowed by an infant?
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Speaker 13: That baby is not going to replace me, Ishmael.
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Speaker 8: We only jest. I'm sure this day can't.
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Speaker 5: Be easy for you.
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Speaker 13: Why should it make a difference. I'm a legitimate heir.
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Speaker 13: I don't see why this second son should change anything.
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Speaker 8: I wouldn't be so sure about that. What Tabam means
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Speaker 8: to say is that we're sure you have a better
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Speaker 8: understanding of the situation than we do. Don't speak for me,
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Speaker 8: Jock Shan. Ishmael should consider what this means for his
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Speaker 8: birth ride. Keep your voice down. You're just gonna stir
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Speaker 8: up trouble.
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Speaker 13: No, no, I think Teba may be right. This child
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Speaker 13: could challenge my right to what is rightfully mine, Ishmael.
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Speaker 8: They're going to hear you. How much wine have you had?
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Speaker 5: You're not thinking straight?
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Speaker 13: Look at him. This child is going to be coddled
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Speaker 13: by his ancient mother. He's going to be soft and weak.
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Speaker 13: This clam needs a strong leader. His name means to laugh.
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Speaker 13: The other nations will be laughing at us. This child
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Speaker 13: is a joke. His co airship with me is laughable.
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Speaker 13: He makes a mockery of our people.
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Speaker 1: The two other boys gaped to Dishmael's outburst in an
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Speaker 1: almost silent room. The guests had quieted as Ishmael's rant
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Speaker 1: had built to its height. Sarah fixed him with a
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Speaker 1: venomous stare, which, if he had been sober, have given
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Speaker 1: him the good sense to back down. He also failed
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Speaker 1: to note the mounting panic in his mother's eyes.
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Speaker 13: What we all know the law? Are we not people
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Speaker 13: who uphold the laws of our land? This child can't
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Speaker 13: snatch my birth right away from me. This changes nothing.
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Speaker 1: With that, Ishmael kicked back the drugs of his wine,
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Speaker 1: threw his cup to the ground and stormed from the tent.
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Speaker 1: One could cut the tension in the silence that followed
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Speaker 1: with a knife.
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Speaker 11: All right, everyone, pay no attention to my oldest. The
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Speaker 11: fire of youth burns in his belly.
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Speaker 8: Please return to your meal.
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Speaker 1: The most assertive of the guests coaxed their neighbors back
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Speaker 1: to the uneasy conversation to smooth over the awkwardness of
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Speaker 1: Ishmael's tantrum. Sarah passed Isaacov to the nursemaid, gave her
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Speaker 1: husband a look, and marched out of the tent as well,
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Speaker 1: in the opposite direction. Abraham sighed and followed her. Sarah
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Speaker 1: had grown to hate Ishmael as she had grown to
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Speaker 1: hate Hager, but his outburst was a step too far.
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Speaker 2: The audacity of this brazen, entitled child, the child of
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Speaker 2: a slave. No less, I don't know why you haven't
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Speaker 2: divorced that Egyptian slave and expelled both of them from
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Speaker 2: our household. There's no need for him anymore.
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Speaker 8: We have our son, Sarah. I know you're upset ed.
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Speaker 2: This cannot stand, Abraham, This impertinent child and his mother
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Speaker 2: must be dealt with.
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Speaker 8: He's just a boy. This is a big adjustment for him.
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Speaker 2: I don't care. His feelings mean nothing to me. You
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Speaker 2: heard him. The law does protect him until you divorce
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Speaker 2: his mother. Our son will always have to bear this rivalry.
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Speaker 2: I have not endured what I have endured or suffered
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Speaker 2: the way I have suffered to see my son sit
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Speaker 2: as co heir to our legacy and the promise of
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Speaker 2: our God. You know I am speaking the truth, Abraham.
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Speaker 2: Don't give me that look like I'm speaking nonsense.
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Speaker 8: But Ishmaels of my flesh and blood. He is my son.
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Speaker 8: Should he be denied what is owed to him by
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Speaker 8: the laws of our land. I am your flesh and
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Speaker 8: blood too, as.
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Speaker 2: Well as Isaac. What do you value more the law
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Speaker 2: of the land or the promise.
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Speaker 8: Of our God.
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Speaker 1: Sarah could tell her words had stopped her husband in
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Speaker 1: his tracks. She let the silence settle between them and
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Speaker 1: cried out to their God in her heart. Her fury
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Speaker 1: still heated her skin, but her words were sound. Abraham
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Speaker 1: had to see reason. He had to understand the division
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Speaker 1: he was creating by allowing the boy and his mother
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Speaker 1: to stay. This was a threat to the very promise
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Speaker 1: that God had made them. This was bigger than the two.
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Speaker 8: Of them, Sarah, in your anger towards the boy's mother,
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Speaker 8: would you really have me strip them of their status?
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Speaker 8: Where would they go? They would have no place in
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Speaker 8: our land? Oh any others?
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Speaker 2: This union between you and Hagar was a mistake, A
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Speaker 2: mistake I still hold you accountable for, but I endured
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Speaker 2: it so you may have an heir. But now I've
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Speaker 2: provided you with a son untainted by all this nonsense.
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Speaker 2: I won't see it ruined. I must protect the promise
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Speaker 2: that is to be inherited by our son. I cannot
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Speaker 2: stand by any longer. For the sake of Isaac. I
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Speaker 2: must protect my son. I can only hope you will
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Speaker 2: do the same as his father.
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Speaker 11: What you ask is not a small task. I must
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Speaker 11: seek our God about this matter before I give you
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Speaker 11: an answer.
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Speaker 2: He is my God. To Abraham, I pray that he
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Speaker 2: will show you that this is right.
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Speaker 8: You'll know my answer by morning.
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Speaker 2: I know you've come to love the boy. I am
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Speaker 2: sorry for the painness will cause you. But you know
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Speaker 2: I'm right, don't you.
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Speaker 8: I I need to pray.
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Speaker 1: Abraham pays the length of his lands for several hours,
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Speaker 1: weighing every option and wading through every anxiety that he
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Speaker 1: felt until he finally heard from his God, Abraham.
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Speaker 5: I know your heart is greatly burdened. Do not be distressed.
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Speaker 8: But my God, how can I not be the fate
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Speaker 8: of my first born son hangs in the balance. Must
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Speaker 8: I truly choose between my sons? And if I choose wrong,
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Speaker 8: will I lose the trust of my wife?
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Speaker 5: Do not worry about the boy Ishmael or his mother, Hagar,
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Speaker 5: for they are not only in your care, Abraham, they
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Speaker 5: are in mine.
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Speaker 8: What would you have me?
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Speaker 5: Do you are to honor your wife Sarah? Listen to
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Speaker 5: what she says and do what she asks. Remember I
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Speaker 5: am fulfilling my promise to you. Through Sarah and through
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Speaker 5: your boy Isaac, your line will be traced through him.
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Speaker 7: Yes, God Almighty, I remember your words well. But what
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Speaker 7: of Ishmael? How can I abandon him?
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Speaker 5: I have seen Ishmael and his mother in their strife.
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Speaker 5: I will not forget them. I have promised Hagar that
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Speaker 5: her son, your son, will be made into a nation.
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Speaker 5: He will be all that you have faithfully raised him
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Speaker 5: to be. Trust what I am telling you.
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Speaker 1: Soothed by his God's words, Abraham set out to make
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Speaker 1: the preparations for the departure of Ishmael and Hagar early
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Speaker 1: in the morning, mere hours after Ishmael's blunder, Elieza and
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Speaker 1: a reluctant Abraham entered Hagar and Ishmael's tent.
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Speaker 9: Hagar, Master Abraham has informed me that it's time for
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Speaker 9: you both to leave immediately.
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Speaker 3: What but why is this about Ishmael's outburst last night?
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Speaker 3: He won't do it again.
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Speaker 9: I swear this is the will of my master. You
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Speaker 9: are no longer welcome here. This is a formal renouncing
00:17:53
Speaker 9: of your marriage to Abraham and Ishmael's writer's heir.
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Speaker 13: It was that serpent Sarah. She was behind all this.
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Speaker 9: She's I wouldn't make this any worse, Ishmael. I have
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Speaker 9: some of our armed men ready.
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Speaker 15: But but I would prefer not to call them.
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Speaker 13: Father. You would stand there and say nothing. Well, this
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Speaker 13: man casts us out.
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Speaker 3: He's always been a cart. How long do we have
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Speaker 3: to leave? Is there a cart prepared for us? Goods,
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Speaker 3: Master Abraham, do you have anything to say for yourself?
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Speaker 1: Hagar's anger raged against Abraham's tortured face as he stood
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Speaker 1: still and straight the picture of enacting justice on behalf
00:18:39
Speaker 1: of his offended primary wife, Hager knew that was the
00:18:43
Speaker 1: true reason for this divorce, for that was what this was.
00:18:48
Speaker 1: Sarah had finally had enough. She could no longer suffer
00:18:52
Speaker 1: the looming threat of Ishmael contesting her son's airship, and
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Speaker 1: once again what little Hagar had being stripped away from her.
00:19:03
Speaker 16: You know everything. I cannot say freely. I have no
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Speaker 16: right to give you anything, but I would not have
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Speaker 16: you cast out with but nothing. I have a sack
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Speaker 16: of bread and a waterskin. You must go now before
00:19:24
Speaker 16: anyone sees. Please go now.
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Speaker 13: Unbelievable, the cruelty, the heartlessness. Why are you doing this?
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Speaker 4: You know why, young Ishmael. This is how it has
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Speaker 4: to be. No, please leave, And that was it. There
00:19:50
Speaker 4: was no ceremony, no preamble or formality to it. But
00:19:55
Speaker 4: by sending them out, Abraham had.
00:19:57
Speaker 1: Effectively divorced Hager, stripping her and her son of their
00:20:02
Speaker 1: status in his household. This was the way of their
00:20:05
Speaker 1: culture and sound in the eyes of the law. With
00:20:09
Speaker 1: this simple gesture, Hagar was no longer a wife, and
00:20:13
Speaker 1: Ishmael's claim was dissolved. The only inheritance Hagar's son would
00:20:18
Speaker 1: see was the bread and water skin. Hagar was free,
00:20:23
Speaker 1: Her status would not revert back to being a slave,
00:20:26
Speaker 1: but somehow freedom felt like a punishment. With no protection
00:20:31
Speaker 1: from the law or husband, there were not many places
00:20:35
Speaker 1: for them to go, and so Hagar and her son
00:20:39
Speaker 1: wandered in the wilderness of Beer. Shebber the region was
00:20:43
Speaker 1: barren and inhospitable. In her exhaustion and thirst, Hagar could
00:20:48
Speaker 1: not remember how long it had been since they passed
00:20:50
Speaker 1: a well. They had finished the bread weeks ago and
00:20:54
Speaker 1: survived off the meager gain that likewise wandered the wilderness.
00:20:59
Speaker 1: Ishmael was at talented shot, but he could not summon
00:21:02
Speaker 1: a game that was not there. And now they were
00:21:05
Speaker 1: down to the last drops of water in the water
00:21:07
Speaker 1: skin Abraham had given them. Ishmael did not acknowledge its
00:21:12
Speaker 1: near emptiness as he handed the last of their water
00:21:15
Speaker 1: to his mother. Hagar accepted his gesture as her heart
00:21:19
Speaker 1: sank at their dire situation. Few words had been exchanged
00:21:24
Speaker 1: between them since they had been expelled, but she could
00:21:27
Speaker 1: read the devastation all over her son's face. It told
00:21:31
Speaker 1: her everything she needed to know about how he was
00:21:35
Speaker 1: processing the loss of his inheritance, the loss of his father.
00:21:40
Speaker 1: And so they wandered two ghosts upon the land. Hunger
00:21:45
Speaker 1: clawed at Hagar's belly and collapse threatened. As now days
00:21:50
Speaker 1: had passed since her last sip of water, Ishmael started
00:21:54
Speaker 1: to stumble beside her. He was younger and stronger, but
00:21:58
Speaker 1: his body required more food than hearsted. He was nearly
00:22:02
Speaker 1: a man grown now. When she looked into his eyes,
00:22:05
Speaker 1: she could see grief and weariness etched inside. He was
00:22:09
Speaker 1: losing the very will to live. Her eyes welled with
00:22:14
Speaker 1: tears and her throat tightened at the sight of her
00:22:18
Speaker 1: once vibrant son starting to falter, his body on the
00:22:22
Speaker 1: brink of shutting down. She cried out as he suddenly
00:22:26
Speaker 1: slumped to the ground.
00:22:28
Speaker 13: Ishmael, Mother, I Ishmael, come over here.
00:22:33
Speaker 3: Let me get you to the shade.
00:22:36
Speaker 13: I'm I'm afraid, I miss Holme.
00:22:41
Speaker 3: I'll stay with you until you fall asleep.
00:22:44
Speaker 1: Hager winced as tears immediately brimmed her eyes. Hagar dragged
00:22:49
Speaker 1: her son over to the meager shade of a bush
00:22:52
Speaker 1: near the road. It would have to do grimly. She supposed,
00:22:56
Speaker 1: this was as good a place to die as any
00:22:59
Speaker 1: in this terrible wasteland. Ishmael groaned and closed his eyes
00:23:04
Speaker 1: as he sagged in the dirt. He murmured fragments of
00:23:07
Speaker 1: apologies and regret that Hagar could not comprehend, but she
00:23:12
Speaker 1: whispered comforting words in reply. She stayed with him until
00:23:17
Speaker 1: his breath slowed and he lost consciousness and fitfully fell
00:23:21
Speaker 1: quiet as she watched his chest rise and fall. Agony
00:23:26
Speaker 1: tore through Hagar, and she found she could not bear
00:23:29
Speaker 1: to watch thirst and hunger steal her son away from her.
00:23:33
Speaker 1: She crawled away from where he lay, lest he wake
00:23:36
Speaker 1: and hear her sobbing over his body. When she was
00:23:40
Speaker 1: about a bow shot away, she finally gave in to
00:23:43
Speaker 1: the depths of her despair.
00:23:46
Speaker 2: I can't.
00:23:49
Speaker 3: I can't watch him die.
00:23:52
Speaker 1: Hager failed to notice the stillness that settled around her,
00:23:56
Speaker 1: or the comforting presence that wrapped its arms around her.
00:24:01
Speaker 1: She wept until a gentle voice whispered in her ear.
00:24:07
Speaker 15: Hagar, do not be afraid, Hagar, do not be afraid.
00:24:15
Speaker 15: Your cries have been heard by the God almighty. He
00:24:19
Speaker 15: has also heard the anguish of your son. Your torment
00:24:24
Speaker 15: has not gone unnoticed. Get up, go to your son
00:24:30
Speaker 15: and help him.
00:24:32
Speaker 3: How How can I do as you ask?
00:24:35
Speaker 13: Where would we go?
00:24:37
Speaker 3: What are we to.
00:24:38
Speaker 15: Do as I have seen you before, I see you now,
00:24:43
Speaker 15: and as I promised you then I will remind you.
00:24:47
Speaker 15: Now grasp the hand of your son, for he is
00:24:51
Speaker 15: to be a great nation. Someday I will make it so.
00:24:58
Speaker 1: Before Hagar could answer, she felt the comforting presence lift
00:25:03
Speaker 1: from her shoulders, and she suddenly saw a well before her.
00:25:07
Speaker 1: She cried out in surprise. Had she been delirious or blind?
00:25:13
Speaker 1: There had been nothing, no water sauce at all for
00:25:16
Speaker 1: miles and miles, but here was one before her now.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: She crawled over to it on her hands and knees.
00:25:24
Speaker 1: She had to be dreaming some frenzied mirage, conjured up
00:25:28
Speaker 1: by her dehydration, But no. She placed her hands on solid,
00:25:34
Speaker 1: chiseled limestone stones. She pulled herself up to haul off
00:25:39
Speaker 1: the cover and peer over the edge. In its depths
00:25:43
Speaker 1: was an abundance of fresh, clean water. She cried out
00:25:47
Speaker 1: in relief and grasped the rope hanging over the side
00:25:51
Speaker 1: of the well, sunk the pail on the other end
00:25:53
Speaker 1: into the water, and pulled it up. She collapsed against
00:25:58
Speaker 1: its side as she drank deeply. She then fumbled for
00:26:02
Speaker 1: her satchel. The water skin was still inside. With shaking hands,
00:26:07
Speaker 1: she filled it and limped back to Ishmael's side. She
00:26:12
Speaker 1: gently lifted his head so he could drink from the
00:26:14
Speaker 1: water skin. Her heart soared and a flicker of hope
00:26:19
Speaker 1: sprang back to life as she saw her son's eyes open.
00:26:23
Speaker 1: Ishmael's alertness returned when they both drank their fill, and
00:26:28
Speaker 1: he also noticed the world before them. They both laughed
00:26:32
Speaker 1: and laughed on the edge of delirium and relief. Perhaps
00:26:37
Speaker 1: now they too would see a promise fulfilled by the
00:26:41
Speaker 1: God of Abraham.
00:26:47
Speaker 10: The story of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert is
00:26:51
Speaker 10: one of those passages that grips your heart and doesn't
00:26:54
Speaker 10: let go. Here we have Hagar, an Egyptian slave, and
00:26:59
Speaker 10: her Ishmaell cast out into the wilderness. Can you imagine
00:27:04
Speaker 10: their fear, their desperation, a mother watching her child whither
00:27:09
Speaker 10: under the unforgiving son, their water supply evaporating to nothing.
00:27:15
Speaker 10: It's raw, it's painful, it's human. And then there's God
00:27:23
Speaker 10: in the midst of despair of this mother and her child.
00:27:26
Speaker 10: Right when all seems lost, an angel calls out, do
00:27:32
Speaker 10: not be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. Isn't
00:27:37
Speaker 10: that just like God showing up in our darkest moments,
00:27:40
Speaker 10: bringing hope when hope seems impossible. This story moves me
00:27:44
Speaker 10: deeply because it's a testament of God's faithfulness to his compassion,
00:27:50
Speaker 10: even when we've been cast aside by the world. God hears,
00:27:55
Speaker 10: God sees, God provides. Hagar and Ishmael's story is a
00:28:00
Speaker 10: reminder that no one is forgotten by God, not a
00:28:04
Speaker 10: single one of us. So when I read this passage,
00:28:08
Speaker 10: I'm reminded to trust in God's provision and in his
00:28:12
Speaker 10: grace even in life's driest, most hopeless spots. Someone asked
00:28:20
Speaker 10: me the other day what would I say if I
00:28:22
Speaker 10: had to choose one word to describe the work of
00:28:25
Speaker 10: the Fellowship, and to be honest, A lot of different
00:28:28
Speaker 10: words came to mind, and I bet if I were
00:28:30
Speaker 10: asked this question every day, I would come up with
00:28:32
Speaker 10: a different answer each time, because there is just so
00:28:35
Speaker 10: much that we do here in Israel and all around
00:28:38
Speaker 10: the world. But this time, the first word that popped
00:28:42
Speaker 10: into my head was hope. In Hebrew, we say tikva
00:28:48
Speaker 10: because I see hope everywhere I look. In the work
00:28:52
Speaker 10: of the Fellowship. I see hope when we bring food
00:28:56
Speaker 10: and blankets to elderly Holocaust survivors. I see hope when
00:29:00
Speaker 10: I have a chance to visit Jews who are living
00:29:02
Speaker 10: in poverty in the former Soviet Union. And I see
00:29:06
Speaker 10: hope when I meet Jewish oleem new immigrants to Israel
00:29:11
Speaker 10: who left their lives behind and arrive in Israel on
00:29:16
Speaker 10: the tarmac of Bengurian Airport, in Israel, their biblical homeland,
00:29:22
Speaker 10: full of hope for their future. I see hope when
00:29:26
Speaker 10: we are part of biblical prophecy coming to fruition, and
00:29:30
Speaker 10: when we fulfill the words of the Bible to feed
00:29:33
Speaker 10: the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the poor. In each
00:29:37
Speaker 10: of these moments, the work that we do is hope
00:29:41
Speaker 10: tikva to God's children, and hope is what the story
00:29:46
Speaker 10: of Hagar and Ishmael is all about. After Hagar and
00:29:51
Speaker 10: Ishmael ran out of water in the desert, the Bible
00:29:54
Speaker 10: tells us that Hagar put the boy down and went
00:29:56
Speaker 10: far away so that she wouldn't see him die. She
00:29:59
Speaker 10: had given up all hope of saving him. She had
00:30:02
Speaker 10: resigned herself to her horrible fate. But then Verse nineteen
00:30:07
Speaker 10: tells us that God opened her eyes and she saw
00:30:11
Speaker 10: a well of water. The Bible doesn't say that God
00:30:15
Speaker 10: performed a miracle and created a well for the thirsty
00:30:18
Speaker 10: mother and child. No, the well was there all the time,
00:30:22
Speaker 10: but Hagar had been unable to see it. She had
00:30:26
Speaker 10: given up hope. But when God entered the picture, suddenly
00:30:30
Speaker 10: Hagar could see the well. It took God to open
00:30:34
Speaker 10: up her eyes to give her hope once again. You see,
00:30:38
Speaker 10: my friend, there are times when hope is there, just
00:30:40
Speaker 10: waiting for us to see it. But we are blinded
00:30:44
Speaker 10: by our doubts. We are blinded by hopelessness. We see
00:30:50
Speaker 10: what we feel. But when we place our faith in God,
00:30:54
Speaker 10: there's always hope, and therefore that's what we see. Let's
00:30:59
Speaker 10: dive deeper into the Hebrew that we find in the
00:31:02
Speaker 10: scriptures when we talk about Hagar and her son's encounter
00:31:05
Speaker 10: with God. First we have Ishmael. His name literally translates
00:31:11
Speaker 10: to God hears. Think about that, in the middle of
00:31:15
Speaker 10: Hagar's despair and the vast emptiness of the desert, Ishmael
00:31:21
Speaker 10: God hears. He hears the cries of a mother and
00:31:25
Speaker 10: her son. He hears the pain and the anguish and
00:31:28
Speaker 10: the desperation. Ishmael's name is a testament to a God
00:31:32
Speaker 10: who is attentive to our suffering, a God who is
00:31:35
Speaker 10: not deaf to our cries. Ishmael, God hears. He hears
00:31:41
Speaker 10: every whisper, hears every sob, hears every silent PLEA God hears,
00:31:47
Speaker 10: and he provides us with hope. But you might ask
00:31:51
Speaker 10: why was hope and even a miracle given to Ishmael,
00:31:56
Speaker 10: this son of Abraham, who was not meant to carry
00:31:59
Speaker 10: on the chosen people. Well, the Jewish sages explain that
00:32:03
Speaker 10: the answer to that question lies in three simple words,
00:32:09
Speaker 10: three words in Hebrew and three words in English. Verse
00:32:13
Speaker 10: seventeen says God heard the boy crying, and the Angel
00:32:17
Speaker 10: of God called out to Hugger from heaven and said
00:32:20
Speaker 10: to her, what is the matter with you? Hugger, do
00:32:24
Speaker 10: not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy.
00:32:28
Speaker 10: And then these three words where he is I want
00:32:34
Speaker 10: to read you those same three words in Hebrew. But Ascher,
00:32:38
Speaker 10: who shum God, is saying, I will only judge this
00:32:43
Speaker 10: young man where he stands right now. He hasn't done
00:32:46
Speaker 10: anything terrible in his life so far, and so even
00:32:50
Speaker 10: though maybe he'll go on to do bad things, I'm
00:32:53
Speaker 10: going to judge him favorably now as he stands right now,
00:33:01
Speaker 10: exactly where he is, a chaer who shun for what
00:33:07
Speaker 10: he's done up to this point in his life. Wow,
00:33:13
Speaker 10: that's radical. God knew what was gonna be. He knew
00:33:16
Speaker 10: that this was gonna only cause trouble and problems for
00:33:20
Speaker 10: his children, for the Chosen people. And still God says,
00:33:25
Speaker 10: I am judging him only where he is right now.
00:33:28
Speaker 10: If this boy has not yet sinned, I am not
00:33:31
Speaker 10: going to do any judgment on him. What an important
00:33:35
Speaker 10: lesson for us today. Sometimes we worry about things we
00:33:39
Speaker 10: have done in the past or things we're afraid we
00:33:42
Speaker 10: might do in the future. But the story of Hagar
00:33:45
Speaker 10: and Ishmael teaches us that God judges us by where
00:33:48
Speaker 10: we are right now and what we do right now.
00:33:55
Speaker 10: Isn't that a wonderful idea. You don't need to worry
00:33:59
Speaker 10: and obsess over what you've done in the past or
00:34:02
Speaker 10: what you might do in the future. Think about what
00:34:05
Speaker 10: you're doing right now. Is that what God wants from you.
00:34:09
Speaker 10: Isn't this a lesson that gives you hope. God hears
00:34:14
Speaker 10: your cries, my friends, He sees your struggles, and the
00:34:17
Speaker 10: story of Hagar and Ishmael. We see this truth vividly.
00:34:21
Speaker 10: In their desert, God provided well a source of life
00:34:26
Speaker 10: and sustenance. And in your own wilderness, God provides refreshment.
00:34:31
Speaker 10: When you feel abandoned, know that He is near. You
00:34:35
Speaker 10: are not forgotten. Your cries do not go unheard, Your
00:34:41
Speaker 10: struggles do not go unseen. God is with you in
00:34:45
Speaker 10: the midst of your pain, working behind the scenes, preparing away,
00:34:50
Speaker 10: blessing you and providing you hope. And here is a
00:34:55
Speaker 10: final blessing to give you tikuva, to give you hope.
00:35:02
Speaker 10: Ivare hashem vieschmurecher Yeah, Heir hashempanave ileha ye sa hashempanavelera.
00:35:12
Speaker 8: Salon.
00:35:13
Speaker 10: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the
00:35:15
Speaker 10: Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be
00:35:19
Speaker 10: gracious to you. Made the Lord turn his face towards
00:35:22
Speaker 10: you and give you peace.
00:35:25
Speaker 13: Amen.
00:35:26
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00:35:29
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Speaker 1: made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents, Steve Katina,
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Speaker 1: Max Bard, Zach Shellabager and Ben Gammon. Are the executive
00:35:45
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yaiel Eckstein, edited by
00:35:49
Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
00:35:54
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
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Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
00:36:03
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00:36:07
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