MATL - Genesis Reflections

Prompt: The ancestors are not portrayed as “perfect” people yet they still served God’s purposes in important ways. Do you find contemporary significance in this insight? Try to identify themes in these stories that may still speak to contemporary readers. What in these stories troubles or confuses you as a modern reader?

The text notes that “the story of the ancestors is a story of God’s faithfulness, in spite of the ancestors often willful contempt for his overtures.” (p 66) If we accept that the purpose of the ancestor stories is to create a cultural identity for the ancient Israelites, it seems not only reasonable but necessary that the ancestors are portrayed as flawed characters to the narrative.  In exposing Noah as a drunkard (Gen 9:21-23) and Abraham as afraid (Gen 12:11-3, Gen 20:11) the ancestor stories provide relatable flaws to the reader. The reader may easily imagine themselves in those positions, or perhaps that of Jacob, or Sarah, where they make mistakes or doubt in God. Thus, then, they can imagine how God’s faithfulness might also transcend into their own lives because the example is right before them in the story.  Because I approach these stories as a kind of parable, they are not particularly distressing to me as an example of God’s faithfulness or in the relationship between God and humans. However, were I seeking a more literalist interpretation of the stories, if I thought these stories were historical rather than mythical, or if I were looking to these stories for concrete life examples, I imagine I would struggle with the content.

In particular, the treatment of women in the ancestor stories is not empowering or supportive of a modern female perspective. Abraham and Isaac both lie about their wives’ marital status, Jacob disregards Leah, Laban abuses his daughters, Sarah abuses Hagar.  God seems to protect the virtue of women who are badly used by their husbands or owners, but does so only to protect the vehicle who must provide sons to the ancestor. God is protecting the vehicle necessary to fulfill God’s promises.  This may send the message to a contemporary reader that women are property, or are only valuable in their ability to bear sons. There is no justice for the women in these stories, only for the men. It is difficult, as a modern woman, to see any literally acceptable lessons that might be derived from this illustration of God’s relationship to humans.