The Story of Abraham (II)

 亚伯拉罕的故事（之二）

从前有一个叫亚伯兰的人，他和他的妻子撒莱住在一起。 他们婚姻美满，但没有自己的孩子。 他们想要孩子，但出于某种原因，这对他们来说是不可能的。 然后有一天晚上，上帝来和亚伯兰说话。 上帝应许亚伯兰他和他的妻子会生孩子。 上帝对亚伯兰说：“仰望夜空中的众星。 那就是你和撒莱将有多少孩子。”

那时，那地有饥荒，亚伯兰和撒莱就往埃及去，埃及是当时富饶的帝国。撒莱是个美丽的女人，所以为了保护自己免受可能垂涎他妻子的对手的伤害，亚伯兰让撒莱说她是他的妹妹。 一位受尊敬的法老于是带着撒莱回家，感谢亚伯兰慷慨的牲畜和奴隶。 但是上帝用“大灾祸”折磨法老。 当亚伯兰和撒莱婚姻的真相被揭露时，懊恼的法老将撒莱交还给亚伯兰。

亚伯兰和撒莱到了希伯伦城，在那里他向应许给他后代的上帝抱怨他仍然没有孩子。 撒莱把她的女奴夏甲给了他，说：“也许你可以从她那里得到孩子。” 但夏甲怀孕后，她轻看她的女主人撒莱 — 至少她的女主人是这么认为的。 作为回报，撒莱严厉地对待怀孕的夏甲，她逃到了沙漠中。 一位天使命令她回来，鼓励她并告诉她，她的儿子将被命名为以实玛利，意思是“上帝垂听”。

亚伯兰 99 岁时，上帝将他的名字改为亚伯拉罕，在希伯来语中意为“众子之父”。 上帝也将撒莱的名字改为撒拉。 然后他对亚伯拉罕说：“你很快就会有一个孩子。” 听到这个消息，夫妻俩都笑了。

在创世记 21 章，上帝对亚伯拉罕的应许终于实现了，因为撒拉生了以撒，意思是“他笑了”。 但她担心以实玛利是否也会成为亚伯拉罕的继承人，她告诉亚伯拉罕把他们两人都赶走。 上帝吩咐亚伯拉罕照撒拉的意思去做，所以他伤心地把夏甲和他的儿子以实玛利送到了沙漠。 当夏甲开始绝望时，上帝对她说话，承诺以实玛利将成为“一个伟大的国家”，并在沙漠中向她展示一口井，拯救了她和以实玛利的生命。


讨论问题：

There once lived a man named Abram, who lived with his wife Sarai. They had a good marriage but with no children of their own. They wanted children, but for some reasons, it had not been possible for them. Then one night, God came to talk to Abram. God promised Abram that he and his wife would have children. God said to Abram, “Look up in the night sky at all the stars. That is how many children you and Sarai will have.” 

In those days there was a famine in the land, so Abram and Sarai went to Egypt, which was an empire of wealth in those days. Sarai was a beautiful woman, so to protect himself from rivals who might covet his wife, Abram asked Sarai to say she is his sister. An admiring Pharaoh thereupon took Sarai home to be his, thanking Abram with a generous gift of livestock and slaves. But God afflicted Pharaoh with "great plagues." When the truth of Abram and Sarai’s marriage was revealed, the frustrated Pharaoh handed Sarai back to Abram.

Abram and Sarai ended up in the city of Hebron, where he complained to God, who had promised him offspring, that he was still childless. Sarai offered him her slave woman, Hagar, and said: "It may be that I may obtain children from her." But after Hagar conceived, she looked upon Sarai contemptuously—or so her mistress believed. In return, Sarai treated the pregnant Hagar harshly, and she fled into the desert. An angel ordered her back, encouraging her and telling her that her son was to be named Ishmael, meaning "God hears."

When Abram was 99 years old, God changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of many” in Hebrew. God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah. Then He said to Abraham, “You will soon have a child.” Both husband and wife laughed at the news.

In Genesis 21, God's promise to Abraham was finally fulfilled, as Sarah gives birth to Isaac which means, “he laughs.” But she fretted over whether Ishmael would also be Abraham's heir, and she told Abraham to send them both away. God told Abraham to do as Sarah wished, so he sorrowfully sent Hagar and his son Ishmael into the desert. As Hagar began to despair, God spoke to her, promising that Ishmael will become "a great nation" and showing her a well in the desert that saved both her and Ishmael’s lives.


Discussion Questions: