Meanwhile,Back At The Ranch...

When we last left Abraham and Sarah,Sarah was with child.Sarah had a boy.They named him,Issac(which means,laughter).

But,Issac was not Abraham's first child.That honor went to Ishmael.When Sarai was barren,struck in grief,she had Abraham conceive with her maid,Hagar.

Since Abraham was going to the father of many nations,God put him to the test(I believe this was for Abraham and his decedents benefit more than for God's).Here is where the story gets a little complicated.According to Genesis 22 God told Abraham to sacrifice his son,'Issac'-his heir-to prove his(Abe's) loyalty to God...Muslim tradition thinks otherwise.Most Muslims today think that it was Ishmael who was supposed to be sacrificed.

The Muslim faith believes Surah 37:99-106 refers to Ishmael:


[He said: "I will go to my Lord! He will surely guide me!

100. "O my Lord! grant me a righteous (son)!"

101. So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear.

102. Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: "O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: now see what is thy view!" (The son) said: "O my father! do as thou art commanded: thou will find me, if Allah so wills, one practicing Patience and Constancy!"

103. So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and He had laid Him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),

104. We called out to him, "O Abraham!

105. "Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!"--thus indeed do We reward those who do right.

106. For this was obviously a trial--]

Either way you argue it,either for or against Issac,since the Bible chooses him,I,as a Christian,have to go with my own Holy text.I throw this out there as an interesting tidbit.People hate each other over this.A strange case of Dad loves me more.

Well,Abraham didn't go through with it anyway.Issac grew up and went off to be wed.He married his second cousin,Rebekah and got Ambilech into trouble again!Poor,Abimelech.

Sarah died and remarried.He wed and had children with Keturah.Nothing is ever said of the children of Keturah.I wonder what happened to them.I often think their story would make a great book for me to write(or wrong:-) Wouldn't that make a great book title:'The Children Of Keturah'?

And finally,this is as far as I am going to go here,Abraham dies.

Next-the story of the twins that didn't get along.