Garage Sale Diamonds (Garage Sale Mystery) by Suzi Weinert Read Free Book Online Page A

concept, though ours wasn’t named Allah. One important biblical story Muhammad changed concerns Abraham, a patriarch acknowledged by both Jews and Muslims, who called him ‘Ibrihim.’
    “The Holy Scripture describes Abraham as an obedient man of great faith who talked often with God. God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. This seemed unlikely since he and his wife, Sarah, who Muslims call Sarai, were old, well beyond child-bearing years. But with this prophecy in mind, his barren wife Sarah offered Abraham her Egyptian serving girl, Hagar—Muslims call her Hajar—saying ‘Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son through her.’ We might view this now as an ancient surrogate pregnancy.”
    “Isn’t the Abraham story from the Book of Genesis?” Jen asked.
    Larry nodded. “Yes. It’s the first book of the Torah as well as what Christians call the Old Testament. Hagar, so the story goes, had no choice in this and when she conceived she despised Sarah. Jealous of Hagar even though this was her own idea, Sarah got Abraham’s permission to punish her maidservant. When she did, Hagar ran away from her mistress into the wilderness. An angel found her by a stream and asked why she was there. Hagar explained. The angel told her to return to her mistress and submit to punishment, for she would bear eighty-six-year-old Abraham a son and name him Ishmael. The angel said this son’s descendants would multiply until there were too many to count. So Hagar returned, took the punishment and bore a son. When Ishmael was thirteen years old, God told Abraham to circumcise all males in his household to show their covenant with God. So, ninety-nine-year-old Abraham followed this instruction, which included himself and his son Ishmael.”
    “Ouch!” Jennifer cringed. “This must have seemed an extraordinary demand.”
    “Yes, but Abraham obeyed, as always. Then God told Abraham his wife would bear a son to be named Isaac, so when Ishmael was fourteen years old, Abraham 100 and Sarah ninety, she had her first baby and named him Isaac. They circumcised him at eight-days old, per the covenant with God. When Isaac was weaned, Abraham threw a celebration feast. At this event Sarah noticed Hagar scoffing at this favoring of Isaac over Ishmael. You see, no such party happened for her son although born first. Jealous again, Sarah asked Abraham to ‘cast out this bondswoman and her son; for the son of this bondswoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.’ Upset about this, Abraham consulted God, who said to go along with Sarah’s wishes, for God would make nations from both these sons. So next morning, Abraham gave Hagar food and a skin of water and sent her with Ishmael into the wilderness.”
    “Not too different from today’s soap opera tales, is it?”
    “No, but this story isn’t over. Hagar wandered the desert of Beersheba until her food and water ran out. Resigned to death, she shaded her dying son under a shrub. She walked away—to avoid seeing him perish—and wept. But God heard her son’s cries and sent an angel to Hagar saying God would make a well of water to save and protect the boy for his future. They lived in the wilderness until the boy grew up and eventually married an Egyptian wife Hagar found for him.”
    “A happy ending, then?”
    “Not yet. Before Hagar and Ishmael were kicked out, God tested Abraham’s faith with another startling order: to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering to God. Muslims and Jews agree about this event but not about which son he tied down on the sacrificial rock. As Abraham raised his knife to obey God by killing his son before lighting the sacrificial fire, a ram caught his horns in a nearby bush. God said to sacrifice the ram instead of the son. Abraham had again proved his faith. God promised to multiply this son’s descendants ‘as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.’ He added other special blessings. But was this