Yes or No

Do you want to go out with me? Check box yes or no
Would you like steak for dinner? yes or no
Bill Clinton, did you have sexual relationships with Monica Lewinsky? yes or no
Mom, can I have dessert for breakfast?

Yes or no.  On any given day we answer many yes or no questions.  Some yes or no questions are fairly insignificant   Our "yes" or "no" speaks of what we want or prefer if given the choice between to options.  Some yes or no answers are life-altering decisions like when a teenager says no to someone who wants them to smoke pot.  A yes to a Lordship relationship with Jesus can have life and eternal implications.  A lot can hang on a "yes" or a "no."

But what happens when the same question is answered both "yes" and "no" by different people.  Sometimes a fight.  Sometimes war.  This scenario is a dream come true for children.  For kids this is the oldest trick in the book.  Say a kid wants to go to the movies with some friends.  The kid goes to his mom and asks her for permission to go to the movies.  The mom says no, much to the dismay of the child.  What does the child do next?  With the goal of still getting what he wants, he will ask the same question to his dad.  And much to the dismay of the mom, the dad says yes.  And with a simple yes and a simple no, conflict has been created.

This reflection on yes and no was spurred on by my reading of Genesis 17 this morning.  In Genesis 17 we are in the middle of the story of Abram and Sarai who get there names changed by God to Abraham and Sarah.  Abram in the previous chapters had slept with Hagar, who was Sarai's servant, because Sarai had been barren up until that point.  From this encounter, Hagar had born Abram a son, Ishmael, to continue his line.  But God intervenes in chapter 17 and tells Abram that Sarai will bear a child at age 90!  Abram laughs at first, but then he pleads with God for Ishmael to continue to live before God. And then comes the confusing "yes" and "no" answer by biblical scholars as they have interpreted this text.

Now before we explore God's answer, how incredible is it that we serve and are loved by a God who comes in our midst.  In the beginning of Chapter 17 it says the Lord appeared to Abram when he was 99 years old.  It also says at the end of the conversation that God "went up" after he had talked with Abram.  God came down to talk with Abram.  God came down to care and provide for Abram.  In this process, Abram laughed and asked questions, and God answered and responded.  This is God, a being who shows His care and love by His continued presence in His relationship with us.

But how does God answer the question of will Ishmael continue to live before God?  As an American influenced by the agenda of the evangelical right, I know the answer to this question!  No, Ishmael was not blessed by God, but he was cursed by God.  Ishmael will be a wild donkey of a man and his hand will always be against everyone.  The bible says so.

Today, I read 4 different versions of the bible to reflect on Genesis 17:19 where God does indeed answer this question.  Low and behold, 3 versions answer the question with a "no,"(NKJV, ESV, NLT) while one version reads "yes." (NIV)  One question.  Two answers with two totally different directions.  Why is this yes or no significant?  It affects the way we view people of Muslim background.  Are they are enemies?  Are things the way they are now because God cursed them?   Or are they under God's blessing too?

Thankfully, there is extremely similar content in the succeeding verses in all versions of the bible.  This is from the ESV: "But Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.  I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.  As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly.  He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.  (italics mine)

As I looked in the Hebrew, I saw no "yes" or "no" words in the Hebrew text.  I admit I do not know any Hebrew currently, so there maybe evidence to say yes or no based on the structure of the sentence or the verb conjugations used.  Regardless, it makes me wonder why there is a yes or a no to begin with.  It is important to note that both Ishmael and Isaac lived under God's blessing, but God chose to start and continue his covenant through Isaac and not Ishmael.  Ishmael was not cursed, he was blessed by God.