Two Nations, Ismael and Isaac

(Three Channels – or Columns, Houses)

Primary Content (From 1 Sefer Moses, the Book of Beginnings):

• Chapter 30 – Two Nations
• Chapter 37 – Ishmael

Additional Reading (Comparison Texts):

• Genesis 21, 25 from the Inspired Version of the Bible

Objectives:

• Explore the relationships of Abraham’s sons and their posterity

Kabbalistic Concepts:

• Three Channels (or Columns, or Houses)

Engage:

Engage the Concepts through Comparison

Compare the three houses described in Chapter 37 verses 18-26.  The first two seem to be a balance to each other, and might be better understood by comparison.  The third house seems to be more than just a “happy medium” or a “balance” between the two.  It seems to be the union of everything desirable from either.  Do you agree with that assessment?  Is there more to it than that?

Engage the Spirit through Contemplation

In verse 28, we see a quick re-introduction of the idea of there being three houses.  The children of Sarah are characterized as mercy, the children of Harar are characterized as justice or strength, and then the children of Abraham as a union of it all.

Then, in verse 29, we have this curious statement that Ishmael, the son through whom the lineage of justice flows, in the end being taken up to YHVH in mercy.

Engage the Group through Discussion

When you meet together as a group to discuss the content of these chapters, here are some ideas to help get the discussion going:

• Chapter 37 presents a very significant new prophecy about the sons of Hagar in the last days.  It shifts the restoration of children of Israel up a few generations so that it’s the seed of Abraham that are all pulled back into the fold of the Good Shepherd.  Not just the prophecy that Islam will join the fold, but the events surrounding the unfolding of that prophecy. What are your thoughts on all of that?  Do we see that happening? Does it look like something that couldn’t possibly happen? How do stars change course?