Thank you for your prayers regarding the lesson on Abraham’s sons. The day we taught that lesson (Wednesday) the Lord allowed for a higher number than usual of religious leaders to attend the session. We started by reviewing some background that we taught in the earliest lessons (see the post called “The trunk and the branches”) as well as the principles that God has revealed through the lessons up to this point (i.e. that He does not accept human effort, etc.). As we taught the lesson it was clear to everyone that there is no way God was going to accept Abraham’s effort to help God save face.
When Francois’ curriculum development helpers were developing this lesson they used a very descriptive term that summed up the issue very nicely. The word they used was “opoosa” and it means something like “to give hand-outs.” When two friends go fishing and one catches a lot of fish and the other doesn’t catch any, the one who caught a lot of fish will opoosa his friend by giving him some fish. He doesn’t want his friend to feel bad so he shares with his needy friend out of his abundance. It carries the idea of shame for the needy friend. When we used that term during the teaching of this lesson the audience immediately recognized the absurdity of what Abraham was trying to do. Does God need Abraham to opoosa Him? Absolutely not!
Every day we ask questions at the end of each teaching session to see how people are tracking. You can tell a lot by the way people respond to questions how they are tracking. Sometimes you get a blank stare, a “deer in the headlights” look, when you ask a question that tells you they don’t know what you are asking. Sometimes you get someone who isn’t sure of the answer but will venture a tentative guess. Sometimes the answer is a “no-brainer” and they all answer rapidly and in unison in a way that communicates they are confident they know the answer. That is the way they answered the question of “Did God accept Ishmael?”. In unison and with confidence, they all replied saying “No! Of course God will not accept Abraham’s effort to opoosa Him by having a son and offering to Him as a replacement for the Son that God he would provide.” It’s a no-brainer!