Hagar - Yelena Pakhomova

There are so many stories about people in the bible that, with eyes wide open, disturb. In the history of interpretation, explanations abound. We hear that these folks had it coming, that their differences were unacceptable, that they were vulnerable and weak.

As disturbing as these stories feel, they don't disappear. They wait in the shadows as if to say, "Our pain is real and held by God in this sacred story."

For as much as the bible is about people, it's about God. And while God elevates people to positions of priest, prophet, and king, God also pays close attention to people who exist in the margins. The assaulted partners, the tired mothers, the children forced to flee their homes. It's holy to be human.

Let's examine four biblical figures, their place in the shadows of the text, and what they represent about a world where bad things happen to all kinds of people. Maybe we'll never find a hurried rescue, but instead, God revealed in the shadow lives of Bathsheba, Hagar, Tamar, and Eve.