Genesis 22:1

2007.Dec.03 03:02

The Test

Read Genesis 22:1 Full Chapter

I’m going to start this entry not by quoting the principal passage–as I am accustomed–but with another passage. It will make sense later.

The LORD had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice. When the LORD called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am. What do you want?” Eli finally realized that it was the LORD who was speaking to Samuel. (1 Samuel 3:7-8)

Yahweh had twice before that night awoken Samuel. Each time, Samuel assumed it was Eli, the priest, calling him. He did not realize that the voice was that of Yahweh, because God “had not spoken to [him] before.” Fortunately, Yahweh began speaking to Samuel when someone else, Eli, was around who could help Samuel figure out what was going on.

I bring this up because recognizing God’s voice is required for understanding personally specific commands.

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” (Genesis 22:1, NLT)

Abraham doesn’t have to wonder whose voice he’s hearing, because he knows God’s voice. And Abraham responds.

In this passage, God is testing Abraham’s faith, by asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. There’s a lot that will go on with that, but if Abraham didn’t know the voice of Yahweh or didn’t respond, the test would have never gone anywhere.

I’ve heard a lot about learning to recognize God’s voice. It boils down to 1) read the Bible, 2) pray (stopping to listen at times), and 3) having good relationships with other Christians who are willing to tell you when something you think is from God is not Biblically sound. You have to know God’s voice, the kind of things he says, and you have to listen to him, or your faith can’t get very far.

Genesis 22:2

2007.Dec.18 03:32

Your Only Son

Read Genesis 22:2 Full Chapter

He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” (Genesis 22:2, NASB)

According to Wikipedia, some Islamic traditions hold that it was Ishmael, not Isaac, that God asked Abraham to sacrifice. I mention this because Yahweh specifically calls Abraham to sacrifice his “only son”. Assuming this chapter is chronologically placed (which seems likely, since the son named is Isaac), Abraham has two sons at this point. This could be a translation issue, but every translation I checked has the “only son” language.

There are a couple of important points about the only son business as illustrative of God’s plan. It is perhaps cliche, but quite relevant, to remember that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16, NASB), and that Yahweh, in addition to testing Abraham’s faith, may also have been giving the Israelites a reference story for better understanding Christ’s sacrifice later on. In that illustration, making a point of the only child (or, in these cases, son specifically) being sacrificed is relevant, even if not technically accurate.

Second, Yahweh’s intent was for Abraham to have only one son at this time. I suppose it may be that God permitted Abraham and Sarah to send away Hagar and Ishmael particularly to regain this intent. A more interesting possibility to me though is that Abraham had already–from Abraham’s point of view–had to sacrifice one son. Now, he has to sacrifice the second. So, maybe I should ponder the reflection of this story not only in the Messiah but also in humanity’s original murder. In that situation, Eve and Adam lost one of their two sons when Cain murdered Abel, and then lost Cain as well. “Sin pays off with death,” Paul reminds us (Romans 6:23, CEV). One aspect of death is separation. At this point, Ishmael was dead to Abraham as Cain was dead to Adam; they were separated indefinitely, and that separation directly followed sin.

Jumping to another point sans segue, God is aware of the sacrifice, in both the cases of Ishmael and Isaac. Sarah’s reaction to the anticipated sacrifice of Isaac–if she even knew–is not recorded, so I am focusing of Abraham’s reactions. When Sarah asked Abraham to send away Hagar and Ishmael, “The matter distressed [him] greatly” (Genesis 21:11, NASB). This should have been just as distressing, and Yahweh is aware of this reality. He knows that Isaac is now in many ways Abraham’s only child, and he acknowledges Abraham’s love of his son. God, in regards to both of Abraham’s sons is not unaware of what he is asking.

Genesis 22:11-12

2007.Dec.22 22:07

Test Passed

Read Genesis 22:11-12 Full Chapter

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:11-12, NASB)

Abraham passed the test. He showed by his actions that he had faith. This test, remember, was particular to Abraham, although Isaac showed a good deal of faith–either in Yahweh or in his father–as well, as I suppose did anyone else who knew, if there was anyone else. But what exactly was the test and how did Abraham pass?

In the simplest, the test was whether Abraham feared and honored Yahweh enough to be willing to sacrifice his own son to Yahweh. He passed the test because he actively showed that he was willing, should Yahweh ask that of him. Or, in a different sense, Yahweh was testing if Abraham was willing to obey when it would cost him an exceptionally extreme amount. And Abraham obeyed fully to the point that God told him to halt.

More abstractly, I think the test could be seen as whether Abraham was humble enough to deny his own son, his dreams for the future (remember, he’s over 100 years old), and his reasoning. Those are some pretty big things (I realize the last is not big for everyone, but for people like me who greatly value their ability to reason, accepting that God’s plan is just not going to make sense to me is a huge test of my humility). God then may be asking Abraham, “Are you willing to give me complete control?”

To an extent, most of the tests and such that we go through could be interpreted as God asking if we are willing to give him control, to acknowledge that he is God and I am not; indeed, to explicitly release my claim on godhood. Abraham does so twice in this test, first by acknowledging that Yahweh–not Abraham–can provide a solution to the contradictory notion that he is expected to sacrifice the son from which God has promised to build a nation; and then again by being willing to put down the knife and accept so clearly that he is giving a sacrifice to God that was not in any way provided by Abraham.

NB: In later books of the Bible (Leviticus 20, for example), God clarifies that human sacrifice is a sin punishable by stoning. This would have been a very different story if it had happened after Yahweh gave the Law to Israel. Even in this situation, God ultimately makes clear his position that humans should not be sacrificed, which sort of makes Christ’s sacrifice even more amazing (if that’s possible).