In Genesis 22 God speaks to Abraham and tells him to go to a mountain that He'll show him and sacrifice his son, Isaac, there. Abraham obeyed Him directly and immediately. People rightly attribute praise to Abraham's great faith. He tied his son up and reached for the knife to kill him. That is so hardcore that it is amazing. One advantage Abraham had over us, though, is that Isaac was obviously God's gift to Isaac. For Abraham to have a child at his old age and his wife Sarah's old age was just impossible, so this "miracle baby" was perhaps slightly easier to think of as "God's property" instead of their own. If the situation had been 65 years earlier and Abraham and Sarah were in their 30s when Isaac was born, he would have been thought of more as a "natural child" than a "miraculous" one that is obviously a gift from God.
Even with this advantage, though, Abraham still faced the consequences of ending the life of his only son. That's crazy.
If anyone thinks God is telling them to kill someone, especially one of their children, let me go on record and say "that's not God, you're mistaken," and "don't even consider it."
The angel of the Lord, which again some scholars think might've been a pre-incarnate Jesus, said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
This was a major event in the history of all mankind, reinforcing the plan that God had for us. The Story of God was just beginning to unfold. Pretty amazing.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at October 26, 2006 10:11 AM