October 01, 2014
From Son to Sacrifice
Sometimes I grow so
accustomed to a biblical story that I overlook the obvious. During a recent
sermon the pastor spoke about God’s test of Abraham which required him to
sacrifice his son Isaac. The pastor said, “As soon as God spoke to him, his only
son Isaac was dead to him.” His comment
did not fit my image of Abraham’s mental struggle to fulfill God’s requirement.
After rereading the text (Gen 22:1-19) I think the pastor was spot on. From the
moment God delivered his decision to Abraham, Isaac was no longer a son, but a
sacrifice. For Abraham there was no hint of hesitation, “Early the next morning
Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and
his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out
for the place God had told him about” (Gen 22:3-4 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----The Bible keeps its details relevant to the point of the story. If we were writing the narrative we could not resist the temptation to describe every facet of his feelings with full indication of all their intensity. We would need to discuss the effects of this plan on Sarah, and whether or not Katura was snickering in the background, and why Abraham had to cut the wood for the offering himself when Ishmael would have been all too happy to do it. But the Bible leaves us to wonder about the superficies.
-----Any pondering about Abraham’s attitude towards sacrificing Isaac must recognize the mental effects of his past experiences, since these are much of what make attitudes. Everywhere we see him accomplishing what demands boldness. Whether or not he struggled with packing up his extended family and leaving civilized Ur for the ticks and sticks and dirt out west, he packed and went and learnt. All emoting aside, his mind attached securely to his objectives. Such a mind renders the pain of the difficulties and challenges of objectives into pleasure, sort of a glutton for punishment type of thing. And the promises he received from the God driving him were nice. But motivationally speaking, promises are only partially filling. The very personal experiences building his relationship with God most likely filled his motivation completely. At least twice he failed in faith, portraying Sarah as his sister in fear for his life. Both times he saw God bail him out of the resulting trouble. Big failures lodge tightly in the mind making stable anchors for remembering God’s participation in their correction. Bearing Isaac as promised by angels must only have strengthened the resolve of his mind already tempered to do what he heard this God say.
-----But I don’t doubt that he contemplated backing out. It’s only natural for the human mind to weigh all the options it can imagine. But in the face of everything he had been through, the weighing would be quick because the reality of any consequences was underscored and highlighted by the thought of his experiences with God. What I ponder more is why God had to test him if He knows all things and exists in all times. But that detail is evidently not relevant, or the Bible would have given it.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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