Back to Isaac. So he's this long-awaited, promised child, the very idea of whose conception was laughable to both his parents, considering their age. And yet, God kept his promise, and Isaac was born, only to be taken up to a mountain, laid on a table, and wait for his father to offer him as a human sacrifice to God - at God's request? Really?
This story flat-out does not make sense to me. My sticking point is not that God relented, His angel stopped Abraham, and Isaac's life was spared. And I understand the foreshadowing here, that God Himself provides the sacrifice - which would be Jesus. It's a beautiful analogy that way. But when I try to digest this story as one that literally happened, that's where I get confused.
Can you imagine it? Can you hear Isaac asking his father a thousand and one questions as they made their short journey? It's completely possible that Isaac's question about where the lamb was for the burnt offering was repeated numerous times, not just the one time mentioned in our Genesis 22. And I can't imagine Abraham delivering his answer drily or matter-of-factly, as a contemporary reader might verbalize it. His heart must have been full and heavy. His eyes must have been on the verge of spilling over with tears. Did he spend their journey silently pleading and bargaining with God? Did he look at his son and wonder at what his last mental picture of him would be, what Sarah would say and do to him when he came home without their only child?
If this story came from any other religion, I believe Christians would find ease with declaring it false. No loving god would have required such a thing, so at the very least the "god" in the story would be spelled with a lower-case "g," and at the very most the "god" was purely mythology anyway.
What makes it different when it's our God?
Anybody else have trouble sometimes reconciling the God of the Old Testament with the Jesus of the New?
Hollatme in the comments. Scriptural references are welcome. Hellfire and brimstone for daring to question are not.
9 comments:
Well, if you get hellfire and brimstone for this post, then I get... uh... what's worse than hellfire and brimstone? I have read the following parts of the Old Testament since leaving college: Esther. Ruth. Jonah. Nehemiah. And exactly 11 chapters of Genesis. That's all I've been able to manage without pretty much hating God. My goal is to eventually read the whole OT and see in it the same God that Jesus personified... but I'm not there yet. I'd be interested to hear if you come to any conclusions about Isaac's story.
Yes, this troubles me too.. and opens up the black/white concept of God's laws too... in this case He called Abraham to kill his son.. not exactly part of the commandments. This also makes me question that whole "do not lie" concept - does God ever call us to lie - what about saving lives in the Holocaust? Did Moses' mom have to lie to keep him alive?
I just got more from your honest questions regarding Isaac, without a guaranteed answer more than any sermon ever preached on the subject. Why do some people think they know definite answers for situations like this that don't offer clear reasoning?
I cannot imagine being in Abraham's shoes. I know in Hebrews he is exonerated as having faith... but was it simply his only hope at that point - and he is honored as placing his only hope in God, even if it was incredibly small?
I love your honesty Querida - you are refreshing :)
Thank you for the challenging thoughts--particularly about what Christians would think if this was another story in a different religion. And, given God's judgement on the religions of that time that had child sacrifice--(Israelites were to kill them all as they took over the promised land, although I don't know that the child sacrifice was THE reason God would order the death of that many people...actually, that makes this more troubling.)
Do remember this reference: Heb. 11:17-19 "By Faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son...He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back."
Wow, I'm not sure I've actually ever read verse 19 that closely or heard it in context with this story before. It's like most people stop and focus on verse 17. It reads to me now as if in a way, Isaac was "dying to sin" and "raised to new life" up at the altar. Hmm, now I have to go research this more.
at Tam:
It's funny you should bring up the "do not lie" concept. (Sorry for the double comment, I didn't get to read these until after I signed in) This came up in church/small group Bible study the other day when we were talking about David basically telling Jonathan to lie to King Saul: 1 Samuel 20:6
B - I don't know if I'll be able to come to any conclusions, but you'll be among the first to know if I do. I'm beginning to understand that the ongoing relational aspect of who we are in Christ is just that - ongoing. Actively reading and seeking to understand is my goal, not necessarily understanding completely.
Tam - I don't know why people think they know the answers to questions like this. A not-so-small part of me is afraid (okay, terrified) that my efforts to raise our boys with the understanding of an ever-present, all-knowing God whom we can relate to each day and not just at church one day a week will result in grown men who are know-it-alls. Little known fact...
Anna - Thanks for that reference. I will be researching it right along with you. ;)
And what about the fact that Abraham and Isaac both lied about their wives being their sisters. God did not comment on that any of the four times I've read so far (that I remember). For various reasons, the men to whom Abraham and Isaac told this lie found out about it and fixed the situation themselves, but God remained silent. Hmmm...
Regarding not lying, and somewhat related to this Abraham/Isaac thing... James 2:21-26 talks about Abraham and then about Rahab. If you go back to Joshua 2 and read the Rahab story, she clearly lies, and then in James 2:25 she is used as an example. Rahab is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:31.
Couple other thoughts regarding lying ...
The commandment is "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor", not "You shall not lie". Bearing false witness is a pretty specific subset of lies, and does not necessarily seem to include all situations in which one might not tell the truth.
On the other hand, the Bible has plenty to say about liars in general, and very little of it seems to be complimentary ...
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