Wednesday, January 8, 2014

And he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar


Genesis 22
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

This is the famous account of Abraham going through with sacrificing his son Isaac on God's commands. Often this account has been used to teach the strong faith towards God, in particular the strong faith of Abraham that we can use as an example. It almost holds Abraham at the pinnacle of faith to which we must aspire to.

Looking deeper into the story and thinking about the reality of the events may reveal even more startling lessons. A few points worth considering:
- The context which is often not revealed in detail is that Isaac is the promised one whom the blessings and promises of God would go to. Abraham knew this. Abraham must reasoned that whatever God asked him to do to Isaac, yet Isaac would still be able to fulfill that promise. The believe in God's promises to come true is the core of Abraham's faith.
- Sarah would not have agreed if she knew about it - which is most likely why Sarah was not told. Abraham would have believed even if he sacrificed Isaac, somehow Isaac would be able to come home with him.
- Abraham was not a perfect man, and his faith was certainly not perfect. But this part of Abraham's life showed clearly his obedience and trust in God's promises to him, even though sacrificing Isaac would destroy the promise immediately.
- Abraham had no trouble believing God can do the impossible.


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