I am reading the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac.
I just don't get it.
I don't understand why God would ask that of a human being. If you knew God was God, and God asked you to do such a thing, what would that do to your understanding of God? If you knew it was God, then I guess you would go through with the sacrifice, but what would that do to you? your relationship with your son? your relationship with God?
I just don't get it.
By the time this story comes around, Abraham is over 110 years old, and Isaac is a teenager. The only way Abraham could have tied Isaac down is if Isaac let him. The only way Abraham could have gotten him on the altar to be sacrificed is if Isaac let him. It's one thing to trust and obey your dad. But the guy's got a knife in his hand and ready to strike.
I just don't get it.
The Bible makes it clear that God spoke to Abraham. But it does not tell us that Isaac heard what Abraham heard. And hearing God speak to Abraham would have made all the difference in the world for Isaac. But we don't know if he heard the voice of God or not.
I wonder what Isaac's relationship with his father was like from that day on. We don't see anything but mutual love and respect even after this event.
Either way, it's just a crazy story. And that's okay. I'm okay with not understanding everything. And some of you may say, "I just don't get it." And that's okay.
1 comment:
I know what you mean - I am preaching this passage to Guymon - it will be good for them to hear I struggle with the text too, eh? Anyway, I have been pondering this for about a month, and am probably going to come at it from the angle of "so you think you know about God? What about this?" and then moving into the danger of worshipping a God created in our favorite image...as Barman says, "the God useful to us."
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