January 23

Genesis 22 tells the narrative of a test given to Abraham involving a order from God to sacrifice his only son with Sarah, Isaac. Abraham agrees because he has interacted with God and knows of the blessings and wrath that He can inflict, as was observed in the destruction of Sodom in Genesis 19. Abraham is in covenant with God and therefore obeys His commands in return for blessings and gifts. Abraham obeys and is on the verge of complying “to kill his son” (Genesis 22:10) when the angel of the LORD told him to stop. This had been a test from God to see if Abraham feared God and would obey him. In lines 22:5 and 22:8, it seems as if Abraham lies to his men and to his son, but on closer consideration, Abraham’s words can actually be interpreted as the truth. Abraham says to his men that “the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” To his son, he says “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering” for it is true that God gave Isaac to Abraham through blessing fertility on Sarah and that Isaac is a ‘lamb of God’ per say. It may not be the most direct and unquestionable answer, but it has a kernel of truth behind it. In this sense, Abraham never truly lies outright, but uses his words artfully to conceal his true intentions. I guess it could be argued that this is essentially lying, but still, you get my gist. Since Abraham passed God’s test, he receives blessings from God. Is Abraham praiseworthy? It’s hard to say. He followed the word of God, but in doing so almost broke a commandment and killed his own child. Is this justified? I don’t really have a clear answer myself. As the saying goes “God acts in mysterious ways” and this test was just another one of those situations that required blind faith. Abraham seemed to know this and put his faith and his trust in God. Looking at this scenario in this light, God is praiseworthy for his blessings upon Abraham, a true follower and servant, for God gave Abraham everything he has and has the power to take it all away again.