![]() I could discuss the obvious foreshadowing of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, or the significance of the angel’s intervention in light of the ubiquity of human sacrifice in the ancient world. There are a number of lessons we could draw from this passage. In Isaac’s stead, Abraham offers up a ram to God and (remarkably) names the mount where he came “The Lord Will Provide.” When Isaac asks him where the lamb is for the burnt offering, Abraham merely says, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8, ESV).įortunately for Abraham, an angel intervenes and prevents the sacrifice. In fact, Abraham appears to be entirely placid as he prepares to slay his son. With the suspenseful austerity that characterizes much of the Old Testament, the narrative neglects to reveal to us Abraham’s innermost thoughts. Genesis 18:22-33)? God had promised Abraham innumerable descendants through Isaac! Had God forgotten His promise?Ībraham Sacrificing Isaac by Laurent de La Hyre, 1650 Why? Why did God command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?Īnd why did Abraham obey? Why did he not challenge God, as he had before (cf. The repetition must have been staggering. How Abraham must have rejoiced when Isaac was born! And how despondent he must have been when God said to him, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2, ESV). Genesis 17:1-19), the child born miraculously to an aging husband and barren wife – the child through whom God had promised to fulfill His covenant with Abraham, through whom Abraham’s offspring would be reckoned (cf. ![]() Why did God command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? But most of us have to wrestle with Genesis 22:1-19. We love to root for the underdog David when he meets the giant Goliah in battle. We love the message of liberty from oppression exemplified by the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. It is not a particularly comforting story, nor one amenable to our modern dispositions.
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