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| <~~~~ BACK But perhaps the most important thing to glean from this passage is that our � personal rights� are really not all that important. Fairly *unimportant* in fact. This can be hard to accept, especially if you�re an American. But what matters most is that we love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our willpower (Mk. 12:29). Then, Jesus� command to love others will come naturally. Which brings me to this week�s recommendation: A website that briefly examines �love� in the Bible (including what the Bible has to say about what love *is*). You�ll find it at http://www.christinyou.net/pages/love.html Questions Q: �I don�t see how a loving God could ask Abraham to sacrifice his son. Explain why God would do that.� A: The story of Abraham �sacrificing� his son Isaac can be found in Exodus 22. It�s the story of a man who longed for children. God promised him a son. A full 25 years later, God gave him Isaac. Then, some time later, God told Abraham: �Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and go to the region of Moroah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about� (v.2). The Bible doesn�t record what Abraham�s emotions were at this time, but he must have trusted God with great faith, because he did exactly as God instructed. (Incidentally, v.2 is the Bible�s first use of the word �love.�) But when Abraham and Isaac got to the appointed mountain, an angel came to them and said, �Do not lay a hand on the boy� (v.12). In most Bibles, chapter 22 begins with the title �Abraham Tested.� But certainly God knew whether or not Abraham was going to obey Him. So why did He put Abraham through all this stress? I believe God was imprinting on Abraham�s mind and heart all that it means to love God and obey His will. In short, this �test� was not to prove anything to God, but to prove something important to Abraham (and perhaps Isaac): Loving God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your willpower means accepting His will even when you feel it�s against everything you desire. But I think there�s even more to it than that. A careful look at the story reveals this is not just a nice little snippet of history. It�s a bit of prophecy. Chuck Missler points out that when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac was already as good as dead in Abraham�s mind. Since the journey took three days (v.4), Isaac was essentially �dead� for three days. This is the same number of days Jesus spent in the tomb. Missler also speculates that the mountain in question may be the same mountain that Christ died on. In addition, the Bible says �Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac� (v.6). This can�t help but remind me of the wood that was on Jesus� back. And just before the sacrifice took place, Isaac asked where the sacrificial lamb was (v.7). Christians know who the ultimate sacrificial lamb is: Jesus Christ. In fact, the Bible backs up this prophetic interpretation of the story when Abraham says, �God Himself will provide the lamb� (v. 8). Indeed, that�s just what God did, in Jesus Christ. A few verses later, the angel says, �you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.� I think that this, very clearly, is meant to parallel Jesus, his death on the cross, and all that it would mean. So, the �sacrifice� of Isaac wasn�t merely meant to test Abraham or even to teach him something about himself and his relationship with God. It was meant to be a prophetic message to Abraham�s descendants�and an acting out of what would be a real sacrifice of God�s only son. GOT A QUESTION? I invite you to ask it. What stumps you? I'll do my best to find an answer! To ask a question, email me at [email protected]. (c) Copyright 2003 by Kristina Seleshanko. |
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