|
|
|
Genesis 22 |
|
| 22:1
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him,
Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. |
"God did tempt Abraham."
Has anyone ever been tempted by God?
|
| 22:2
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only
son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah;
and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell
thee of. |
(22:2-13)
"Take now thine only son Isaac"
God orders Abraham to kill Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham shows his love for God by his willingness to murder
his son. But finally, just before Isaac's throat is slit, God provides a goat to kill instead.
Does God approve of human sacrifice?
How many sons did Abraham have?
What the Bible says about children, parenting,
fathers, human sacrifice,
and family values
|
| 22:3
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took
two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the
burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
|
| 22:4
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
|
| 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and
the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. |
God Tests Abraham
|
| 22:6
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac
his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both
of them together.
|
| 22:7
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said,
Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is
the lamb for a burnt offering? |
|
| 22:8
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt
offering: so they went both of them together. |
 The Sacrifice of Abraham
(Caravaggio, 1601-02)
|
| 22:9
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an
altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid
him on the altar upon the wood.
|
| 22:10
And Abraham stretched
forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. |
"And Abraham stretched
forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son."
Abraham shows his willingness to kill his son for God. Only an evil God would ask a father to do
that; only a bad father would be willing to do it.
What the Bible says about children and fathers, and
family values
|
| 22:11
And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said,
Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
|
| 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing
unto him: for now I
know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only
son from me. |
"Now I know that thou fearest God."
If God knows the mind and heart of all humans, then why did he have to test
Abraham to find out what was in his heart?
Does God know everything?
|
| 22:13
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
|
| 22:14
And Abraham called the
name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In
the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. |
"Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh."
Abraham names the place where he nearly kills Isaac after Jehovah. But according to Ex.6:3,
Abraham couldn't have known that God's name was Jehovah.
Did Abraham know God's name?
|
| 22:15
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second
time,
|
| 22:16
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast
done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: |
"By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD."
God swears by and to himself.
|
| 22:17
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy
seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea
shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; |
|
| 22:18
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because
thou hast obeyed my voice. |
|
| 22:19
So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together
to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. |
|
| 22:20
And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying,
Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; |
|
| 22:21
Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, |
|
| 22:22
And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. |
|
| 22:23
And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's
brother. |
|
| 22:24
And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham,
and Thahash, and Maachah. |
|
|
The Sacrifice of Abraham