Genesis 22 is a test of Abraham's faith, right? Nothing simpler than that, is there!
Sorry. Wrong.
Perhaps parenthood makes a passage like the offering of Isaac harder, but I think attention to detail sometimes forces a more careful consideration of the passage, and given that the Amateur is an amateur, sometimes the way is blocked.
Here's some mysteries in Genesis 22:
1. Why is Abraham so convinced that he'll get Isaac back (v5 and v8 - see also Hebrews 11), yet he goes all the way to placing Isaac on the altar?
2. Why does God test Abraham in this way? I'm afraid the "it's seeing how much Abraham will give for God" simply won't do for me anymore. Firstly, I am convinced that the God of Genesis 22 is the God of the entire Old Testament, a God who very clearly condemns all child-killing and especially child-sacrifice. Why does God seem to go against His own very clear standards. Again, don't tell me that the Law had not been given at that stage. God's opinion on moral questions cannot change, otherwise we'd end up with a God who is not perfect in wisdom. Secondly, God is actually asking Abraham to destroy the covenant - the fulfilment and blessings of which have been explicitly tied to Isaac(17:19,21 and 21:12). If Isaac is lost, then so is the covenant.
Here's my solution, for what it's worth. I think Abraham's faith is being tested in two ways, a surface way and a deeper way. On the surface is the basic test, Abraham's passing of which is acknowledged in 22:12. Abraham was willing to do whatever was commanded. But on a much deeper level it is actually the faith of verses 5 and 8 which is commended, the faith that God keeps His promises, the faith that knows God is not the child-killer that the pagan gods were, the faith which said whatever might happen on the mountain the Lord would show him, God wasn't going to lose Isaac. You see, we are called to be people of visible faith, faith that obeys; yet it is the faith that knows God and trusts His promises that is the faith for which Abraham is commended in Genesis 15, and which is commended in Romans 4 and Galatians 3, then unpacked and related to this passage in James 2. That faith is the one to which we are actually called here.
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2 comments:
Read it only know, Stephen. The problem for your interpretation are vv. 9-11: Abraham was evidently willing to sacrifice his son. He bound him on the altar, lifted his hand with the knife and was about to "schlachten" his son (don't know what's there in English). The main point of the story is probably not at all Abraham's "faith" whatsoever. Romans 4 refers to Gen 15 not 22! I guess the main point of Gen 22 is typological. Abraham does not have to sacrifice his son. But the story foreshadows that God will sacrifice His Son!
Alex
Aaargh! The Amateur's name! Anyway, I take your point, Alex, that Abraham appears willing, but given Hebrews 11 and the sheer repetition of the promise that the blessing will come through Isaac, I honestly don't think Abraham thought that he would come back alone. That makes little narrative sense.
That the passage is typological is clear to me. Plug Mark 1:11 into the passage, and it becomes clear that God was willing to do for us more than He demanded from Abraham, in that he went through with it. And yes, the typology is there that Christ is ultimately the Lamb that dies for Abraham's seed.
But Romans 4, Galatians 3 and James 2 make a big issue of Abraham's faith, and James 2 points to this passage. So I think it matters to consider very carefully what Abraham's faith was, including in this passage. If faith is "trust in the promise", what did it mean to trust in the promise, when the one to whom the promises have been attached ought now be sacrificed?
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