It’s a story that could give a kid nightmares - and probably has. A trusted parent tying up a child and raising a knife to kill him all because God said so. For good reason the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, is one that doesn’t make it into many children’s bibles. But when it does it often looks like this…
Abraham standing over a bound Isaac with a raised knife - an angel stopping Abraham at the last moment by calling his name.
Then Abraham takes a ram caught in a nearby bush and offers the animal up as a sacrifice instead of his son.
And when all is said and done, father and son walk home happy and untroubled. The story is often explained not just to children, but to adults as well, by saying that God was only testing Abraham’s faith. And that this story teaches us that we should always put God first.
But if that explanation doesn’t satisfy you, you are not alone. Both Jewish and Christian theologians alike have wrestled with this horror story over the years in an attempt to try to tame it - seeking some way to understand it, to explain it or to resolve it, with little luck. Clearly, there are no easy answers.
Because it’s deeply distressing to think that God would ever command someone to harm another person, especially an innocent. Which makes me wonder, did God really tell Abraham to kill Isaac? Yes, according to the writer of Genesis, that’s what Abraham heard. But maybe that’s not what God actually said. That’s certainly possible because in other places in the Old Testament, like in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, child sacrifice is condemned by God. But instead of going down that rabbit hole of questioning what’s going on with God in this story - a question that is really impossible to answer - maybe a better question is to ask what’s going on with Abraham?
It is Abraham’s understanding that God is telling him, commanding him even, to go and sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. What’s surprising here is that Abraham doesn’t protest. Even though years earlier when God told Abraham that he was going to kill everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham spoke up and cleverly negotiated the sparing of lives. But strangely enough in this case, when God is talking about the death of his beloved son, Abraham says nothing.
Apparently Abraham is so sure about God’s command that he keeps silent. So certain is he that he knows the mind of God that there’s no room for discussion. Because what if he had told Sarah, Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother? Would she have been so certain? I wonder. Abraham also avoids revealing his plan to his traveling companions - maybe because they would have tried to change his mind? And finally he hides his plan from the one whose sacrifice would be the greatest. Surely Isaac would have had an opinion.
Abraham's sense of certainty prevents him from considering any other way or listening to any other viewpoint. And it’s not just Abraham. We all can get stuck in thinking we know something beyond a shadow of a doubt - whether that be the right parenting style or business strategy or political party or whatever. We all have our certainties that we cling to and that make us feel safe. And when we throw God into the mix it can become really hard to budge. It’s like that slogan, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” That type of certainty isn’t godly. It isn’t godly because it shuts people down. It silences and isolates. It denies our need for others, including God. And it halts the Spirit’s work in us for growth and change. Often when we are sure of what God thinks it is remarkably similar to our own thinking, which should always give us pause.
For a life of faith is not a life of certainty. In fact, in many ways certainty is the opposite of faith. If nothing else the unsettling story of Abraham and Isaac bears witness to the fact that life and faith are complicated. And sometimes there are just no easy answers - which should keep us all humble. Although God never changes, the way we experience and understand God does. At least it does for those who are growing in their faith. And part of that growth is the challenge to surrender, even sacrifice, dearly held certainties that turn out to be working against God’s love and God’s life in this world - which is not an easy thing to do. But with God’s help, all things are possible. And with God’s help, we will continue to grow in the knowledge and love of God. Not that that will give us more answers, but grant us a peace and a trust in the ultimate mystery that is God.
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