As recorded in the Bible book of Genesis, Jehovah God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. (Genesis 22:2) Some Bible readers struggle to understand that account. “When I first heard this story as a child, I was outraged,” says a professor named Carol. “What kind of God would ask such a thing?”
Responses (5)
First go read Judges chapter 11. That explains the Hebrew custom of a burnt offering: the girl was sent to serve in the temple for life, and her friends and relatives went to visit every year.
Abraham had been too long in Egypt. The custom in Egypt was to literally burn your first born child.
First, consider what Jehovah did not do. He did not allow Abraham to go through with the sacrifice, even though Abraham was prepared to do so, nor has God ever again made such a request of anyone. Jehovah wants all of his worshippers, including children, to continue living—to enjoy a long and satisfying life.
Second, the Bible suggests that Jehovah had a special reason for asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. God knew that many centuries later, He would allow His own Son, Jesus, to die in our behalf. (Matthew 20:28) Jehovah wanted to convey to us just how much this sacrifice would cost him. He provided a powerful demonstration of that future sacrifice by what he asked of Abraham.
Although we may recoil at the thought of what Jehovah asked Abraham to do, we are wise to remember that Jehovah did not allow that faithful patriarch to go through with the sacrifice. He spared Abraham the worst loss a parent can suffer; he protected Isaac from death. Yet, Jehovah did not shield “his own Son but delivered him up for us all.” (Romans 8:32) Why did Jehovah submit himself to such a terrible ordeal? He did so in order that “we might gain life.” (1 John 4:9)
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“God put Abraham to the test,” says verse 1. Abraham was a man of faith, but now his faith would be tested as never before. God said: “Take, please, your son, your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and . . . offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall designate to you.” (Verse 2) Remember, God does not allow his servants to be tried beyond what they can bear. So this test showed his confidence in Abraham.—1 Corinthians 10:13.
Up on the mountain, when Abraham took the “knife to kill his son,” an angel stayed his hand. God then provided a ram, caught in the thicket, that Abraham could offer up “in place of his son.” (Verses 10-13) In God’s eyes, it was as if Isaac had actually been sacrificed. (Hebrews 11:17) “Before God,” explains one scholar, “the willingness was reckoned as equal to the deed.” Jehovah’s confidence in Abraham was vindicated. And Abraham’s confidence in Jehovah was rewarded, for God repeated and enlarged upon his covenant with Abraham, which covenant promised blessings for people of all the nations.—Verses 15-18. In the end, God spared Abraham the sacrifice that He would not spare himself. Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac foreshadowed God’s offering of his only-begotten Son, Jesus, for our sins. (John 3:16)
When we read scriptures, we must read them in proper perspective. We must read scriptures and try to pick those things that help us on the journey of Self-realization and God-realization. Getting outraged about something in scriptures doesn't help us. After all, scriptures have been written thousands of years ago. They have been translated, wrongly interpreted, and therefore we should not jump to what scriptures actually mean and misunderstand what is being said. Let us realize what the scripture is trying to lead us to ultimately - to pray to God, to realize that God lives in the kingdom of our heart, that the temple of God is within, that God is the Holy Spirit that is in you and me. Let scriptures help us to move forward, not make us sink in the world.