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“Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Genesis 22:10-12

The story of Isaac’s near death and the hands of his father Abraham, is a troubling one. It is found in the 22nd chapter of the book of Genesis. As recorded there, God tells Abraham he is to go to the land of Moriah and there sacrifice his son Isaac as a offering. Abraham is at the point of slaying his son, when the angel of  the Lord intervenes on Isaac’s behalf, sparing him. The biblical writers claim Abraham as righteous because, he was willing to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God.

From the perspective of distance, it seems unfathomable that the God we know as one of love, would ever have asked that of Abraham or any other parent.

Perhaps the only positive piece we can take from the story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac, is that God’s revelation to us is a process. One that we grow in understanding. The Bible records the story of Abraham on the road to righteousness, not having arrived, but learning each day. In an era when people did sacrifice their children to gain God’s favor, God’s “No” to Abraham was clear. Abraham appears early in our understanding of who God is and what God asks from us. He is a product of his time, learning to navigate the world through a new lens as God guides him throughout his life.

Did he misunderstand God’s directive as some have suggested? Was God asking him to take Isaac to the mountain so they could worship together there, and he could teach his son about God? Or was it to teach Abraham, that God did not demand a child’s life, to prove a person faithful? Was it a test of who and what Abraham was made of or to what length would Abraham go to serve God?

Through the centuries the question has been pondered. As we look at the story recorded in scripture, what are we to make of it?

We are left with the knowledge that Abraham and Isaac returned home together. What was said on the journey, how Isaac responded and where Sarah fits into the story, are left to our imagination. As the Biblical record continues past Abraham, through the history of Israel,  the people learn that God’s desire is that they love God and love their neighbor. They learn that a proper response to God is to love God with heart, mind, soul and strength,  teaching  their children to do the same.  Throughout the scriptures  prophetic words  continue to reveal God’s wisdom and God’s nature. 

Which makes us ask again what Abraham  heard, and was it truly the voice of God?