Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | "God told me to do it" | Gen 22:1 | Ricardo Della-Ricca | 107472 | ||
Why did God ask Abraham to kill his son? WHY SUCH A TEST? Does God still ask such things in todays world? It is often mentioned in the news, people say "God told me to do it" Ricardo |
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2 | "God told me to do it" | Gen 22:1 | Makarios | 107484 | ||
Greetings Ricardo, The true meaning of love can be understood only from Biblical revelation. The word is introduced for the first time in the Bible in the story of Abraham and Isaac, where God told Abraham to "take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him up for a burnt-offering" (Genesis 22:2, KJV). The love of a father for his son is thus, as it were, set forth in Scripture as the first, and thus definitive, meaning of love. (1) At first this seems strange, even though Isaac was the miraculously born son of promise, and thus in a most peculiar way was the dearly beloved son of his father. But this unexpected definition becomes perfectly fitting when we see, from later Scriptures, that Abraham and Isaac form a beautiful type of God the Father and God the Son. Just as the first mention of "love" in the Old Testament is found in connection with the love of a human father for his son, so the first mention of "love" in the New Testament is the testimony of the heavenly Father concerning His love for His Son. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Just before He was to go to the cross, the Lord Jesus, the only begotten of the Father, prayed thus: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou has given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24). The first love that ever existed, and thus the root and ground of all other loves, was the love of the Father for His Son, in the fellowship of the Godhead before time began. The love of husband and wife, the love of a mother for her children, the love of children for parents, the love of friends for one another, love for country- all loves find their source in the eternal love of God the Father for God the Son, and the meaning of any kind of human love must be measured ultimately against this standard. And now we can begin to see the significance of the fact that Abraham, in the very place where God acknowledged his deep love for Isaac, was commanded to slay his son and offer him as a burnt-sacrifice to God. The questioning agony of Abraham's heart must have been like a fire in his own soul, but all we are told is that "Abraham rose up early in the morning ... took Isaac his son ... and went unto the place of which God had told him" (Genesis 22:3). God, of course, spared Isaac's life before he was slain, but Abraham passed the test of real love. "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. .." (Hebrews 11:17-19, KJV). Abraham's faith in the Word of God was so strong that he knew that whatever God desired for Isaac would be that which was best for him. And though it meant the death of Isaac and the crushing of his own heart, the depth of his love for his son was so great that he must believe and obey the Word of God as it related to him, whether he could understand or not. Because Isaac thus "died" and was raised from the dead "in a figure," God then was able to use him to bring great blessing to multitudes in all the years to come. Abraham's love was a sacrificial love, glorifying God and thus setting the pattern for the full revelation of God's own love. Though God loved His Son with an everlasting love (John 3:16), He loved lost men and women so much that He gave Him as a sacrifice, dying for their sins, that they might be redeemed. And, like Isaac, who knowingly and willingly permitted Abraham to bind him to the altar of sacrifice, so the Lord Jesus willingly suffered and died for us. "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). In conclusion, we see just why God asked Abraham to hand over his one and only son, asking out of love to determine the quality of Abraham's faith in Him. Does God still ask such things in today's world? No, I do not believe that the Lord continues to ask such things, since I believe that this request was a 'once and for all' type of request, that is, that God would only make such a request this one time, since Abraham would be the father of many nations, and his descendants would be called "the people of God." You say, "It is often mentioned in the news, people say "God told me to do it".. My friend, God would never tempt anyone with sin (James 1:13) and it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). Therefore, any sin that is committed in this world was never 'commanded by God.' God has never made anyone sin, since sin is a direct violation of what God commands! (Exodus 20) Therefore, anyone who says "God told me to do it" when they sin is completely and utterly mistaken, and has no knowledge of God at all. Blessings to you, Makarios (1) "(Revised and Expanded) The Bible Has the Answer", 1976, 1987, Master Books, Inc., Henry M. Morris, Martin E. Clark, pgs. 279-281 |
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3 | "God told me to do it" | Gen 22:1 | Ricardo Della-Ricca | 107527 | ||
Hi Makarios Thanks for this response, however my friend Tim argues with the whole thing and is pushing his case. Here is a letter from him. Ricardo. I can thus deduct, that God does indeed tell people to do bad things... Hmmmm, that somehow doesn't sound right... It is therefore impossible to tell whether or not it is the devil, or God talking to us in our dreams. Because as Gen 22:1-19 tells us, "God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son to God... (ie burn and murder him)". That is why I would not be tempted to look into dreams as an indicator of or duty to God, or future. It is clear, that from this, we do not know who is putting things in our head. Could it therefore be possible, that those people we see, who hear voices in their head, telling them to do "bad things", could indeed be God speaking to them? However unlikely this may be, it is certain we must look at Gen 22:1-19 and reconsider our response. Simply not labelling those people as "wackos". I could gurantee you, that if Abraham had consulted a psychiatrist in this day and age, about how he had heard a voice claiming it was God, ordering him to kill his son, he would almost certainly be put in a straight jacket. We however know it was God, and that Abraham was not a "wacko". Puts a new edge on defining a mental illness doesn't it? No psychiatrist has the corner on truth... God does indeed tell people to do bad things... (As a test). Yet God disallowed Abraham to go through with his sacrifice... I would encourage all people who look deeply into dreams, and visions, to treat such things with caution. Always consult the scriptures before acting on anything. Ricardo, I will try and collaborate more verses to evidence my case. What do I make of Gen 22? In my view, it would seem ridiculous for God to test a mere man's faith, for he already knew the extent to which Abraham's faith reached... Possibly God is trying to say that he can tell people to do bad things. I do not know, I am only human, and cannot explain God's actions. However, from this, I do know that it is very important that we treat all dreams and visions with the highest degree of caution. For if you are ordered to sin, we must not cross out God as the voice, as Gen 22 tells us... It could just as equally be the devil polluting our minds... Then again, we could be mentally ill... I honestly do not know... This arguement is somewhat jumbled, as I've just been rifling off what ever's on my mind. But if I have not made something clear, please ask. Tim thanks regards Ricardo |
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4 | "God told me to do it" | Gen 22:1 | stjones | 107530 | ||
Hi, Ricardo; A couple of points: There was no benefit to God in testing Abraham's faith; as your friend Tim said, God already knew what Abraham's choice would be. We need to ask ourselves two questions when we study an event like this: 1) What was the benefit to or effect on the participants? Perhaps it was important for Abraham to know that God might make extraordinary demands, but he would always provide the means for satisfying them; at least, that seems to be what he learned and passed on to Isaac. And perhaps Abraham needed to discover for himself the depth and importance of his obedience. It was after passing this test that God reaffirmed his covenant with Abraham. 2) What did God want us to learn? Most of what happened during Old Testament times was not recorded. Only events and conversations of God's choosing were written down for us. So why did God preserve this incident for us? Was it his intent to teach us that he will sometimes ask us to do things that are wrong? If that were his intent, I would expect to see other examples; I don't. No, I think God wanted us to learn lessons similar to those taught Abraham. It is also important to remember the context of these events. It is silly to imagine that God will interact with us the same way he interacted with Abraham. None of us will be called to start a new covenant and a new nation as Abraham was. None of us will appear in the Bible. Abraham's experience was unique. Should we believe a virgin who in 2004 claims that Gabriel told her whe would bear the son of God? Of course not; that was reserved for Mary; it will not happen again. Like Mary, Abraham lived the life God set out for him. None of us will re-live his life. Finally, we need to remember that Genesis, the rest of the Pentateuch, the rest of the Old Testament, and the rest of the Bible represent a progressive revelation of God's character and will. Abraham had no Law to guide him; God was revealing his will a step at a time. It is likely that Abraham did not yet know that God abhorred the sacrifice of children. Through Moses his descendants knew it and so do we. If Abraham had not been paying attention the second time God spoke, he might have had a flimsy excuse for sacrificiing Isaac; we would have none. In short, with all of Scripture to guide us, we can be confident that God absolutely will not tell us to do wrong. There is no scriptural basis for believing that he would. Peace and grace, Steve aka Indiana Jones |
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