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NASB | Genesis 22:1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 22:1 Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he answered, "Here I am." |
Bible Question:
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 |
Bible Answer: 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 |