The Second Worst Story In The Bible
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle A
Object:
What a horrible story, the second worst one in the entire Bible! True, every father at some time or other is tempted to kill his child. Like Bill Cosby's character once said, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." But this is not like that. What we have here is this "loving God" telling a father to stick his son like a pig, drain his blood, then set fire to the body. And Abraham goes along with it. What kind of God would ask such a thing? And what kind of parent would do it? In our own day, we know a thing or two about religious fanaticism, but this story takes it to a whole new level.
God tested Abraham ... "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." How are we supposed to make any sense of this? Even if Abraham is not particularly heroic up to this point in the story, at least God has been. Are we supposed to believe that God someday might order one of us to kill our firstborn just to see if we are willing to do it? What kind of God would propose such a depraved test?
Then there is Abraham. No questions. No word of protest. "Sure, God. I have already lost one boy, but no matter. Whatever you say, God." Why not at least argue and bargain with God a bit like he had done in trying to preserve Sodom and Gomorrah? Needless to say, he mentions nothing of this to Sarah, because we can easily imagine what kind of a scene that would have been. He would not have had to worry about killing Isaac because Sarah would have taken her husband out first. Abraham calmly arises, saddles his donkey, summons two assistants, and took his son -- the only son he has left now -- up on the mountaintop in search of a nice flat rock that would be suitable for human sacrifice, to satisfy what appears to be the malevolent whim of some evil deity.
This is a story that holds a most revered place in Jewish tradition. It is referred to in morning prayers and the prayers offered during the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Here is the supreme example of self-sacrifice in obedience to God's will and the symbol of Jewish martyrdom throughout the ages. In Hebrew, this story is known as the Akedah, or the "binding" of Isaac. (Interesting that the emphasis is not on the testing of Abraham as we might presume.) To Jews it is a wonderful word of hope in the face of the constant threats to their collective life through the centuries. The knife is poised to strike, but then suddenly God stops it. Good news.
Early Christians also saw the Akedah as one of the most important of the biblical stories. It is referred to twice in the New Testament: James 2:21-24 and Hebrews 11:17-19. In both passages, what Abraham did is held up as an example of supreme faith. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the site where tradition says the crucifixion occurred, looking from the altar that marks the very place where the cross is thought to have stood, up at the ceiling to the right of the altar, one sees not a scene from the New Testament, but the binding of Isaac portrayed right next to the mosaic of Christ on the cross. Important story.
God tested Abraham ... "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Can we say Abraham passed the test? Perhaps the test was whether or not Abraham understood his God well enough to know what God really wanted. Then, yes, he passed. Go, thou, and do likewise.
By the way, if you are sitting there reading this waiting for me to wrap this all up in some neat little package, don't hold your breath. This story, as far as I am concerned, is still the second worst story in the Bible. Just remember what we have been saying from the beginning. Abraham is not the hero of this narrative, God is. And if that is the case, what are we to make of it?
Leave it at this. Move the story forward a millennium or three. The sky darkens, the wind howls, and a young man walks up another Moriah. He carries a cross on his back rather than sticks for a fire. Remember, the Akedah is the second worst story in the Bible; this one is the worst. And what did God do with that?
God tested Abraham ... "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." How are we supposed to make any sense of this? Even if Abraham is not particularly heroic up to this point in the story, at least God has been. Are we supposed to believe that God someday might order one of us to kill our firstborn just to see if we are willing to do it? What kind of God would propose such a depraved test?
Then there is Abraham. No questions. No word of protest. "Sure, God. I have already lost one boy, but no matter. Whatever you say, God." Why not at least argue and bargain with God a bit like he had done in trying to preserve Sodom and Gomorrah? Needless to say, he mentions nothing of this to Sarah, because we can easily imagine what kind of a scene that would have been. He would not have had to worry about killing Isaac because Sarah would have taken her husband out first. Abraham calmly arises, saddles his donkey, summons two assistants, and took his son -- the only son he has left now -- up on the mountaintop in search of a nice flat rock that would be suitable for human sacrifice, to satisfy what appears to be the malevolent whim of some evil deity.
This is a story that holds a most revered place in Jewish tradition. It is referred to in morning prayers and the prayers offered during the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Here is the supreme example of self-sacrifice in obedience to God's will and the symbol of Jewish martyrdom throughout the ages. In Hebrew, this story is known as the Akedah, or the "binding" of Isaac. (Interesting that the emphasis is not on the testing of Abraham as we might presume.) To Jews it is a wonderful word of hope in the face of the constant threats to their collective life through the centuries. The knife is poised to strike, but then suddenly God stops it. Good news.
Early Christians also saw the Akedah as one of the most important of the biblical stories. It is referred to twice in the New Testament: James 2:21-24 and Hebrews 11:17-19. In both passages, what Abraham did is held up as an example of supreme faith. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the site where tradition says the crucifixion occurred, looking from the altar that marks the very place where the cross is thought to have stood, up at the ceiling to the right of the altar, one sees not a scene from the New Testament, but the binding of Isaac portrayed right next to the mosaic of Christ on the cross. Important story.
God tested Abraham ... "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Can we say Abraham passed the test? Perhaps the test was whether or not Abraham understood his God well enough to know what God really wanted. Then, yes, he passed. Go, thou, and do likewise.
By the way, if you are sitting there reading this waiting for me to wrap this all up in some neat little package, don't hold your breath. This story, as far as I am concerned, is still the second worst story in the Bible. Just remember what we have been saying from the beginning. Abraham is not the hero of this narrative, God is. And if that is the case, what are we to make of it?
Leave it at this. Move the story forward a millennium or three. The sky darkens, the wind howls, and a young man walks up another Moriah. He carries a cross on his back rather than sticks for a fire. Remember, the Akedah is the second worst story in the Bible; this one is the worst. And what did God do with that?
