{"id":1833,"date":"2012-05-15T16:34:01","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T23:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/?p=1833"},"modified":"2012-05-15T16:34:01","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T23:34:01","slug":"telling-god-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/2012\/05\/15\/telling-god-no\/","title":{"rendered":"Telling God No"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Genesis 22 we read that \u201cGod tested Abraham.\u201d This test consisted of God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son and his only heir.<\/p>\n

\tThose of us who grew up in church are familiar with the story and probably don\u2019t think much about it. If asked, we will mouth happy platitudes to \u201cinterpret\u201d the event. But the whole episode is very puzzling to new readers of the Bible. It makes no sense to them that God should ask such an outrageous thing of Abraham\u2014something so outrageous, in fact, that it contradicts God\u2019s nature and even explicit denunciations elsewhere in the Bible of the very thing God tells Abraham to do. Jeremiah quotes God in Jeremiah 7:31: \u201cThey have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire\u2014something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.\u201d <\/p>\n

If a father in our congregation announced that God had appeared to him and ordered him to kill his son in order to demonstrate his obedience to God, it is unlikely we would pat him on the back and say, \u201csounds like a good idea. Do what God tells you.\u201d Instead, we would be very quick to yell, \u201care you nuts?\u201d and to tell the father he hadn\u2019t heard from God at all. If we saw something on TV about some father doing such a dastardly thing, we\u2019d call him a loon and hope that he spent the rest of his life in jail, at the very least.<\/p>\n

\tSo what in the world is going on in Genesis 22 with Abraham and God? Just because it\u2019s in the Bible, it doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t be shocked or appalled. <\/p>\n

Of course, in the end, God prevented Abraham from going through with his crime (which perhaps is a clue to what is really going on). But the whole episode remains unsavory and bizarre. Many commentators have attempted to explain that the near-sacrifice is a picture of Jesus\u2019 sacrifice on the cross. The ram that Abraham sacrifices in the end instead of Isaac is said to be symbolic of Jesus\u2019 death in place of humanity. But I\u2019m not entirely satisfied that this explanation removes the creepiness factor from the episode: that an old man was instructed by his God to kill his son and that he was willing to do it. <\/p>\n

\tThe author of Hebrews comments on the event, explaining that it demonstrated Abraham\u2019s faith, since Abraham believed that a dead Isaac could always be raised back to life by God (see Hebrews 11:17-19). James 2:21 comments that Abraham was considered righteous for offering his son. <\/p>\n

Neither passage, however, really tries to explain why God would ask him to do something so completely at odds with everything we know about God\u2019s character, and that even Abraham knew about God (consider that the prohibition on murder predates Abraham as reflected in the story of Cain and Abel and the institution of a death penalty for murder in Genesis 9, following the Flood). No passage in the Bible suggests that offering up one\u2019s children as burnt offerings is a positive family value. In fact, the Bible is rather consistent in arguing against human sacrifice. Murder is consistently presented as a bad thing.<\/p>\n

So what to do?<\/p>\n

\tOne key thing to notice about the Bible: it does not always present activities that we are supposed to emulate, or events that we are supposed to like. Often, the stories told are designed for the opposite: to serve as warnings, or to upset us so that we will behave differently. For instance, in the book of Judges when Jephtha actually follows through and sacrifices his only daughter as a burnt offering, the reader is supposed to be horrified. In the same way, the reader should be shocked when Lot in Genesis, and the unnamed Levite of Judges, offer their daughters or concubine to be raped by mobs.<\/p>\n

\tIn the New Testament, we are told that the Law was humanity\u2019s schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24-25 KJV). And here in Genesis 22 we are told explicitly that \u201cGod tested Abraham.\u201d The question that has entered my head recently is a simple one. <\/p>\n

Did Abraham actually pass God\u2019s test? <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a slightly different question than whether he demonstrated his faith (which was the concern of the New Testament passages).<\/p>\n

So, did Abraham give God the answer he was looking for when he told him to go sacrifice his son? Or was it rather that God was testing him to see if he had gotten past his cultural predisposition to sacrifice offspring, a common enough practice in the land he had come from and especially the one that he was then living in.
\nWas God, in fact, hoping Abraham would say, \u201cUm, no, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a good idea.\u201d <\/p>\n

God might then have asked Abraham \u201cwhy not,\u201d and gotten the further response, \u201cbecause killing one\u2019s offspring is a heinous idea.\u201d Based on what we see about God\u2019s attitude regarding human sacrifice, it does not seem unreasonable to me that God might have been hoping for such a response from Abraham. Certainly his faith in God and his obedience were commendable, just as Jephtha\u2019s willingness to keep his word was commendable. But sometimes following the rules may simply not be the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

\tAfter all, we do have other examples of people in the Bible \u201cdisobeying\u201d God or \u201ctalking back to him\u201d\u2014and it was considered the proper response. Take Moses as an example. After the Israelites make the golden calves and run amuck, God tells Moses to stand aside so he can slaughter them all. Moses tells God not to do it. He asks God to spare the people (see Exodus 32:9-14). Moses told God no, and God was okay with that.<\/p>\n

God adapted himself to Abraham\u2019s response to the test with Isaac: \u201cDo not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.\u201d (Genesis 22:12) That does not mean that Abraham had responded precisely the way God wanted, anymore than Moses\u2019 objections to God\u2019s command to rescue the Israelites from Egypt was what God was really looking for (see Exodus 3). But God adapted to Moses: he overcame each of Moses\u2019 objectives. He adjusted to them: he even appointed Aaron to act as spokesperson.
\nWhy didn\u2019t God upbraid Abraham for making the wrong choice with Isaac if it was the wrong choice? Why didn\u2019t he tell Abraham, \u201cyou shouldn\u2019t have tried to do that?\u201d Well, God did stop him from performing the sacrifice. He did substitute a ram. Then he acknowledged Abraham\u2019s faith and his obedience, much as a good teacher might acknowledge a student\u2019s valiant, but misguided attempts at an answer and choose to point out what\u2019s positive in his effort, even in the midst of overall failure. The fact that God didn\u2019t allow Abraham to actually sacrifice his son is an indication that Abraham\u2019s choice was not really God\u2019s purpose in this exercise. If we are to assume that God always achieves his will, then the ultimate outcome of events perhaps serves as a clue to what God\u2019s actual purpose was in the first place.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s plan was for Isaac to be the heir. We\u2019re told that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Yet after that, he takes Hagar and has Ishmael by her. Later, he wishes to God that Ishmael could be the heir. And yet, despite all that, it will still be Isaac. Abraham is never explicitly condemned in the Bible for Hagar and Ishmael; and yet God passes them by and focuses on Isaac. He adapts to what Abraham has done, which he did out of faith that God would fulfill his promise of an heir, misguided as his choices actually were.<\/p>\n

But why would God ask of his servants a thing that he doesn\u2019t actually want them to do? To elicit the response that he got in the case of Moses when he told him to step aside and let him slaughter the Israelites for their sin: to see that his servant has understood the lessons previously taught and that the lesson is so firmly ingrained, that even opposition from God himself is not going to shatter the belief. Consider the impact, then of these words from the Deuteronomy:<\/p>\n

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, \u201cLet us follow other gods\u201d (gods you have not known) \u201cand let us worship them,\u201d you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And very similar words from Paul:<\/p>\n

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel\u2026.even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:6-8)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God wants to know if the people believe what they believe simply because of who told them, or if they are completely convinced. If you change what you think simply because someone tells you to change it, then did you ever actually believe it? For most of us today, if God tried to tell us to sacrifice a child, we\u2019d tell him no. We have learned the lesson that Abraham (and the human race of that era) still hadn\u2019t gotten: killing children is wrong. Since then, the human race has grown in grace and knowledge thanks to a patient God.<\/p>\n

The story of Balaam and the donkey reflects the same thing we see in God\u2019s testing of Abraham. God tells Balaam not to go and curse the people of Israel. (Numbers 22:12). But when Balak continues to beg, Balaam tells the men Balak has sent that he won\u2019t disobey God, but, \u201cNow stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me.”
\nSo that night, God tells him, \u201cSince these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.\u201d (Numbers 22:20) Which contradicts God\u2019s original command not to go (see 22:12 again).<\/p>\n

So, Balaam leaves with the messengers of Balak. And what happens? Numbers 22:22: \u201cBut God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him.\u201d What follows is the story of Balaam\u2019s donkey. God had told Balaam not to go; Balaam wanted to go: he wanted the money being offered. So God told him, \u201cGo.\u201d His response then should have been, \u201cUm, no, I\u2019ll do what you told me to begin with.\u201d But God wanted to see if he was firmly committed to not cursing the Israelites; the incident with the donkey did keep him from later mouthing a curse. But Balaam\u2019s failure to tell God no at that point nearly got him killed.<\/p>\n

\tMost modern readers of the Old Testament are troubled by the command God issues to the people of Israel to wipe out the Canaanites (see Deuteronomy 20:16-17). God had ordered the Israelites to commit genocide against another people. But today we believe genocide is evil, especially after some of the horrors of the twentieth century. Wholesale slaughter of women and children also seems contrary to the biblical concept expressed elsewhere that fathers are not to be punished for the crimes of their children, and children must not suffer for the crimes of their parents (see Deuteronomy 24:16). Then there\u2019s the obvious general biblical principle of loving one\u2019s enemies (see Leviticus 19:18). God\u2019s order to the Israelites to wipe out women and children, as well as all the men, is hard to justify when examined in light of the rest of the Bible.<\/p>\n

Again, all sorts of \u201cexplanations\u201d have been offered by theologians to try to soften the impact of God\u2019s command against the Canaanites. But given that the Israelites failed to ever completely carry out the order (just as Abraham failed to sacrifice Isaac), and given that we even have examples of condemned Canaanites repenting and joining with Israel (as for instance the Gibeonites in Joshua 9 and Ruth, a Moabite\u2014notice the attitude against the Moabites in Deuteronomy 23:3-6, and yet Ruth becomes ancestor of both David and Jesus)\u2014I think perhaps the order to exterminate Canaanites is like the tests that were presented to Abraham and Moses: to disagree with God and instead do what is right. <\/p>\n

Admittedly that sounds odd. But perhaps God wanted his people to stand up on their own two feet, use the brains God had given them\u2014and express the love that he\u2019d tried to teach them. God hoped that his people would learn to make the right choices themselves, rather than needing rules and orders.<\/p>\n

\tAt Nuremburg, several of the Nazis gave as an excuse for their crimes that they were merely \u201cfollowing orders.\u201d Perhaps God does not think that\u2019s a valid excuse any more than the judges at Nuremburg did and he wanted his people to learn that lesson as soon as possible\u2014even when He\u2019s the one giving the orders.<\/p>\n

\tBut what are we to do with James 1:13 which tells us that \u201cGod cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone\u201d? Wouldn\u2019t God be tempting Abraham with evil by asking him to sacrifice Isaac? Regardless of the response God wanted from Abraham, James creates a problem, at least on the surface. <\/p>\n

But in context, James is speaking about our day to day temptations, whether to eat too much or to sleep with our neighbor. But there are different sorts of tests that God does bring, that don\u2019t fall into James\u2019 category. For instance, in Deuteronomy 8:2, Moses reminds the people, \u201cRemember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.\u201d Likewise, when suffering comes to us, we must decide: do we turn to God or away from God? Our faith is constantly being tested (see James 1:2-3).<\/p>\n

\tWe live by faith, not by sight. We are saved by grace, not by keeping rules. Paul writes that \u201cHe has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant\u2014not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.\u201d (2 Corinthians 3:6)<\/p>\n

\tPeople like rules and regulations. They want everything simple, black and white, no thinking required. But that\u2019s the essence of worldliness, according to Paul in Colossians 2. Rules are important for children (notice how they react if you try to alter a rule in a familiar game), and for humanity when it was in its childhood. But we\u2019re adults now. Perhaps God expects us to think for ourselves: we have been trained; we know that loving God and loving people is what it all comes down to. We can see the old tests. And now the Holy Spirit indwells us. If we see people in the Bible behaving in ways that makes us cringe\u2014well, that\u2019s probably the point.<\/p>\n

The center of the Bible, the interpretive guide and tool is to \u201clove God, and to love people\u201d (see Matthew 22:36-40, Romans 13:9-10, Galatians 5:13-14). Those are the commands of God we have been asked to obey. Interpretations of God\u2019s words that lead to a contradiction with those commands are necessarily wrong.<\/p>\n

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In Genesis 22 we read that \u201cGod tested Abraham.\u201d This test consisted of God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son and his only heir. Those of us who grew up in church are familiar with the story and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[18,17,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1834,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions\/1834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}