Genesis 22:2

2007.Dec.18 03:32

Your Only Son

Read Genesis 22:2 | Full Chapter

He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
(Genesis 22:2, NASB)

According to Wikipedia, some Islamic traditions hold that it was Ishmael, not Isaac, that God asked Abraham to sacrifice. I mention this because Yahweh specifically calls Abraham to sacrifice his “only son”. Assuming this chapter is chronologically placed (which seems likely, since the son named is Isaac), Abraham has two sons at this point. This could be a translation issue, but every translation I checked has the “only son” language.

There are a couple of important points about the only son business as illustrative of God’s plan. It is perhaps cliche, but quite relevant, to remember that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16, NASB) , and that Yahweh, in addition to testing Abraham’s faith, may also have been giving the Israelites a reference story for better understanding Christ’s sacrifice later on. In that illustration, making a point of the only child (or, in these cases, son specifically) being sacrificed is relevant, even if not technically accurate.

Second, Yahweh’s intent was for Abraham to have only one son at this time. I suppose it may be that God permitted Abraham and Sarah to send away Hagar and Ishmael particularly to regain this intent. A more interesting possibility to me though is that Abraham had already–from Abraham’s point of view–had to sacrifice one son. Now, he has to sacrifice the second. So, maybe I should ponder the reflection of this story not only in the Messiah but also in humanity’s original murder. In that situation, Eve and Adam lost one of their two sons when Cain murdered Abel, and then lost Cain as well. "Sin pays off with death," (Romans 6:23, CEV) Paul reminds us. One aspect of death is separation. At this point, Ishmael was dead to Abraham as Cain was dead to Adam; they were separated indefinitely, and that separation directly followed sin.

Jumping to another point sans segue, God is aware of the sacrifice, in both the cases of Ishmael and Isaac. Sarah’s reaction to the anticipated sacrifice of Isaac–if she even knew–is not recorded, so I am focusing of Abraham’s reactions. When Sarah asked Abraham to send away Hagar and Ishmael, "The matter distressed [him] greatly" (Genesis 21:11, NASB) . This should have been just as distressing, and Yahweh is aware of this reality. He knows that Isaac is now in many ways Abraham’s only child, and he acknowledges Abraham’s love of his son. God, in regards to both of Abraham’s sons is not unaware of what he is asking.