Genesis 22:11-12

2007.Dec.22 22:07

Test Passed

Read Genesis 22:11-12 | Full Chapter

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
(Genesis 22:11-12, NASB)

Abraham passed the test. He showed by his actions that he had faith. This test, remember, was particular to Abraham, although Isaac showed a good deal of faith–either in Yahweh or in his father–as well, as I suppose did anyone else who knew, if there was anyone else. But what exactly was the test and how did Abraham pass?

In the simplest, the test was whether Abraham feared and honored Yahweh enough to be willing to sacrifice his own son to Yahweh. He passed the test because he actively showed that he was willing, should Yahweh ask that of him. Or, in a different sense, Yahweh was testing if Abraham was willing to obey when it would cost him an exceptionally extreme amount. And Abraham obeyed fully to the point that God told him to halt.

More abstractly, I think the test could be seen as whether Abraham was humble enough to deny his own son, his dreams for the future (remember, he’s over 100 years old), and his reasoning. Those are some pretty big things (I realize the last is not big for everyone, but for people like me who greatly value their ability to reason, accepting that God’s plan is just not going to make sense to me is a huge test of my humility). God then may be asking Abraham, “Are you willing to give me complete control?”

To an extent, most of the tests and such that we go through could be interpreted as God asking if we are willing to give him control, to acknowledge that he is God and I am not; indeed, to explicitly release my claim on godhood. Abraham does so twice in this test, first by acknowledging that Yahweh–not Abraham–can provide a solution to the contradictory notion that he is expected to sacrifice the son from which God has promised to build a nation; and then again by being willing to put down the knife and accept so clearly that he is giving a sacrifice to God that was not in any way provided by Abraham.

NB: In later books of the Bible (Leviticus 20, for example), God clarifies that human sacrifice is a sin punishable by stoning. This would have been a very different story if it had happened after Yahweh gave the Law to Israel. Even in this situation, God ultimately makes clear his position that humans should not be sacrificed, which sort of makes Christ’s sacrifice even more amazing (if that’s possible).