022. X. Birth And Sacrifice of Isaac
§ X. BIRTH AND SACRIFICE OF ISAAC.
Genesis 21:1 a, Genesis 21:2 a, Genesis 21:7; Genesis 22:1-19
1. Birth of Isaac. Now Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, and said, Who would have told Abraham that Sarah should give children suck? for I have borne him a son in his old age!
2. God’s test of Abraham’s devotion. And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Abraham, saying to him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go to the land of Moriah [Revelation of Jehovah], and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell thee.
3. Abraham’s obedience. Then Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his servants with him, and Isaac his son. And when he had split the wood for the burnt- offering, he arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his servants, Stay here with the ass, while I and the lad go yonder. And when we have worshipped, we will come back to you. Then Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they both went on together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father! and he said, Yes, my son. And he said, Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will himself provide the lamb for a burnt- offering. So they two went on together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Then Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
4. The divine approval. But the Messenger of Jehovah called to him from heaven, saying, Abraham, Abraham! and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do anything to him, for now I know that thou art one who feareth God, since thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. Then Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. Abraham therefore called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh [Jehovah provides], so that it is said to-day, In the mountain of Jehovah provision will be made.
5.Renewal of the promises to Abraham. And the Messenger of Jehovah called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, By myself have I sworn saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that I will surely bless thee, and I will make thine offspring as numerous as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, so that thy descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies, and all the nations of the earth shall ask for themselves a blessing like that of thy descendants, because thou hast obeyed my voice.
6. Return to Beer- aheba. So Abraham returned to his servants, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham dwelt in Beer-sheba.
I.TheInstitution of Human Sacrifice. This ancient story reflects the fact that the early Hebrews, like their Semitic kinsmen and neighbors, believed that the gift of their dearest possessions, and even the sacrifice of their children or relatives, were supremely acceptable to the Deity. Jephthah’s vow (§ XXXVIII), and Saul’s rash covenant (§ XLII, 5), which almost cost the life of his son Jonathan, are the most familiar historical illustrations of this false popular belief. The hideous institution of human sacrifice was clearly inherited by the Hebrews from their early Semitic ancestors. The earthen jars containing the bones of infants, which have been found in such large quantities in the foundations of the recently excavated Canaanite temples at Gezer and Taanach, are grim reminders of the horrible rites which the Israelites learned from the Palestinian peoples whom they conquered. References in the Old Testament indicate that child sacrifice was common among the Arameans (2 Kings 17:31), the Moabites (2 Kings 3:27), and the Ammonites (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:2). Later Greek writers state that the Carthaginians, to avert a great national calamity, sacrificed hundreds of the children of their noblest families. The Hebrew records also show that this horrible rite was at times practised in Judah even down to the days immediately preceding the exile, and especially during the reactionary reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:6; 2 Kings 23:10, Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 9:5).
II.Parallels to the Story. Philo has preserved a Phoenician tradition to the effect that an el or god to avert a great plague offered his first-born son as a burnt-offering to his father Uranus. The closest parallel to the biblical narrative is the familiar Greek story of Agamemnon’s offering of Iphigenia. In the Greek story a doe was substituted by Artemis for the human victim. In both the Hebrew and Greek stories the primary aim was evidently to teach that animal sacrifices were acceptable to the Deity instead of the human offerings presented by the more primitive and less enlightened nations.
III.Meaning of the Biblical Story. The account of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son is found only in the Northern Israelite prophetic narrative. It is, however, one of the most thrilling stories found in the Old Testament. To fully appreciate Abraham’s devotion to Jehovah it must be remembered that the patriarch’s strongest hopes and ambitions could be realized only through his son Isaac. To Abraham in his old age, after the child had grown to be a stalwart lad, the conviction came that to show his devotion he must sacrifice to Jehovah his only son. The scene of the sacrifice was to be the land of Moriah, which the later Jews identified with Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 3:1). The aged patriarch met unflinchingly this supreme test of his faith and obedience, for God’s favor meant more to him than his dearest possession and even the realization of the divine promises through his descendants. Simply and dramatically and with a pathos too deep for expression, the different acts in the great tragedy of Abraham’s life are described. His fatherly pity deterred him from making known to his son the true object of their mission. The lad’s innocent questions only added to the patriarch’s agony; but his faith in God never failed him. With calm assurance he performed each painful detail. The knife with which to slay his only son was in his uplifted hand, when there came to him a realization of the more acceptable way in which to express his devotion to his God. It was not the life of human beings that Israel’s God demanded but that spirit of personal sacrifice and obedience which the patriarch supremely exemplified. Rams and sheep and oxen sufficed, as symbols of loyalty and devotion to the Deity. The old law, “Every first-born is mine,” remained among Israel’s statutes; but the Hebrews in time realized that this command did not require the shedding of innocent human blood. The present story clearly represents one of the earliest protests of the enlightened prophets and lawgivers against the horrible rite of human sacrifice. The common people still believed that they could “offer the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul” (Micah 6:7); but in this early story, as in the later prophetic teaching, the higher conscience of the nation replied:
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; And what doth Jehovah require of thee, But to do justly, And to love mercy, And to walk humbly with thy God?
IV. Aim and Teachings. This story completes the early prophetic portrait of Abraham. His faith in God knows no limitation. Like the martyrs of later ages, he is ready, if it is the divine will, calmly and unflinchingly to march to the stake. His victories are victories over self, and his conquests are conquests of divine favor. By absolute obedience and trust he wins back, even in the midst of crowded, warring Canaan, that intimate relation with God and that divine favor which the first man and woman lost by their selfish, deliberate disobedience. With his eyes fixed solely on God and intent only in the future of the race, he is the first great, prophet-guide to lead men back to the true garden of Eden. Later traditions introduce less ideal elements, but in the stories of Abraham, preserved by the early prophets, we have a consistent portrait of a man after God’s own heart. It is a character, however, perfected through testing and struggle. The perfection is of a simple, human type, that not only inspires but also encourages others to strive for its realization. A noble ambition, courage, unselfishness, faith and absolute obedience to the divine will are its chief elements. These are also the qualities which make true servants of God in every age and land.