Delivered by Amy Higgins on July 9, 2023.

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14

The door it opened slowly
My father he came in
I was nine years old
And he stood so tall above me
Blue eyes they were shining
And his voice was very cold
Said, “I’ve had a vision
And you know I’m strong and holy
I must do what I’ve been told.”
So he started up the mountain
I was running, he was walking
And his ax was made of gold

Story of Isaac lyrics © Sony/atv Songs Llc, Leonard Cohen Stranger Music Inc., Sony Atv Music Publishing Acquisition Inc

That is the first verse of the song “Story of Isaac” by Leonard Cohen. This is not an easy story and as the Rev. Taylor Mertins recently said on the Strangely Warmed podcast, this is a story that does not get used in VBS curriculum. Can you imagine the questions during that story time? It can be and should be disturbing in some regard for any of us. How could God ask such a thing of a parent? How could any good parent go through with it?

God tested Abraham. That is how the story begins. And in the overall story of Abraham, this is the last of the ten trials of Abraham. God has promised Abraham he will be the father of the nations but, he has banished Ishmael to the wilderness and left him for dead and now he is to offer his only remaining son as a burnt sacrifice. There is no explanation in any of the instructions. What could Abraham be thinking and why would he so willingly go along with it?

Some theologians, some commentaries on the lectionary look at the history, the context of Abraham’s time. And we should consider that at this time in Mesopotamia there are multiple gods, not just the one and only God Abraham comes to know. And even as Abraham develops a relationship with El Shaddai, the Almighty, he may not be monotheistic, that is believing in one and only one god, but he may practice monolatry, which means believing there is more than one god but, that there is one god that is above all the others. If we consider this to be true, then an important part of Abraham’s overall story, his journey of faith and relationship with God the Almighty is learning to hear God’s voice. And learning to hear God’s voice involves unlearning listening to the voices of other gods. How well do we do that ourselves? 

In May 2022, Cameron Merrill wrote an article the morning after the mass shooting at Uvalde Elementary School which killed 19 children and two adults and in that article, he considers that Abraham’s actions in binding Isaac to the altar may not be the ultimate act of truest faith but rather a failure of faith. And in the binding of our children today, we too fail our test. Merrill writes, “We have been put to the test, and we are clearly failing…The gods of the nations, with names like “freedom” and “security” keep calling out to us to offer our children as entire offerings…” He may be talking about shootings and schools but, this is in nearly every aspect of life; in our country and our Church. How often do we listen to the gods of the nations and tell ourselves we are following the Lord? Do we know the difference anymore between the voice of the god of politics, the god of greed, the god of fear and phobia and the true voice of El Shaddai, the Almighty? God, who calls us not just to love all His children no matter who they are or how they may be different than us.

As I studied this passage, I could not help but think that yes, Abraham is willing to kill his son but, Isaac is not just Abraham’s son; he is God’s child. Abraham is willing to kill God’s child and offer him as a burnt sacrifice to God. Where, in Abraham’s righteousness, does it give him the right to sacrifice someone else’s child for his own sake? What gives us the right? And why do we remain convinced it is what God wants? Remember God’s words to an unrepentant Israel in Hosea Chapter Six? “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” And as Rev. Phil Nevard, a minister of the United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom pointed out, God made everything so what would be the point of giving something back to him? All of it already belongs to God. Not only that, why would God want us to harm or destroy anything of His creation to appease him? Considering the belief in other gods in Abraham’s time, this practice is more in line with worship of those gods. And Isaiah Chapter 1 tells us, “The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me? says the Lord…who has asked this of you? Stop bringing meaningless offerings!” And meaningless is the key here.

Many draw a parallel between the sacrifice of Jesus and the offering of Isaac for sacrifice to make sense of this story. We can assume Abraham believed he was sacrificing Isaac to please God however, God stops it; He does not want it. We know God could have stopped Jesus’ crucifixion but, did not. We should not sacrifice anyone to please God. And although Jesus died for us, to believe sacrificing any more of God’s children to ensure our own salvation is to listen to a false god. Creating sacrificial lambs and placing them on the altars we build will never save us.

Abraham never attempted to sacrifice anyone else after this encounter. We too, must discern the voice of God from the false gods that surround us so that we may leave our altars, come down from our mountains, and put away our knives. Abraham learned his lesson. Will we?