Bible Study for Third Sunday after Pentecost Week of June 22, 2020
Genesis 22:1:14
This reading from the Hebrew Bible is perhaps one of the most well-known and certainly among the least understood. We simply don’t know what to make of the story of God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Before we turn to this text specifically, a bit of background may be helpful. While it is customary to think of Moses as the author of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, that quite surely is not the case. Best scholarship teaches that these are better understood as stories and accounts handed down through the generations by means of oral tradition and then compiled into one “book” during or shortly after the Babylonian Exile. We can see variety of voices when we look at Genesis 1 and 2. There we find the accounts of the Creation. Please note Genesis 1:26-27 which tells of the creation of humankind and then Genesis 2:7 and 2:22 which also tells of God’s creation of Adam and Eve. You can see the different styles here which reflect that these come from different perspectives, different oral traditions. Remember that the Pentateuch, and Genesis specifically, is not to be read as a history. Rather it recounts the story of God and God’s relationship with God’s people. This is an important lens, particularly for this Bible story.
And, as we approach this significant story, it may be helpful once again to take a look at the background and context of this forbear of our faith, Abraham.
- Genesis 12 – when he was 75 years old, Abraham (then, Abram) was called by God to leave his homeland of Haran and go to the land that God would show him and God promised that Abram would be the leader of a great people.
- Genesis 12-14 – we learn more about the journeys of Abram and Sarai and his nephew Lot throughout what we now understand as the Mid-East.
- Genesis 15:1-6 – God creates covenant with Abram; Abram is promised that his descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky; yet, Abram in his old age thinks that he will have to look to Eliezer, who is chief servant of his household to be his heir.
- Genesis 16 – Sarai has doubts about how it is that God will keep God’s promises and develops Plan B – her servant Hagar will bear offspring for Abram.
- Genesis 17 – when Abram was 99 years old, God reiterated his promise that Abram would be the father of a multitude of people; and established circumcision as a sign of the covenant. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah. All of the men in his household were circumcised including Ishmael who was 13 years old.
- Genesis 18 – the Lord visited Abraham and Sarah at Mamre and promised again the birth of a son the next year and Sarah laughed.
- Genesis 21 – Isaac is born; Hagar and Ishmael cast out.
Read Genesis 22:1-14 from your Bible and read it in this paraphrase, The Message Bible (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+22%3A1-14&version=MSG). List the questions that come to your mind. This is a perplexing section of Scripture; don’t be afraid of being puzzled or confused.
Imagine the travel of Abraham and Isaac and the two servants for three days as they had left home to go to the place called Moriah. We don’t know how old Isaac was but most think that he was likely a teen-ager or a young man. What questions may have been going through Abraham’s mind? Isaac’s? What might the servants have wondered?
As you look over the last several chapters in Genesis about God’s relationship with Abraham, where do you see Abraham’s faith? Look at the places where his faith may seem to be wavering.
What do you think it means that God tested Abraham (verse 1)? Was the testing for Abraham’s benefit kind of like in swimming lessons when we are brought to the diving board for the first time? Or is it for God to see and learn about Abraham, this one whom God chose for a unique covenantal relationship by which all the earth would be blessed (verse 12 – “now I know that you fear God”)?
Where in your life have you felt tested? Where is it that you have experienced God’s provision. (Note: there is an interesting word play in the Hebrew. The word translated as “provide” can also be understood as “see to.” Verse 14b: On the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.)
Think about God’s call to Abraham to take his only son, the one he loved. Think about Isaac carrying the wood for the sacrifice. Read John 3:16 and Mark 15:21. What do you think about this possible foreshadowing of the crucifixion of Jesus?
Let us pray: Holy God, sometimes I feel so bold in my faith and sometimes I feel so weak. Sometimes I am certain of what you have asked of me and sometimes I am perplexed. As I journey to a place of challenge, I beseech you to show me the way and to show me what it is that you provide. All this for the sake of your Son, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen
