The Testing of Abraham

Genesis 22

            For many people, this is one of the most disturbing passages in the Old Testament. I’ve had opportunity to teach it several times over the years, and one of the most common questions is, “How could God demand such a heinous thing from Abraham? How could He even ask that?” I have an answer, although I’m not sure it’s enough to get that question out of a person’s head. The answer is simply, “This was a test.”

            The Lord never intended for Abraham actually to kill his son, but He was testing whether Abraham would trust Him in even this. Reflect for a moment on Abraham’s history: he had the moment with Pharaoh (ch. 12); he fell into despair (ch. 15); there was the incident with Hagar (ch. 16); both he and Sarah laughed derisively (chs. 17-18); and there was a second incident in which he passed Sarah off as his sister (ch. 20). Abraham has a history of doubting that the Lord can or will keep the promise of a son. Has he learned his lesson? If God takes Isaac away, will Abraham still trust Him to keep His promise? The answer is, “Yes.” Abraham has learned to trust the Lord to keep His promise. The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way, “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Hebrews 11:19).

            I think 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 is relevant here. The apostle Paul writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” Paul had encountered opposition and danger in Ephesus that was unparalleled in his ministry. (N. T. Wright offers an interesting reconstruction in his book Paul: A Biography.) While that trouble is never described as a test, we can see it as such. The question is, “To whom was this test supposed to reveal something?” And the answer is, “It was supposed to reveal something to Paul.” He had to learn not to trust himself but the God who can even raise the dead.

            Similarly, the Lord didn’t need prove of where Abraham’s faith was; Abraham needed that proof. I find that helpful. When we undergo times of testing in our faith, it’s not that the Lord doubts us and wants us to prove ourselves. He know who we are. I think it’s helpful to thing that in those times the Lord is offering us the chance to clarify for ourselves where our trust really lies. I’m not saying it’s easy or pleasant: neither Abraham nor Paul were thrilled to undergo the test. Paul in particular speaks like a broken man; his testing had to crush all of his own self-confidence. But they came out to a place of peace, coming to a place of confidence that the Lord keeps His promises, no matter how long it takes, no matter how different it looks.