“Yet Abraham himself came from a troubled family – his father, who had abandoned the true worship of God, tried to have Abraham sacrificed to false gods.”
Come Follow Me Curriculum
And you thought your parents were bad. They ever try to sacrifice you to false gods?
When I read that above quote, I thought about something I’d never connected in my mind before.
The story of Abraham almost sacrificing his son Isaac is a well-known biblical story of true faith. What I’d never connected with this, though, was the almost sacrifice of Abraham by his father many years prior.
There’s a lot to unravel there.
What occurred to me was this: Not only was this an unbearably difficult test Abraham was given; to sacrifice and kill his most precious, only son. It also, likely, spurred up painful memories of when Abraham’s father offered him as a sacrifice. (If all things are a type and a shadow of greater things, and Abraham represents God in sacrificing His only begotten son, what does this say about God?)
In that moment, with the added guilt and pain of losing his precious son, did Abraham also wonder about the damage he was causing his son? If by some miracle Isaac surived, how would he feel about almost being sacrificed? Abraham went through the same with his father.
Another way to think about this – Abraham’s father is demonized for his part in almost sacrificing his son. Abraham is revered for his almost role in sacrificing his son. What is the difference? Well, the difference, I assume, is the intent, the heart, and the being to whom the sacrifice was being offered.
But how, in that moment, did Abraham have such faith, such trust, such knowledge, such understanding to know he was doing the right thing and sacrificing his son to the right God? Didn’t his father believe the same thing once upon a time?
This is one of those blog posts where I don’t have answers to my own questions. This is something I will have to ponder upon, research, and think more about.
If anyone has comments or can enlighten me, please do.
No Coincidences 
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