Thanks Bob...I needed that.

Peace

Orodo

Hi Orodo,
I believe that every word of the Bible is correct word for word from the Greek language. I believe to understand Genesis 22, you truly need to go back to study the life of Abraham.
Abraham went through a whole lot of testing from God + Abraham failed miserbly half the time.
Abraham was finally living fully for God at the time + his trust level was near God's level of trust. It is true as far as I can understand that Abraham truly believe that if he killed Isaac as a test of his faith that Isaac would be raised from the dead.
Did you know that Isaac would have been 30 years old at this time?!?
When Abraham was about to kill Isaac with the knife, an angel of the lord appeared- Abraham had to make himself stop the downward stroke with the knife. This also means that the Lord is never late, but He is seldom early. The Lord likes to test us to the very last second. I do not know why, that is the Lord's will for us.
Abraham's reward was in Gen22:17.
I will bless thee, + in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars in heaven + as the sand which is upon the sea shore; + thy seed shall possess the gates of his enemies.18 + in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice.

Let us compair to an earlier verse.

Genisis 17:2,4-8
Anyway because Abraham was obedient to the Lord, God blessed Abraham even more than He would have.

The reason this is gone over every year is that without any tests in life we as Christians would have no idea how our faith has grown.
1 last note. I do not think that Abraham would have killed his 1 + only son if he truly did not know that God would ressurrect him. Isaac was his future blessings to fill up nations.
I hope this gave you more answers than question. But I do not know, if you hunger more for God that would be much better. :p
WITH MUCH LOVE,
Kim

Wow, Orodo, you got a good thread going here. Lots of powerful comments, interpretations & stories.

Above all what Abraham was willing to do was a demonstration of faith, which in Romans chapter 4 is given as a model for faith in Christ and in fact is said there to have been faith in a Christ Who had not yet come to earth. One who would rise from death, Whom Abraham believed would raise his son Isaac also if need be.

"By faith Abraham when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, 'It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.' He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead--and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back." (Hebrews Chapter 11 Verses 17-19).

Abraham had faith in what God had promised and that if raising Isaac from the dead would insure that promise and further God's kingdom, so be it!

So to me what this story amounts to is not that God was asking Abraham to abusively sacrifice his son & believe everything would be ok. It is God asking Abraham to believe that one way or another
in the end he would not be sacrificing his son at all.

Also this story was a foreshadowing of God giving His Son Jesus Christ to die so that any who believed in Him would need not die but could know they would be resurrected.

Abraham didn't have to sacrifice his son, nor does anyone else. God did that for us!

Victor