Questions:
Every time I used to read the story of Abraham, I always had heartfelt admiration for his great faith in God. When God demanded that Abraham give his only beloved son to God as a burnt sacrifice, he was able to unconditionally submit to God’s plan and do as God commanded. However, what I didn’t understand was this: what was the intention behind God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?
Answer:
Afterward, I found the answer in a book. I’d like to share two passages from the book: “When Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son, were his actions seen by God? They were. The entire process—from the start, when God asked that Abraham sacrifice Isaac, to when Abraham actually raised his knife to slay his son—showed God the heart of Abraham, and regardless of his former foolishness, ignorance, and misunderstanding of God, at that time Abraham’s heart for God was true, and honest, and he truly was going to return Isaac, the son given to him by God, back to God. In him, God saw obedience—the very obedience that He desired.”
“To man, God does much that is incomprehensible and even incredible. When God wishes to orchestrate someone, this orchestration is often at odds with man’s conceptions, and incomprehensible to him, yet it is precisely this dissonance and incomprehensibility that are God’s trial and test of man. Abraham, meanwhile, was able to demonstrate the obedience to God within himself, which was the most fundamental condition of his being able to satisfy God’s requirement. … At the moment that Abraham lifted up his knife to slay Isaac, did God stop him? God did not let Abraham offer Isaac, for God simply had no intention of taking Isaac’s life. Thus, God stopped Abraham just in time. For God, Abraham’s obedience had already passed the test, what he did was sufficient, and God had already seen the outcome of what He intended to do. Was this outcome satisfactory to God? It can be said that this outcome was satisfactory to God, that it was what God wanted, and was what God had longed to see. Is this true? Although, in different contexts, God uses different ways of testing each person, in Abraham God saw what He wanted, He saw that Abraham’s heart was true, and that his obedience was unconditional, and it was precisely this ‘unconditional’ that God desired.”
From these words, I understood that what God wanted all along was for people to be sincere toward Him. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, certainly not because He wanted Abraham to kill his son, but rather because He wanted to use this command to test Abraham, to see whether Abraham would truly trust in and obey God. Abraham’s son Isaac was given to him when he was 100 years old, so we can imagine how much he loved him. We could even say that Abraham considered Isaac’s life more important than his own. Yet when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham didn’t complain to God, nor did he ask Him to explain His reasons, even though his heart was aching. Abraham knew Isaac was a gift from God. If God now wanted him to make a sacrifice, Abraham knew he must obey. Thus without hesitation, Abraham took Isaac to the place where burnt offerings were made. He raised his knife ready to return Isaac to God. However, God could now see Abraham’s sincerity and obedience, so at that moment, He stopped him, gave him His blessings, and promised that his descendants would become a great nation. Just as it is written in the Bible: “By Myself have I sworn, said Jehovah, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:16–18). I saw in God’s blessing of and promise to Abraham the delight God feels when people are sincere toward Him. He is delighted when people come before Him without conditions, and worship and obey Him without demanding something in return.
Seeing how God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, I also understood God’s earnest intention in setting difficulties before us and subjecting us to trials. Looking from the outside, these difficulties and refinements cause us physical pain. However, it is with these difficulties and trials that God tests whether we are sincere toward Him, removes the impurities within us, and enables us to truly submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements and stand and bear witness to God. Therefore, when we encounter difficulties and trials, we should follow Abraham’s example—respect God’s greatness and come to God’s words and all His earthly arrangements with a pure, loyal and obedient heart. We should not complain to God but instead should take our place as created beings before the Lord of creation and stand and bear witness to God. Only in this way can we receive God’s approval.
