by Yerusalyim 15 Replies latest jw friends
Paul says in Hebrews that Abraham reckoned that God would raise Issac from the dead, if God had permitted Abraham to go ahead with the sacrifice. If Abraham knew this, Issac must have as well. They weren't silent when walking up to Mt. Moriah.
The event of Abraham offering up Issac happened BEFORE a nation of Israel was formed, and a symbolic way of showing mankind what God was going to do for us, in providing his son, whose life was really sacrificed.
MusicmanCA came the closest to what I beleive is the answer to this quandry. The test wasn't to prove something to God, but rather to prove to Abraham the depth of his faith. To an extent it was for Issac as well. Issac knew what was going to happen and was obedient. This was an act of faith from both Abraham and Issac. Thus James is proven right, Faith, without works doesn't have power. The works that accompany faith are not to prove anything to God, but rather, to us. It also foreshadowed that God DID infact sacrafice HIS Son for us. Jesus is the ultimate in the action of faith. Obedient to the cross because of His faith.
Just a thought.
Yeru who wishes he had neat power tools so my signature would look COOL
YERUSALYIM
There is more of heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosphy, Horatio.
Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
:The test wasn't for God to see what would happen, but rather it was a lesson for Abraham.
What lesson would that be? That he wouldn't think twice about hacking up and roasting the only son of his old age because some vainglorious tribal God asked him to do so?
If that tribal God was so smart, why did he need to "test" Abram at all? He should have known beforehand what Abram would do. If he knew beforehand what Abram would do, the whole exercise was a waste of time and no doubt scared the crap out of Isaac. So what was the point except to shave a few years off of Isaac's life due to the sheer terror he must have had. If that God didn't know beforehand, that God is not all-knowing.
Therefore, that story is bogus.
Farkel
Farkel,
Yes, GOD knew what Abraham would do, but Abraham didn't know what he would do until he was about to go through with it.
By the way, LOVE your picture.
Yeru
YERUSALYIM
There is more of heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosphy, Horatio.
Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
I think everyone here has missed the point to this story. . .
This account foreshadows and supports the ambivalence constantly expressed by the WT.
First god tells Abraham to perform a blood sacrifice, then later he tells Israel to abstain from such sacrifices as were customary to Marduuk and Baal. . .
kinda makes you wonder where they got the idea in the first place, no?
CHUCK
yerusalyim,
well said.
how about thinking on this, what if it was not so much a test, as an experience. both father and son would have been profoundly changed by the experience. what if what god was doing was changing his people, into what thay could not become with out knowing the extent of there faith. maby he was also, preparing them to recieve the christ.
in a test your knowledge is not greater than it was before the test. a test only lets the ones who need to know what the limits of the knowledge, the one tested already posess. i think this would also apply to a test of faith.
the ideas and opinions expressed in this post do not necessiarly represent those of the WTB&TS inc. or any of it's subsidiary corporations.
