Genesis 22.1-14: Ligation of Isaac
The story of the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham had no doubt made the sensational headlines, if they had existed. If we read this text as a historical event, like the film narrated by an outside observer, while there are many disturbing elements, questioning: who is this God promised Abraham descendants so numerous that it could not be counted ( Gen. 16.10 ), and claiming that only son in sacrifice? Abraham obeyed, without warning his pain, without revolt, without even attempting to "negotiate". And Sarah, the mother, where was she? Is largely absent from this narrative. It seems obvious that parents would have been horrified by such remarks, even from God.
History Continues: Isaac asks his father where the lamb for the sacrifice. His father replied: "My son, God will provide himself ..." ( Gen. 8.22) In other words, he replied: Shut up and walk! Happens when Abraham tied his only son and it does not struggle, he does not fight, he does not try to escape ... And finally, as in fairy tales, at the supreme moment, at the height of suspense, a angel angel descends from heaven and stopped Abraham in his gesture. And, like magic, there is a ram that nobody noticed or heard before, which will serve as a holocaust.
You see, trying to reconstruct this story, it is plagued by inconsistencies, because the meaning of the text is not to find in an accurate description of what actually happened, but in an allegory.
In this story, tragic at first glance, there is one constant: the word of God. The word of God addressed to men. Yahweh, the God of Abraham, stoops to speak to his servant, and it responds, it starts listening. It is also through the speech, not by the gesture, the angel stops the father's arms about to sacrifice his son. So what else God is at the heart of humanity by a word that starts, calling to leave his certainty and comfort. to endanger. Presence is manifested through the word addressed to men.
Contrary to the gods of neighboring peoples, Yahweh is not a God who demands blood, which does not delight in fresh meat. He is the God of life is the source of life. Abraham went to Moriah with the conviction to return alone, and now he returns with his son alive. Abraham put his faith in this God, convinced that the destiny of every man is placed in His hands. If the Lord asks Isaac as a sacrifice is that it falls within the plan He has for Abraham and his son and the man must obey, not to thwart the will of God. "God will provide" answered Abraham.
In this text, it also refers to a long march of three days, inhabited by death. During this march, Abraham knows he is approaching, a little more at every step of the death of his son. He did not give up, he does not try to flee. He finds an excuse to let the servants at the foot of the mountain ( Gen. 22.4-5).
In this period of Lent, leading us inexorably to Friday, there's also this death march. Like Abraham, Jesus the only Son of God, walking out to meet death, a shameful death, for, like Isaac, he did nothing to deserve such a fate. Unlike the text of Genesis, there will be no savior angel to come and stop the agony of Christ ... In any case, not before Easter morning.
God, our God is a God of life! It is he who, by his word, our everyday lives and joined us, also and especially in the darkest moments of our existence. God put Abraham to the test not so much to play with his faith, but to prove that He, the Lord his God was with him and that he had the power to fulfill his promises, that the promised seed would not annihilated in the first generation. But, putting all his trust in this God, Abraham had a choice of life, source of life.
In conclusion, ligation of Isaac, because there was no human sacrifice, shows us how God is tied to the lives of his children, how it provides for our failings, to Our empty. As Abraham heard the voice of the angel and kept his arm raised, we too have to listen, listen to the messenger of God, that He places in our path. While all seems lost, a foregone conclusion, here comes a new twist to an unexpected turn in life! Life. God is Life, there is one who has the power to give life, a life that has meaning. Life. God is the one who wakes his son on Easter morning, proving that death will never be stronger.
Amen.
Image source: personal photo (c) in December 2007.
