What Kind of God is He?

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Recommended: The life and times of Abraham

God puts trials upon everyone, and in Genesis twenty-two he sets Abraham out on his own journey, to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. After all the struggle Abraham and Sarah had to conceive the child, God decides that the boy should be sacrificed to him. And without an even a moment of procrastination or a murmur of woe (Gen 22:3) the man sets off to do God’s bidding. What sort of God would ask a loyal man such as Abraham to do this appalling deed? I believe firmly, that God did not do this so that Abraham would be deprived of the wonders of his offspring, or to have a human burnt offering for his own good, but to gain our trust and show how trustworthy he is. And also to show that if we just listen to what he has to say that we too, will have everything “provided” for us when urgent times come.

He trusted in Adam and Eve, whose adversity started when they turned their ears away from Him and ate the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:6). Or in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain chooses not to listen to God and committed homicide against his brother Abel (Gen 4:8) and is then sent out to Nod. Yet again, another misfortune happened when Lot’s wife ignored the commands of the Lord and looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, only to be turned into a pillar of salt (Gen 19:26). All these stories show how much God trusts in humanity but we either do not listen to his wishes or trust in Him, and because of this disobedience there are severe penalties. And this trend only continues throughout the bible.

Abraham, on the other hand, conceded to his rules and does as he is told without even the slightest hesitation. He made his slow venture up the mountain, to the exact place God had shown him, and, builds the altar then ties his son up and getting him ready for the sacrificing (Gen 22:9). But at this point the Lord stopped him. Without shame, for he did as he was told, he announced “Here I am” (Gen 22 :11). This is unlike Adam whom has to hide himself for going against the Lords will earlier in chapter three of Genesis. And unlike in chapter three, instead of getting reprimanded and punished, Abraham is blessed by the Lord (Gen 22 :16-19), for he did what he was told even though it was a great loss in his family.

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