After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." ---Genesis 22:1-2
This story always astounded me.
My paraphrase (seriously, go back and read it in the Bible).
God: “Abraham, you are going to have a son.”
Abraham: “No way.”
God: “Yes, you are.”
<the son is born>
Abraham: “Woo-hoo!”
God: “Now go kill him.”
I beg your pardon…?
Yeah, I mentioned this story in the blog “I like the way you think, Abe.” but I was recently shown a little more insight into this passage.
My son Cade just lost his first tooth. He planned on springing a trap to catch the Tooth Fairy and “throw her in the bathtub”. Don’t ask, I don’t know.
Well, she took the tooth and left him 4 quarters and a note expressing her dismay at his nefarious plot. Too bad he’s a sound sleeper. She was in and out without him waking. Amazingly, since she is a 215 pound dude. (We bear a resemblance.)
Those quarters were burning a hole in his pocket, along with the other change he had. He was
longing for a trip to the Dollar Store, a place that makes Cade feel like Donald Trump. He can
walk in there and just buy anything!
While we were in there, I asked him, “Cade, would you buy something for Daddy?” He thought for a second…
“Sure! I’ll buy you something! What do you want?”
I replied, “I really don’t want anything, I just wanted to know that you were willing to do it.”
Then it hit me. Right there by the terrible coloring books and the horrible greeting cards. Abraham. God tested him.
But God knew what was already in Abe‘s heart, right?
Yeah, maybe that test was so Abraham would learn what was in Abe‘s heart, too.
p.s. - Getting someone a card from the Dollar Store is one step away from telling them that they are dead to you.