How do we see God in testing times? (Gen 22:1-19)

A young woman I know was excommunicated by her church as a teenager and lost her family and all her security. Another family took her in, yet she could have been scarred for life and never gone near Christians or God again. However, she has grown into a mature Christian with a gentle wisdom that is used today in God’s service. I also know of others who have gone through terrible suffering and lost all faith in a loving God who cares about them. Secular people, of course, talk about faith as if it were a crutch dropped at the door by a divine postman, so you either had it or you did not but without any choice in the matter. ‘How wonderful that you have faith’, they gush, never thinking that belief in a loving and all-powerful God can make suffering harder to bear because we may wonder if He didn’t have the power to help us or if He simply didn’t care. So, how do we see God when we live through difficult times?

Abraham’s obedience

Reading Abraham’s story, we may marvel at his obedience. He already had to let go of one much-loved son (Ishmael), but now God is asking for his other son. How confusing that he should need to sacrifice the very person through whom God has promised many descendants! Yet, when God calls him, he responds with the words of a willing servant, ‘Here I am’ (Gen 22:1). God’s description of Isaac is a progression going from the general ‘your son’ to his specific name. Jewish interpretation imagines this as a dialogue. God asks for Abraham’s son, his only son, and the patriarch interpolates, ‘But I have two sons, Lord.’ God then specifies ‘the one you love’ and Abraham responds, ‘But I love them both’ and then the axe drops, ‘Isaac’ (Gen 22:2). The narrative is terse in the extreme without any detail of Abraham’s inner world and that makes the pathos even starker. What pain, even despair he may have felt! Yet, we only hear of his actions that he rose early in the morning (Gen 22:3 cf. Gen 21:14), which indicates his firm commitment. There is no procrastination or hesitation.

Abraham’s understanding of God

How then does Abraham see God? His interactions with the young men and with Isaac can be regarded as a stalling technique (Gen 22:5, 7-8), or they may express his faith (God can even bring his son back from the dead; He will provide, lit. ‘see [to]’ a sacrifice). However, his naming of the place afterwards ‘the LORD will provide’ (Yahweh yireh, ‘the God who sees’; Gen 22:14) suggests that this is a deep-felt conviction. Thus, Abraham’s obedience is not offered with gritted teeth and grim determination looking towards a God who places harsh demands on His followers and has little compassion for their consequent suffering, but the One who provides in time of need. In fact, the idea of God’s provision recurs four times.[1] Abraham affirms it to Isaac (Gen 22:8) and names the place accordingly (v.14). This is reinforced in the narrator’s comment about the provision on ‘the mount of the LORD’ (v.14), which is to be identified with Jerusalem and the temple.[2] Finally, the name ‘Moriah’ is symbolic (there is no such geographical place known; Gen 22:2) and the word may be derived from ‘seeing’. In other words, Abraham is to sacrifice Isaac in the land of ‘seeing’ (i.e. provision). Thus, the God who asks for our all is also the God who provides.

The God who provides

When I was on the threshold of making a commitment to God, I remember taking stock and thinking of all the things that the Lord might require of me. As I considered various scenarios, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. I had no idea if I could really give up all for God and told Him so. But as I prayed, the thought came to me that even my obedience was enabled by God; He could give me the strength to do His will. God enables us not only to enter His kingdom by grace, but our ongoing commitment is by grace, too. The God we serve is the One who provides what we need to face challenges, testing times and respond to Him in faithfulness.

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[1] I am indebted to Walter Moberly, who draws attention to this repetition and its significance. The Bible, Theology and Faith: A Study of Abraham and Jesus (Cambridge: CUP, 2000), 107-112.

[2] Ibid., 112.

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