THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
Genesis 22.1 to 19
=Interpretation.= The story of the _'Akedah_, that is the intended
sacrifice of Isaac, represents the supreme test to which Abraham's
faith was put. After Ishmael has been sent away and Isaac has been
definitely declared to be the son of promise, Abraham is commanded
by God to sacrifice Isaac. The test to Abraham's faith is not merely
of the willingness to sacrifice sentiment and affection in obedience
to God, but this latest command is a direct contradiction of God's
previous words to him and yet he obeys.
The story can only be understood fully in the light of the religious
customs of Abraham's day, according to which human sacrifice was not
uncommon. (See II Kings 3. 27, also 21. 6, 23. 10 and Jeremiah 32.
35.) Viewed in this light God's asking Abraham to sacrifice his son
meant nothing which to a contemporary of Abraham would have seemed
essentially inconsistent with the divine character. It is God's
forbidding the consummation of this act which is the innovation, so
that this lesson teaches in a narrative form the same idea which
later received its legal formulation in Leviticus 18. 21 and 20.
2-5. The chapter has therefore a twofold message; (1) that to be
the elect of God requires of us the willingness to sacrifice any
personal desire and even natural affection in obedience to him, and
(2) that God's will, to which He claims obedience, is a benevolent
one and does not demand or desire human sacrifice.
The idea that God does not desire human sacrifice was a great moral
discovery and this narrative in our Bible gives us an interesting
illustration of how such new spiritual insights in general are born;
namely through the willingness to commit ourselves completely to
whatever vision of truth is ours at the time. It was because Abraham
was willing to sacrifice Isaac in accordance with his previous
sense of what duty demanded of him, that this new revelation of
God's will as opposed to human sacrifice was granted him. Had he,
while sharing with his contemporaries the belief in the legitimacy
of human sacrifice, hesitated to live up to this idea when it
involved suffering for himself, he would never have been given
the understanding that God does not desire human sacrifice. Our
standards of morality are at all times imperfect, but it is only
those who commit themselves without reservation to whatever standard
they really hold that are the discoverers of new moral truths.
The part that Isaac played in the incident is but vaguely suggested
in the Biblical narrative. The _agadic_ elaborations of the story
frequently represent Isaac as knowing what fate was intended for
him and fully acquiescing in it. That Isaac probably had his
misgivings is suggested by the question, "Behold the fire and the
wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" At all events
he must have known what Abraham's purpose with regard to him was
when he was being bound to the altar and, as the narrative records
no protest, the Rabbinic conception of the part Isaac played is
not contradictory to the Biblical story. The teacher is therefore
justified in imparting the story in a way which would imply that
Isaac lent himself willingly to Abraham's designs regarding him.
In the substitution of the ram for Isaac one gets a glimpse into the
significance of animal sacrifice. It probably meant to the ancients
a symbolic expression of the recognition that God had the right
to demand the sacrifice of human life in his service and that it
was a sign of his love and grace that no such demand was made. It
suggests the important role that animal sacrifice played in history
in weaning mankind from the habit of human sacrifice.
=Aim.= The aim of this lesson is to make the child feel that as a
son of Abraham his love for God should be such that, like Abraham,
he should be willing to make any sacrifice that his religion may
demand of him. The traditional association of the _shofar_ on Rosh
ha-Shanah with the Ram of the Akedah suggests that this story may be
used to give meaning to the New Year celebration.
=Suggestions to the teacher.= The pathos of this narrative is so
deep and intense that many teachers, laboring under the notion so
common in our day that children should be reared only on what is
cheerful and bright and be kept far from a knowledge of any of the
more tragic aspects of life, would like to omit teaching it to
children all together. When therefore the curriculum of the school
requires them to teach it, they tell the story in as matter of
fact a manner as possible and seem anxious to get over it. This
is a mistake however, for children have always had a fondness for
stories containing something of the tragic, even of the weird and
uncanny, as witness the popularity of Little Red Riding Hood, and
the story of the Akedah is one which can, by very reason of what
to our modern mind appeals as weird, impress its lesson on the
child's imagination. To pass over it slightingly is to spoil what
is undoubtedly the climax of the whole Abraham story and ignore one
of the best opportunities of deeply impressing the child with the
lesson of faith, obedience and self sacrifice.
Begin the lesson by speaking of Abraham's love for Isaac, now
the only son that was left him and of the hopes he cherished of
seeing him grow up to be a great man according to God's promise.
Then tell how God resolved to test Abraham's obedience by seeing
whether he would be willing to give up that which he loved most if
so commanded. Before telling of God's command to sacrifice Isaac
remind the child of the prevalent custom of animal sacrifice which
he had heard of in connection with Cain and Noah. The fact of the
general prevalence of human sacrifice at that time should not be
taught the child as it will be impossible for him to comprehend
such a practice and as the story only gains in force for him by
making God's demand of Abraham appear extraordinary. We need not
scruple that we are violating the Biblical moral in this instance,
since the Bible's denunciation of human sacrifice is not a moral
that the child has need of. A reference to animal sacrifice will
therefore suffice to make comprehensible the command to sacrifice
Isaac. All the conversation in this story should be quoted in the
language of the Bible, not omitting Isaac's pathetic query, "Behold
the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?"
And Abraham's evasive answer, "God will provide Himself the lamb
for a burnt-offering, my son". In telling how Isaac was bound to
the altar emphasize the fact that he did not rebel although he knew
now that he was to be the sacrifice, because of his obedience to
God and his father and his confidence in them. When telling how the
ram was found caught by its horns in the bushes, ask, "How many
of you have ever seen a ram's horn?" There will probably be no
response. Then show the class a _shofar_ or a picture of one and
ask, "What is this?" The answer will be "a _shofar_". Then continue;
"Well, a _shofar_ is the horn of a ram. When we hear the _shofar_
blown on Rosh ha-Shanah it should remind us of this ram and of how
Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac and Isaac was willing to be
sacrificed when God commanded, and we should think of how we, who
are sons of Abraham and Isaac, must be willing also to obey God and
our parents in everything even if it should be very hard to do so,
even if it should cost us our life." In order to make sure that
the child has understood the motives of the story the following
questions may be asked in reviewing it: 1. When God asked Abraham
to sacrifice Isaac, did he really want him to kill his son? 2. Why
did God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? 3. When Abraham tied Isaac
to the altar did Isaac rebel against his father? When we hear the
_shofar_ blown on Rosh ha-Shanah what should we think of?