The Morality of Abraham and Isaac

 

From time to time, a skeptic will raise the topic of Abraham and Isaac.  They question the morality of a God who would demand the sacrifice of Abraham’s son.  Usually, they start their question like this:

“Would you do anything God commanded you?  Even if he asks you to kill your own son?”

This is one of those ‘gotcha’ moments, since they think either answer is inappropriate.  But in truth, it’s not hard to answer.  The remainder of the conversation might go something like the following:

“Yes, I would do whatever God asks of me.”

“Then you’d kill your own son?”

“No, I wouldn’t kill my own son.”

“Then you’re saying that you WOULDN’T do what God commanded?”

“I didn’t say that.  I said that I wouldn’t kill my own son.  But God would never demand that I kill my own son.”

“But He demanded that Abraham kill Isaac.”

“No, God didn’t demand that.  In fact, God couldn’t demand that because it would violate His nature.  God can’t demand that which is immoral.”

And while it’s true that God can’t violate His own nature, the problem remains.  God did demand that Abraham sacrifice Isaac.  Or did He?  In his book The God Who Is There, D A Carson gives a very helpful explanation to this troubling incident in Genesis.  The whole book is well worth reading.  But I’ve excerpted the following as a way to help in case a skeptic confronts you on this topic.  It has been very instructive to me, and it’s allowed me to share this same answer with others.

I hope it benefits you too.

"Now, you might begin by asking, 'What kind of God wants someone to sacrifice his own son?'  In the pagan religions of the time, it was not all that uncommon for parents to sacrifice their own sons.  One particular pagan god called Moloch was pictured as holding a big stone pot in its hands, and a fire would be built under the pot until it was glowing red.  Parents would sometimes throw their screaming children into this pot.  That was not all that uncommon.  It was a mark of devotion.  But the whole point of this account is that this is NOT what God wants.  How can you possibly please God, the God of the Bible, by destroying your children?

 

"In one sense we should see this as a kind of test in line with the cultural norms of the day: 'Do you have the kind of trust in me that the pagans seem to have in their gods - their false, murderous gods to whom they are willing to sacrifice their own sons?'  But when push comes to shove, God says, in effect, 'Don't you understand?  I provide the sacrifice!  How can you ever please me by sacrificing your own sons?'  Just as in Genesis 15 God alone walks down the bloody alleyway and takes the curse of the covenant on himself, so here He provides the sacrifice.  Prohibition of child sacrifice was in due course enshrined in law in the Old Testament.  Child sacrifice was to be seen as an idolatrous crime, regardless of the cultural pressures of the day.  The God who is there does not demand that we sacrifice our children; instead, in sovereign grace He provides a sacrifice.  What he wants of us is that we turn to him wholly and say in effect, 'You are God.  You are Lord.  You are sovereign.  I am dependent upon you.  I need you.  I will trust you.  I will obey you.'"

 

                - page 53, The God Who Is There by D.A. Carson