DWQA QuestionsCategory: ReligionsA viewer asks: “I’m wondering now about the iconic biblical sacrifice that Abraham was asked to make of his beloved son Isaac by God back in the time of the Book of Genesis. Isaac was a son born late in life by our standards at least. According to Scriptures, his wife Rebekah bore Isaac at the age of 99. This seems to be yet another example of the Dark Alliance working against humanity to confuse about the nature of the loving God, but the people of faith seem to twist themselves into virtual pretzels explaining how this was necessary to show true faith in God. Are they right, and did Creator really ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?”
Nicola Staff asked 4 years ago
This is a story that does serve to address the issue of faith and the importance to have strong belief in order to have a true partnership with Creator. It is unfortunate that such an extreme injunction has been recorded for all time in this way, because to the modern era it seems quite non-divine to order up a murder to prove fealty with regard to the divine partnership. So this was done for effect and with a knowing that no death would happen, so it constituted a test of faith to make the point that what is needed oftentimes to be in divine alignment and fully empowered as a divine human is a readiness and a willingness to do whatever might be required, no matter how seemingly drastic and extreme a self-sacrifice might be required. There are many examples where people have surrendered their own lives to spare the life of another—that is more in keeping with the nature of staying in divine alignment under extreme circumstances and the creation of a blessing in disguise that is difficult for a non-believer to understand. In this case, it was the ordering up of the loss of a cherished offspring as the test of faith which, as parents can appreciate, represents an even greater personal loss than one’s own life, because parental love is so very strong and the divine within humans will often make them willing to sacrifice themselves to save another. That is why this exchange was used to illustrate the most dramatic of possible demands of loyalty and trust, but keep in mind this was not enacted, it was, in effect, a kind of thought experiment and as such, served as a lesson and a growth opportunity for those involved and who witnessed it.