One of the most perplexing stories in the Bible is when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Some people actually use this story to disprove the God of the Bible. They say, “a loving God would never ask someone to do such a thing!” And it does seem cruel for God to ask Abraham to sacrifice the very son God had promised to give him, until you really see what God was doing.
Understanding the location this story takes place in is vital to understanding what’s really happening here. Abraham built an altar and prepared to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Morriah. This mountain overlooked a
valley called the Valley of Gehenna. And at the time, this valley was used by the Canaanites to perform child sacrifice to their god, Molech.
valley called the Valley of Gehenna. And at the time, this valley was used by the Canaanites to perform child sacrifice to their god, Molech.
From the Mountain, Abraham would have seen the fires of the pagan
child sacrifices burning below. So, when God asked Abraham to offer up Isaac, he was testing Abraham to see if he was as devoted to God as the Canaanites were to their false Gods. Abraham passed the test, and God stopped him from sacrificing Isaac, providing a ram to stand in his place.
child sacrifices burning below. So, when God asked Abraham to offer up Isaac, he was testing Abraham to see if he was as devoted to God as the Canaanites were to their false Gods. Abraham passed the test, and God stopped him from sacrificing Isaac, providing a ram to stand in his place.
You know, today there are all kinds of things that the world around us is devoted to. People are devoted to money, they’re devoted to pleasure, they’re devoted to the American Dream, the list goes on. People in our world are deeply devoted to all sorts of things. You might say they’re the gods the world worships. And so, a question we all need to be asking is: Are we as devoted to God as the world is to all of its gods?