I was raised in a mainline Christian church, and I spent the Sundays of my youth in Sunday School class. I’ve now decided that some of those well-meaning illustrated Bible stories can sure mess with the mind of understanding.
This morning, in my reading of Genesis 22 and the study of four different commentaries, I discovered the false image I’ve had in my head all of these years. When we read the story of God’s request that Abraham sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, it isn’t hard to see all the foreshadowing of God’s sacrifice of His beloved Son Jesus. That I’ve understood since I was a new believer reading the Bible. What I didn’t see until this morning was that Isaac was not some scared little boy. He wasn’t even a teenager. He was probably somewhere between 27 and 33 years old. Abraham was about 127 years old at the time. He certainly couldn’t have overpowered Isaac to place him on the altar. No, Isaac, once he learned he was to be the sacrifice, must have offered himself willingly and in obedience. Both of these men trusted completely in God Almighty.
Interesting how knowing that changes the way I react to this portion of Scripture.
In the grip of His grace,
Robin
I never thought of that before. That does make all the difference.
Robin,
I so appreciate your entry. I, too, grew up in a mainline Christian church, where Sunday school planted lots of images that didn’t necessarily match the real deal. While writing a book last year, I was digging for details about one of the plagues in the book of Exodus. Using Matthew Henry’s commentary (love it!), I found that the Nile river has been known to turn as red as blood on occasion, thanks to the mineral-rich soil stirred up along its banks. Henry went on to explain that God often uses natural means to accomplish his purpose. River water as red as blood would definitely not be drinkable.
It’s a sticky subject, to be sure. Interesting, though, when we stop to consider those early-childhood images and how some of them stack up against a deeper study of the Word. Thanks for stirring up that topic!