Abraham nearly sacrificing Isaac can be quite a controversial topic but let’s explore what is happening here. Abraham trusted that God would keep the promise to make a covenant nation of his descendants through his son Isaac, the promised son of his wife Sarah. If God was true to this promise, God couldn’t eliminate Isaac because the covenant couldn’t be fulfilled. Abraham trusted that God would be faithful to the promise, so he went forward with sacrificing him, knowing that Isaac couldn’t be taken forever or God would be a liar and covenant breaker.
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Jephthah’s Sacrifice of his Daughter
Was Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter to YHWH in Judges 11:29-40 legitimate? God never required human sacrifices, and always told the Israelites to substitute their firstborn males that were dedicated to him with animals (Exodus 13:11-16, Numbers 3:40-51). The firstborn of all clean animals got burnt on the altar, for unclean animals they could be killed outside the camp (unclean animals don’t belong on the altar) or substituted with a clean animal. Humans however were never to be killed and to be substituted with a clean animal, just like how Abraham substituted Isaac with a ram. Substitution for humans was always God’s intent and this points to Jesus being substituted for our sins.
Continue readingTrue Sacrifices of the Heart
In Matt 5:23-24 Jesus said that when an Israelite gave a sacrifice, they should apologize to and reconcile with anyone they have wronged. His point was that sacrifices shouldn’t have been given cold and ritualistically with no heart and that people should be mindful of their sins and repent when giving sacrifices. This is the actual purpose of sacrifices. The sacrifices of animals did not magically make a person holy, sacrificing was a part of the mechanism of repentance, (or thanksgiving) to God. Sacrificing was a way of showing God that you meant what you said and you weren’t just saying empty words when you repented. Killing an animal and burning its blood and fat on an altar is meaningless if we aren’t going to change our ways or learn from our mistakes. Our own sinfulness is a reminder of our humanity and fallibility, and sacrificing helps us empathize with those who have wronged us and reminds us that if things were the other way around we would want mercy and forgiveness. Jesus goes on about turning the other cheek instead of seeking revenge (verse 38-42) and says we need to forgive others and love even our enemies (verse 43-48). This is because God requires his people to live by a higher standard.
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