Episode 302 The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3 and 22:1-14)

This week we read Genesis 21:1-3 and 22:1-14, the harrowing account of God’s command that Abraham sacrifice his long awaited and much-beloved son and heir, Isaac. In a text that is so fraught by the very nature of its plot, there is so much left unsaid. We sense deep connection and togetherness between Abraham and Isaac, even as Abraham moves toward fulfilling this terrible thing. We wonder as modern people how this could be and whether, if one is truly sure it is God speaking, there is any other choice. We think we see God changing over the course of this story, leaning farther into the still new territory of a covenanted relationship with one guy. And we see the stories of so many people we know, who deeply love a person who has been rejected by their religious community or doctrine, who are pressed to choose.