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†. Gen 22:11 . .Then an angel of God called to him from heaven:
Abraham! Abraham! And he answered: Here I am.
This particular celestial messenger is not only going to speak about God, and
speak for God, but it will also speak as God.
†. Gen 22:12a . . And he said: Do not raise your hand against the lad,
or do anything to him.
There are some who feel that the angel stopped Abraham at this point
because he misunderstood the instructions God gave to him back in verse 2;
which were: "Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and
go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering"
But an interpretation of that nature impugns the quality of Abraham's
spiritual acumen as a man whom God said in Gen 20:7 was a prophet.
Abraham no doubt understood his Master perfectly and knew just what he
was expected to do. He had three days to pray about it and ask for
confirmation.
Abraham was supposed to kill Isaac, and that is exactly what he tried to do,
and would have done; had not the angel stopped him in the nick of time.
And the angel stopped him not because it was wrong. No. The angel stopped
Abraham from killing Isaac because He had seen enough.
†. Gen 22:12b . . For now I know that you fear God, since you have
not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.
The angel first speaks about God, and then he speaks for himself. In other
words: if the angel isn't God; then he is certainly a very close approximation
of God.
Someone usually wants to know how a supposedly omniscient God didn't
know till then that Abraham would go through with it. Well; in the Bible; the
word "know" isn't limited to academic information. It often refers to
experiential knowledge; like when a man knows his wife; viz: sleeps with
her.
By omniscience, God has seen the future already even before it takes place.
It's all laid out before him like an open road map. He can see every avenue
and every city all in one glance. However; like a traveler; God hasn't actually
been to each place yet. David, in Psalm 139, said God's spirit is
omnipresent, but I have yet to see a scripture that proves God has the
ability to travel in time.
He no doubt already knew ahead of time every single thing that would take
place the day Abraham and Isaac were on that mountain. None of that took
God by surprise. He saw it all ahead of time-- but God had yet to be there
and take part when it actually happened. Afterwards; God not only knew in
His head that Abraham feared him; but God knew it in His heart too via
personal experience.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 22:11 . .Then an angel of God called to him from heaven:
Abraham! Abraham! And he answered: Here I am.
This particular celestial messenger is not only going to speak about God, and
speak for God, but it will also speak as God.
†. Gen 22:12a . . And he said: Do not raise your hand against the lad,
or do anything to him.
There are some who feel that the angel stopped Abraham at this point
because he misunderstood the instructions God gave to him back in verse 2;
which were: "Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and
go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering"
But an interpretation of that nature impugns the quality of Abraham's
spiritual acumen as a man whom God said in Gen 20:7 was a prophet.
Abraham no doubt understood his Master perfectly and knew just what he
was expected to do. He had three days to pray about it and ask for
confirmation.
Abraham was supposed to kill Isaac, and that is exactly what he tried to do,
and would have done; had not the angel stopped him in the nick of time.
And the angel stopped him not because it was wrong. No. The angel stopped
Abraham from killing Isaac because He had seen enough.
†. Gen 22:12b . . For now I know that you fear God, since you have
not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.
The angel first speaks about God, and then he speaks for himself. In other
words: if the angel isn't God; then he is certainly a very close approximation
of God.
Someone usually wants to know how a supposedly omniscient God didn't
know till then that Abraham would go through with it. Well; in the Bible; the
word "know" isn't limited to academic information. It often refers to
experiential knowledge; like when a man knows his wife; viz: sleeps with
her.
By omniscience, God has seen the future already even before it takes place.
It's all laid out before him like an open road map. He can see every avenue
and every city all in one glance. However; like a traveler; God hasn't actually
been to each place yet. David, in Psalm 139, said God's spirit is
omnipresent, but I have yet to see a scripture that proves God has the
ability to travel in time.
He no doubt already knew ahead of time every single thing that would take
place the day Abraham and Isaac were on that mountain. None of that took
God by surprise. He saw it all ahead of time-- but God had yet to be there
and take part when it actually happened. Afterwards; God not only knew in
His head that Abraham feared him; but God knew it in His heart too via
personal experience.
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