Genesis 22: Releasing Isaac

Letting go of attachments

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

Genesis 22: Letting Go

Reading from Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

The story of Abraham nearly slaughtering Isaac because “the LORD told him to” is yet another example that if there are any lessons to be learned from Genesis so far, they have little to do with morality, decency, or justice as we understand those words.

Anyone who does as Abraham nearly did would be brought up on murder charges today. A person who would do such a thing would be considered insane and a threat to the larger society.

I don’t think that’s what this chapter is about. It’s the counterpart to the previous chapter about Ishmael, and really goes back to Abraham impregnating Sarah’s slave girl Hagar in order to have a son.

Although the LORD promised to Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation, he and Sarah tried to hurry-up the process by adding Hagar into their family arrangement. When I wrote about Genesis 3, I quoted Kafka: “Perhaps there is only one major sin: impatience.”