A Daily Genesis

Genesis 22:11-12

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[B][COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 22:11 . .Then an angel of God called to him from heaven: Abraham! Abraham! And he answered: Here I am.[/B]

This particular celestial messenger is not only going to speak about God, and speak for God, but it will also speak as God.

[B][COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 22:12a . . And he said: Do not raise your hand against the lad, or do anything to him.[/B]

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.
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[COLOR=#ff0000]†.[/COLOR] Gen 22:12b . . For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.[/B]

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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