Testing and God

Part of today's reading for the One Year Bible Blog is Genesis 22, which talks about Abraham being asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. I suspect that my literalist friends will not like my take on this passage, but here it is anyway. ;)

My translation (NRSV) of v 1-2 reads:

¹After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham" And he said, "Here I am." ²He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moria, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you."

Now, I know that this says "God tested Abraham." But God had already made the coventant with Abraham in an earlier chapter. Was this God trying to look for a "loophole" in the deal? I think not. Rather, I think this was a case of Abraham testing God.

Note: I don't regard these stories in the Old Testament, especially these early stories in Genesis, as history. Unless you break the word up, and call it His story. That is, I don't know, and frankly don't care, if any of these events actually took place. I believe they are intended to tell a truth about God, rather than a truth about events that happened at a specific point in time. And the truth that's being told is that God is always faithful, regardless of our own doubts and failings.