Does God tempt us to sin? On first reading the story where God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac seems to suggest so. But let us have a closer look. In Genesis 22:1, the Hebrew word translated “tempted” is the word nacah, and it means “to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test.” Because it has so many possible synonyms, we must look to the context and compare it to other passages. As we read the account of the event, we note that God did not intend Abraham to complete the sacrifice of Isaac. However, Abraham did not know that and was willing to carry out God’s orders, knowing that if God did require this, He was able to raise Isaac up from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). This passage in Hebrews is better translated “Abraham was ‘tried,’” instead of saying he was “tempted.” So, the conclusion is that in Genesis 22:1 the Hebrew word translated “tempt” has to do with testing or evaluating something. James 1:13 gives a guiding p...
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 05:46:14 +0000
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