Judaism: The Story of Abraham and Isaac

The students read the dramatic story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. When the story reaches its climax, an angel appears in the sky and tells Abraham that God will provide. I asked the students a series of questions about the narrative, and then I challenged them to come up with their own questions. Here are some of the wonderful responses:

How do you think Abraham felt when God asked him to sacrifice his only child?

Henry: Conflicted

Nick: Distraught

Hero: Devastated

Gabe: Dumbfounded

Joseph A.: Like his heart was wounded

Parthie: Stuck

Wyatt S., Morgan, Tate and Bear: Torn 

[Wyatt, Morgan, Tate and Bear -- Did the four of you all eat the same scrumptious vocabulary soup for dinner?]

Zion: Blessed

[Zion wins the award for the most original response.]

These are strong, descriptive adjectives. Well done.

Why do you think Abraham decided to follow God's instructions?

Tate: Abraham may have loved God more than he loved his son. Also, he may have thought that if he didn't follow God's instructions, something bad would happen to him or others.

Amaya: Abraham wanted to prove to God that he was worthy, and he also wanted to prove that he really loved God.

Chase M., Annabelle and Morgan: Abraham had made a covenant with God, and he had promised to follow God's instructions. He was an honorable person, and he did not want to break his covenant even though he was confused. Also, Abraham may have thought there would be consequences for his actions, if he disobeyed.

August: Abraham wanted to be obedient to God. He also wanted to be loyal to God.

[I love August's use of the strong words "obedient" and "loyal." I have a follow-up question for August: What is the difference between being obedient and being loyal?]

What are your questions about this story?

Sophia: Is there a reason that ancient Jewish people sacrificed lambs, instead of other animals? Or did they sacrifice different animals each time? 

If there were different animals, which animal did they sacrifice the most, and why?

Michael: Did God send the lamb, or did it come on its own?

Violet, Seton and Mason: Why did an angel tell Abraham to stop the sacrifice, instead of God doing it himself? 

Where do angels come from? Are they souls that worshiped God when they were alive? Do they have freedom, or can they only do what God wants?

Camila, Wyatt S., Jaxson and Morgan: Did Abraham's wife know about God's instructions? 

If Abraham's wife did know: did she agree that Abraham should follow the instructions and burn their only son? Would she have been sad? Would she have been angry at Abraham for not asking for her opinion?

If Abraham's wife did not know: what would Abraham have told her if he had killed Isaac? Would he have lied?

[These are really thoughtful questions by Jaxson, Wyatt, Camila, and Morgan. They are asking us to consider the perspective of another character (Isaac's mom, who was named Sarah) who's not even mentioned in the story. Outstanding!]

Camila, Bear, Jake, Joseph R. and Sarah: If the angel and lamb had not appeared, would Abraham really have sacrificed his only son? He got ready and everything, but would he really have gone through with it? In general, are religious people willing to do things that seem surprising, because they believe it is God's plan?

Brynne: Why was Abraham so fast about deciding whether he should kill his son or not? In Hinduism, when we were talking about Arjuna I remember he didn't know if he should kill his family or not, but Abraham knew right away.