On sunday we spent some time thinking about God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, his only son whom he loved, Isaac.

Evidence of human sacrifice has been found throughout history and is still happening today in some cultures. The logic behind human sacrifice is; if a god is not happy, the greatest thing that you can give that god to prove your loyalty (and thus make the god happy), is your firstborn.

Sadly human sacrifice reflects our willingness as humans to give the life of another for our own gain. Abraham, however, was different. He was willing to sacrifice Isaac because God asked him to.

The great news is, of course, that God stopped Abraham from going through with the sacrifice. Instead God provided a ram for the sacrifice, a foretaste of how one day he would provide His own Son as a sacrifice , not for his own gain, but for ours. The story demonstrates that the god of Abraham was not the same as all the other gods at that time, but rather that he was very different.

Historically, human sacrifice is about stepping over someone else to get what you want. To appease the guilt we all have within us. This is so different to Jesus who gave his life so that we might gain, and that our guilt would be dealt with. He was God's Son, his only son, whom he loved.

More blood thirsty stories of the OT coming up over the next few weeks!