Does God Command Immoral Actions? | Lecture 3

In this concluding lecture, Professor J. Richard Middleton tackles the hardest question his reinterpretation raises: if Abraham's silence was less than faithful, why do the angel speeches in Genesis 22 appear to praise him? And why does God swear an oath to fulfill the promises because of what Abraham did?

Middleton offers a startling answer: God's oath is not a sign of approval, but of grace — a divine intervention to compensate for Abraham's failure, just as God's unconditional love in Exodus 34 compensated for Israel's idolatry at the golden calf. Far from validating blind obedience, the oath reveals a God who steps into the breach when his covenant partner falls short. The lecture closes with an imaginative and moving retelling of what Abraham could — and perhaps should — have said to God on Mount Moriah.

In this lecture, you'll explore:

· Why the traditional reading of the angel speeches as approving Abraham needs to be reconsidered

· How the conditionality of God's promises shifts between Genesis 12, 18, and 22 — and what that shift means

· The parallel between Genesis 22 and the golden calf episode in Exodus 32–34

· Why God's oath may signify grace toward Abraham's deficiency, not reward for his obedience

· What "because you have listened to my voice" refers to — and why it matters for the promise of blessing to the nations

· A hierarchy of possible responses Abraham could have made — and where his actual response falls

· A full dramatic reading of the prayer Abraham might have prayed, drawn from the language of biblical lament and intercession

This lecture is ideal for preachers, biblical scholars, theologians, and anyone asking hard questions about God's character, the nature of faith, and what it means to speak honestly and boldly to God.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:

J. Richard Middleton is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis, at Northeastern Seminary and Roberts Wesleyan University, in Rochester, NY. A native of Jamaica, he immigrated to Canada for graduate studies and moved to the USA for a teaching position. He is past president of the Canadian-American Theological Association (2011–2014) and the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (2019–2021). Middleton’s research area is Old Testament theology with a focus on creation, suffering, and the ethics of power. He is the author of five books; the most recent are The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Brazos, 2005); A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic, 2014); and Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God (Baker Academic, 2021). He is currently working on two new books, one on the power dynamics between prophet and king in 1 Samuel and the other on the biblical worldview for our troubled times.

Genesis 22 angel speeches, Akedah reinterpretation, Abraham's Silence, J. Richard Middleton, divine oath Genesis 22, golden calf Exodus 32, Old Testament theology, Abraham's prayer, biblical lament, Upper House Madison, New College Madison, divine command theory, God's grace, Jehovah Jireh, biblical intercession, faith and protest