“I love no thing so much, indeed
Except thine own self, dear Father of bliss,
As Isaac here, my own sweet son.”
Barely a minute into the proceedings and the narrative runs smack into the conflict. This is where old Abraham makes his mistake: letting God know that he loves God more than his son. To a selfish God like, well, the God of Abraham—a God willing to unleash misery upon Job for the sake of winning a bet—this is pretty much nothing but a challenge. One can almost hear the wheels of God spinning as His inexplicable mind ponders over this assertion and the decision is made to put Abraham’s unwise words to the ultimate test.
“Mine angel, fast hie hee thy way, hasten
And unto middle-earth ano thou go.
Abraham’s heart now will I assay
Whether that he be steadfast or no.”
It does not take God long at all sitting up there in the comfort of heaven with His angels that would seem more than satisfying enough to become dissatisfied. Perhaps it is just because this story takes place early on in the saga of the Judeo-Christian God—even the Christians haven’t arrived yet—and He is simply bored. Whatever the reason, one can be sure that almost as soon as the words had left Abraham’s oblivious mind down below, God was already working up a plan. By the time the words actually escaped Abraham’s lips, that plan was doubtlessly being put in action. The lesson that one would think is being taught here is be careful what you say in the presence of an all-knowing God character with horrifying low esteem.
“Lo, sovereigns and sirs, we have now shown
This solemn story to great and small.
It is good doctrine for the layman and the learned
And even the wisest of all, barring none.
For this story shows you
How we should keep God’s commands
To the utmost of our ability without murmuring.”
The Doctor is a character so named not because of any medical background, but rather to prove he is an educated person who is not a member of the clergy. He is an Everyman so to speak, but one with intellectual grasp. And this grasp is proven with his ability to extrapolate from the story the lesson to be told. Which is a very important tool because without his coming in at the end, who on earth would not take from this story the one and only lesson that actually does appear to be there. To reiterate: be careful what you think, much less say, in front of an all-knowing God who constantly needs to prove His own superiority So, if one is not comfortable with the lesson that the story actually conveys, take heart by accepting the Doctor’s version. After all, is it really fair to call faith the belief in something you can see with your own eyes?
