Dr. Alice C. Linsley
What is the difference between a living faith and a dead faith? A faith that works by which we are justified, according to Scripture, hangs on the God-Man Jesus Christ. This is why it is essential to get Christology (the study of Christ) right.
James and Paul approach this central truth, but from different angles. Both refer to the Mount Moriah narrative to present the relationship of faith and works. We are challenged to consider the relationship of faith and works not as either-or, but instead as both-and. For Christ followers, faith and works point to consideration of more complex matters including grace, justification, and eternal life.
The story of Abraham on Mount Moriah illustrates how both-and reasoning expands our consideration of the faith-works relationship. The narrative speaks of Abraham’s obedience to God, divine revelation, human understanding, righteousness, absolute grace, and justification.
James explains in 2:21-24
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Paul explains in Romans 4:2-3
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”.
In Judaism, the Mount Moriah story is called “Akedah” (ah-kay-DAH), or “The Binding of Isaac”. This powerful narrative has been interpreted differently by Jews and Christians. For Jews, who regard Abraham as the first Jew, the story speaks of Abraham’s absolute obedience. For Christians, the narrative has Messianic meaning, and indeed, the Christian interpretation is closer to what the early Hebrew believed concerning the High God who has a son.
Among the early Hebrew the High God was known by various names depending on where they lived. Some Hebrew clans called the High God El, or Yahweh, or Adonai. Some called the High God Re, which means “father” in ancient Egyptian. The Hebrew who lived along the Nile River called the son of the High God HR, which in ancient Egyptian means “Most High One”. The Greeks referred to HR as Horus. The Hebrew were devotees of the Father and the Son. Their prayers and writings have been collected from the walls of royal monuments and tombs and translated to English. They can be read in the Pyramid Texts (2400-2000 BC).
Abraham lived around 2000 BC so the beliefs of the Horite and Sethite Hebrew were familiar to him. According to Genesis 10, some of Abraham’s ancestors, such as Nimrod, came from the Nile Valley. The earliest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is at Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) on the Nile (c. 4000 BC). Genesis 36 lists some of the Horite Hebrew rulers, including Seir the Horite, Zibeon, Esau, Dishan, and Uz. Job was of the Hebrew clan of Uz.
In the symbolism of the early Hebrew the Divine Father-Son were represented by the Sun and the solar arc. HR often was shown riding on the solar boat. Some images show HR as a falcon perched on the mast of the boat.
Among the early Hebrew, the boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While HR was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form. HR rose as a lamb and set as a ram, mature in strength. The east represented the past and the west represented the future, as with many indigenous peoples even today.
As Abraham and Isaac ascended Mount Moriah, Isaac asked his father, "Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham replied that God would provide the sacrifice. The climax of the story is the divine provision of a ram rather than a lamb. It appears that Abraham discovered that God the Father would provide his own Son in the future. Abraham believed that promise and he was declared justified. All are justified on the same basis: belief that God provides the Son for our salvation.
The Mount Moriah event is best understood according to the early Hebrew beliefs concerning the expected Righteous Ruler who would die and overcome death. They expected him to rise on the third day and to lead his people to eternal life. Paul uses this royal procession language in Ephesians 4:8. “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (See also Ps. 68:18 and Ps. 7:7.)
Horus is the single figure shown in ancient iconography with the body of a man and the head of a ram. There is an interesting linguistic connection between the words for ram and soul in the ancient Egyptian language. Both are the same word - ba. No wonder the Egyptians did not sacrifice rams! (Consider Gen. 46.) Yet on Mount Moriah God provided a ram. The faith of the early Hebrew is rooted in a Messianic Tradition that existed at least 2000 years before Egypt became a political entity.
Abraham lived around 2000 BC so the beliefs of the Horite and Sethite Hebrew were familiar to him. According to Genesis 10, some of Abraham’s ancestors, such as Nimrod, came from the Nile Valley. The earliest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is at Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) on the Nile (c. 4000 BC). Genesis 36 lists some of the Horite Hebrew rulers, including Seir the Horite, Zibeon, Esau, Dishan, and Uz. Job was of the Hebrew clan of Uz.
In the symbolism of the early Hebrew the Divine Father-Son were represented by the Sun and the solar arc. HR often was shown riding on the solar boat. Some images show HR as a falcon perched on the mast of the boat.
HR as a falcon perched on the mast of Re’s solar boat.
Among the early Hebrew, the boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While HR was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form. HR rose as a lamb and set as a ram, mature in strength. The east represented the past and the west represented the future, as with many indigenous peoples even today.
As Abraham and Isaac ascended Mount Moriah, Isaac asked his father, "Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham replied that God would provide the sacrifice. The climax of the story is the divine provision of a ram rather than a lamb. It appears that Abraham discovered that God the Father would provide his own Son in the future. Abraham believed that promise and he was declared justified. All are justified on the same basis: belief that God provides the Son for our salvation.
The Mount Moriah event is best understood according to the early Hebrew beliefs concerning the expected Righteous Ruler who would die and overcome death. They expected him to rise on the third day and to lead his people to eternal life. Paul uses this royal procession language in Ephesians 4:8. “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (See also Ps. 68:18 and Ps. 7:7.)
Horus is the single figure shown in ancient iconography with the body of a man and the head of a ram. There is an interesting linguistic connection between the words for ram and soul in the ancient Egyptian language. Both are the same word - ba. No wonder the Egyptians did not sacrifice rams! (Consider Gen. 46.) Yet on Mount Moriah God provided a ram. The faith of the early Hebrew is rooted in a Messianic Tradition that existed at least 2000 years before Egypt became a political entity.
Related reading: Abraham's Faith Lives in Christianity; The Hebrew were a Caste; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Horite and Sethite Mounds; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; What Abraham Discovered on Mount Moriah; Why Nekhen is Anthropologically Significant
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