The Parable Of Two Sons

“A certain man had two sons, Ethan and Simon. Ethan, the man’s eldest son, was a simple, good man, who lovingly cared for his wife and children, and showed kindness to all those around him. He was a carpenter by trade, and worked every night until the oil in his only lamp ran out. He loved carving small wooden animals for the children in the town, and they loved him through toothy smiles and delighted laughter. He worked hard and tried to do what was right, and prayed every night that God would keep him from sinning.

Simon, the youngest son, was madly in love with the king’s daughter – and even more so, she was madly in love with him. They were engaged to be married, and usually didn’t care what they were doing as long as it was together. Through their marriage, Simon would bring honor to his family and eventually become the king of their nation. Many whispered that Simon was to be the ruler who would finally deliver the kingdom from generations of poverty and wars.

One afternoon, Ethan saw a man beating his wife and young children because their cart had tipped over. Without thinking twice, he stopped and said to the man, “Sir, what you are doing is not right; have mercy on your wife and children, just as God has mercy on you.” The other man felt humiliated by Ethan’s remark, and pulling out a knife from his boot, stabbed him in the chest. As he prayed to God to have mercy on his soul and to watch over his wife and children, Ethan passed away.

The same afternoon Simon was out fishing with his fiancée, when suddenly a storm appeared on the horizon. Within an hour, giant waves were crashing over the sides of the small boat, and they were swept out to sea. When the weather had calmed, the battered vessel was leaking and taking on water quickly. It would only stay afloat to reach land again if one person jumped out of the boat and drowned. The two loved each other beyond imagination, and neither could bear to see the other one die. So, they decided to draw lots, hoping the other would be able to stay in the boat and live. Suddenly, the eldest son heard the voice of God say, ‘Throw your fiancée – the one that you love so much - out of the boat and into the water.’ Simon immediately did so.

I tell you the truth, Ethan was a great man, and will not go without reward. But the Simon was the greatest of all, having faith deeper than any man before him.”

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I wrote this at some point in college. I was asked to write a parable for a ‘Ministry of Preaching’ class I was taking at the time, and when I got it back, the only comment the campus minister had written was something to the effect of, “Interesting parable. It definitely needs some explanation. Incidentally, sniffing glue is a healthier alternative to acid.” It might seem like an odd, or even morose Christian parable – like if Tim Burton ever got saved, he’d probably spend most of his time writing parables like this (and the “Nightmare Before Christmas” would have involved a few more wise-men with chainsaws).

But I believe it expresses a biblical truth that is hard to fully comprehend unless put in this context. Notice that the account of the youngest son ends with him being obedient to God’s command to throw his fiancée overboard. This is problematic for several reasons. Most obviously, God would have never commanded Simon to murder his fiancée unless she had been listening to Brittany Spears at that exact moment. Since Brittany isn’t even mentioned in this parable, it’s clearly not God that is speaking. The fact that Simon didn’t even hesitate when he heard such a command puts his ability to discern the voice of God into question even more. Surely, he was not the great man that people though him to be...or was he? How can a murderer ever be called a man of God – a man of faith?

Ethan is alive and well in most churches, and leads a good life there. Ethan is who we are taught to model – and for good reason. Ethan is steadfast and solid; he is a man of faith-guided principles, and lives his life by those principles. He is active in his community. He is kind and loving to his family. Ethan is good; he’s about as predictable as stink on poop, but he’s a decent man.

Simon on the other hand? Clearly a nut job. One of those Pentacostal wackos that probably barks in meetings and is always claiming God told him to “sniff the glue.” He does these crazy things, and then says it was God who told him to do it. He’s unpredictable, ungrounded – and if he only knew his scripture better, he could be sure that God would never issue the command-equivalent of “kill thy neighbor.” It’s love thy neighbor, silly!

God doesn’t violate his own commands. He is everlasting, unchanging – the Great I AM. You can be sure it wasn’t Him that told you to kill your wife, or father, or son... or son.

What? Oh, yeah, Abraham. Well, but that’s different. Abraham knew he wasn’t going to actually kill his son. It was a test of trust – like a cosmic obstacle course. He passed. No big deal.

The youngest son had a “promise” of sorts in the marriage and relationship he enjoyed with his fiancée. He also loved her very deeply – the way a father, who never thought he would have children, might love his only son. It might make a difference to know that as he grabbed his fiancée to throw her into the water, an angel of the Lord caught her fall and gently lowered her back into the boat. It might make a difference if God decided to save them soverignly right then and there. But this man was blessed because he knew to follow the voice of his Father – who had won his trust, not just his obedience to principle. Even should he throw his wife overboard, even if she had died, he would bring her back to life and back to him – because that’s the Father whose voice he knew.

The shock is intended, because I think most people skip over Abraham’s situation. For Abraham, far more was at stake than simply trusting God. He didn’t know God was going to stop him before the knife fell. He just knew God was God – a God that speaks, and a Father that is worthy of our trust.

So - Ethan or Simon? Welcome to the journey.