Our journey with Abraham continues; this chapter of his life
might be even more difficult that the last. Last week we talked about Abraham’s
first born, Ishmael, the son born of a slave woman and eventually cast out in to the wild, where he was met by God and given
the chance to be the father of great nations. This week we get more information
on Abraham’s second born, born to him by Sarah in her 90th year, a son who fulfilled the covenant God had
made with Abraham decades earlier. The birth of Isaac signaled the beginning
of Abraham’s official line through the covenant God made with him to be the father of a multitude of nations, with descendants
outnumbering the stars.
Through
Isaac, Abraham saw the future and the generations of offspring. He saw all the
things he had ever wanted in his life. He was seeing the future playing out through
him, and now all of a sudden, just when things seem to be finally going right, God asks Abraham the impossible.
We
could jump right into what comes next in the story, but it seems so important to stay with the life and hopes of Abraham as
fully as we can. Imagine, everything you ever dreamed of, everything that had
ever been promised to you, everything that seemed to complete your life, happening before your eyes. Imagine that feeling of contentment, that everything in the world just seems right. And then out of nowhere, the world is turned upside down.
I
know there are moments in all of our lives in which it feels as though our world has been flipped inside out, and it almost
feels like you have been hit by a freight train. For Abraham this had to be one
of those moments; God asked him the impossible. “After
these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” To which Abraham replied, “Here I am.” Then God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to
the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that
I shall show you.”
Wow, this feels like it comes out of nowhere. In an instant everything
Abraham knew, changed. Within these words we also see Isaac named as the only
son of Abraham. After hearing of Ishmael and Abraham’s struggle last week,
these words strike me. But that is for another time. For now, we are facing the harsh reality that God was asking Abraham to prove his devotion to him by giving
his only son. In past occasions when things got tough for Abraham, he ran away,
choosing the path of least resistance instead of following and trusting God.
We heard of Abraham playing off his wife as his sister in order to save himself.
We heard Abraham doubting God’s faithfulness in fulfilling his covenant and promises with him. Last week we read about his trying to fulfill the covenant through a woman who was not his wife. No matter what the situation, when things got tough, Abraham ran away, doing his best to avoid the bad
situation by getting himself into worse situations. So now Abraham is faced with
the hardest task yet.
We don’t hear any mention of his wife Sarah in this account, but
can you imagine the breakfast table. Do you think Abraham lets Sarah in on what
God has asked of him? Or do you think she is under the impression this is just
a father-son outing? Either way the silence around the table must have been deafening,
getting someone to pass the toast must have been impossible. Abraham sitting
at one end of the table in almost complete silence thinking, “Oh goodness, what have I gotten myself in to this time?” There’s Sarah sitting at the other end of the table wondering why her husband
seems so distracted, and Isaac bursting with questions about the trip ahead.
With the impossible right before his eyes, what does Abraham do? Our scripture
today tells us, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and
his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown
him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with
the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.”
This is such a shift for Abraham. The covenant he made with God that was
bonded through circumcision must have been taken very seriously. For instead
of running away in the most difficult of the situations, we hear that he just followed God’s command. Trusting completely in God, Abraham traveled with his son with the intention of sacrificing Isaac just
as God commanded him. And up to this point, Isaac is completely unaware of what
is to come. Trusting his father completely he follows and does what his father
asks of him. Perhaps Isaac’s trust in his own father is a wonderful example
of the trust that Abraham now has for God. Even when things seem to be hard to
handle, Abraham and Isaac continue on, both trusting their fathers completely.
“Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his
son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to Abraham, “Father!”
To which Abraham replied, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac’s one question is, “The fire and the wood are
here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt
offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.” What do
you think Isaac’s response to his father’s answer is? Do you think
he has any idea at all that his father believes that he, his own son Isaac, is about to be the sacrifice? Probably not, I don’t think Isaac has any idea what is about to happen.
As our scripture continues on to tells us, “when they came to the
place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him
on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.” Without knowing what comes next, this could possibly be one of the top 5 most troubling biblical texts. This is one of those moments in which those who don’t know what comes next gasp
for air, just like the climax point in a good thriller movie. You come to the
edge of your seat, for a father is about to sacrifice his son, the son who he waited decades to meet, and now in his hand
he has the power to take his life. It is a moment I don’t think any of
us could truly understand. For if God asked one of us to do this same thing,
I’m not sure we could. But God asks different things of us, different situations
we face seek to understand our own devotion to God. Not usually as drastic as
Abraham’s situation, but we all encounter moments when we have the chance to affirm our faith in God in a truly demanding
way. How often though do we?
The good news in this situation though is that God had no intention of
any harm coming to Isaac. “But the angel of the LORD called to him from
heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you
have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and
offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that
place “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
The Old Testament speaks a great deal about fearing God, but the God of love that we
encounter through the New Testament doesn’t seem to fit in to that same image.
For how can we fear and love at the same time? Perhaps the definition
we have all come to know and understand for the word fear is what is keeping this idea from making total sense. For don’t we feel ashamed when we let someone we love down?
Or are we apprehensive when we know we did something wrong and are about to be discovered? Do we hide our emotions and feelings when they might betray how we respond to being hurt? Fear takes many forms, and being afraid to disappoint a God who loves us and cares for us, should be on
that list. Just like as children we want to please our parents and yet sometimes
fall short and are afraid of their response. Our fear needs to be rooted in love. Abraham loved God and wanted to show this love, sometimes we are asked too difficult
things for our faith in God. We never know what are lives will hold; all we can do is respond through our faith.
God knows of this sacrifice. For God it
was far more real than it was for Abraham, because Jesus came to earth in order to save us; God sent his son so that we might
all have a chance. Christ came as the sacrificial lamb that Isaac was rescued
from being. Jesus, having no sin of his own, suffered at the hands of man and
was eventually put to death. But the good news is that as Isaac was saved and
Jesus was raised from the dead.
Our scripture today ends with God’s continuing promise with Abraham - that because of his devotion and willing to risk everything to follow God, the covenant will continue. In the past Abraham had taken many wrong turns, but when the road hit its roughest
point, he chose to trust in God, and because of that God will continue to bless Abraham.
“The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn,
says the LORD: Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will
make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess
the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because
you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they
arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.”
Our journey with Abraham comes to an end with this, the devotion of a very old man
who had finally learned from his mistakes that the only answer is to trust God fully.
Our roads won’t always be easy; there will be tremendous highs but there will also be painful lows. But through all, God will be there ready to help us find our way.
We just need to remember to trust God, even when what seems to being asked of us is hard to hear. Those are the times when our faith needs to be its strongest. The
greatest thing to remember is that God sent his only begotten son to save us from our sins, to give us a chance at the love
God has for us. For out of love God created us, out of love God sent his son,
and out of love God walks with us every day of our lives. For God is love.
