This week’s reading: Genesis 22:1-24
Hi Friends,
Tests. How would we know how much we know if we were never tested? Any good teacher will give their students exams every now and then, so that their proficiency in the topic could be assessed. Of course, our Perfect Professor, God, already knows our level of understanding the “material” He is teaching us…but we, ourselves, never know how far we will go with God until God allows the tests of life to show us our depth of devotion. This is certainly the case in our reading this week. We are in Genesis chapter 22, reading through the whole thing, that’s verses 1 through 24. Listen to one of the greatest challenges any human could ever face:
“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied, ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Gen 22:9-12 NIV
Here I am. Twice in our reading this week, when God calls out to Abraham, Abraham responds with, “Here I am.” (Gen 22:1, 22:11) How wonderful would it be if we mature as he did, and immediately respond to God this way too? Always being ready to listen, and then obey whatever God places on our hearts…even such an unbelievably difficult thing as what God tells Abraham to do here. Would we be half as trusting as Abraham is? We do not hear him argue with God. We do not notice any hesitation about fulfilling this mission. We do not see any fear or rebellious attitude in Abraham at all. It seems to me that he is calm. And even though I am sure he does so with a heavy heart, Abraham simply sets out to obey God. We are never told what is going on in his mind, but we can imagine the inner conversations, right? In the Book of Hebrews we hear that, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” (Heb 11:19) This was how deep God had grown Abraham’s Faith. Even if God did allow him to kill his only legitimate son, the promised son, he trusted the promise God had given him, that through Isaac Abraham would have more descendants than the stars in the sky, so he figured God would simply raise his son back from the dead! Now THAT, is Faith! There are times when God will allow us to go through tests, although probably not as dire as this one, in order for us to realize how much we are still holding on to in this world. Here Abraham gives him everything. Not only Isaac, his beloved child, but this could possibly mean that promise, his lasting legacy, was not going to happen either! And on top of that, the entire world would not be blessed through him! The whole promise was riding on this promised child, so to be willing to give him up, was to be willing to trust God beyond all he understood up to that point in time. Giving up the child he had waited for, for so long, the one through whom the promise would be fulfilled? It just made no human sense. But God is not human, is He? God’s ways are often beyond our simplified human reasoning. God sees Eternity. We barely know what is going on right here and now! Faith. This is what God has been developing in this great Saint all these years, and now, its beauty is seen on full display.
Give Me your son. Making the assumption that Isaac was about 20 years old at this point in time, Abraham had walked with God for over 45 years, and this command was certainly not consistent with the Loving and Compassionate God he had come to trust beyond measure. But this is the whole point to this test…and I might add, to our tests too. Will Abraham trust God even if this made no sense? Even if it went against all God had promised him? Even if his heart would break in two…not to mention Sarah’s!?! Oh Sarah! She is not mentioned at all in this test because this was about the relationship between Abraham and God. Where was he, and subsequently the whole family because of him, in his Faith journey with God? The whole purpose of being tested by God is so we can know how much we trust Him. How much we are still leaning on our own understanding and acting according to MMI, instead of placing ALL our Faith in God. What we need to note is that Abraham was holding on to nothing of this life. He was willing to give God all of what God had given him. His family, his home, his prosperity, his future, his legacy. All these centered on the promise God had given Abraham years before, and while I am sure Abraham was a bit confused, and certainly sorrowful about what he was called to do, he did it anyway. Again, THAT, is Faith. Which one of us struggles to give God our tithe? To step out in compassion and let go of offenses from someone who hurt us? To trust God with our occupations and preoccupations? We hold on to so much, my Friends, and God, lovingly, desires for us to let it all go into His more than capable hands. This is where Abraham’s heart is. This is the point where God has matured him. This is why this Saint is to be honored and imitated. He was willing to give it all up in obedience to God, trusting that God would work it all together for his good, as well as the good of all those who would ever call on the Name of the Lord. Abraham trusted God beyond reason. And to show he did, he gave God his son. What are we willing to give up to God? Our relationships? Our finances? Our reputation? Our dreams? Will we allow God to grow us spiritually to be able to come even close to this amazing example? It starts by always being ready and willing to respond to God with, “Here I am!”
Growth. This is life, is it not? A baby does not remain a baby…not physically anyway! A long time ago, the Lord spoke these words into my heart, “You have no choice but to grow older, but whether you grow up or not, is another story altogether.” Maturity seems to be lacking in this world, does it not? We have “adults” acting like three year olds, having tantrums and trying to get their own way, practically everywhere we look. Social media is filled to the brim with people trying to point to themselves and influence others to follow them. MMI. This is the pinnacle of immaturity and the world is filled with this mentality. If the last couple of years have not taught us this, then I am not sure what else has to happen before we wake up. Life is not about MMI. It is about the one Who created Life. The more we attempt to hold on to the things that we have convinced ourselves belong to us, the more fear will take hold of us. Why? Because none of this will last forever, and so, we will fear losing it all. What if instead we gave it all to God, who is Eternal? What if we enjoyed all we had, but did not hold on to any of it white knuckled? What if we began to receive blessings from God, and then look for those we could share them with? What if the only thing we truly desired was to please God by imitating His Generous heart? What if…ok, I know I am talking about things that are just not “normal” for us humans. But this is another point to being tested: will we do what everyone else does, or will we be different? Will we be gratefully, faithfully and sacrificially obedient to God, just like this great Saint here? That is actually the only way to fully experience the Abundant Life, you know? It is not that God does not want us to have anything, but He does not want all the fading things of this world, to have us! We can, and should, enjoy all of life, but with opened hands. As we learn to live this way, we can continually receive and give, and then give and receive. Closed fists can neither receive nor give. That is the epitome of MMI living. “It’s mine!” we scream, and only end up losing what we thought we had in the first place. Everything is meant to be a seed. What happens if we hold on to seeds, tight fisted, and never let them be planted anywhere? They die. But if instead we opened our hands and dropped the seeds wherever they could take root, trusting God to grow them so that they could spread and bless others, not only ourselves? This is what Heaven will be like one day. No one will own anything, but we will gladly, freely and willingly share everything with one another. The motivation will be Love, not greed, not power, not status. When I read this chapter in particular about the life of Abraham, I admire his freedom. He did not fight God. No words are recorded about him refusing to obey. He did not sit and worry for days. He did not demand that God should follow his understanding. He was free from that selfishness. The Bible simply says, “Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.” (Gen 22:3a) He did not try to manipulate another scenario. “He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.” (Gen 22:3b) That’s it! God called to Abraham, Abraham responded with, “Here I am,” then he did what God told him to do. Again, his motivation was love of God. He trusted God. He knew what God had promised him. And he knew that God could do anything! Like allow a barren, old woman and her even older husband bear a son! Again I remind us of that great verse, “What is too difficult for God?” (Gen 18:14) Through his pilgrimage with God, Abraham grew into an incredible man of Faith. This test proves, once and for all, his maturity. Will our tests prove ours? Or will they only display how immature we still are? Growth is a choice. May we choose to follow in the footsteps of Abraham.
God will provide. Of course, this surprising yet wonderful narrative, is meant to point us to The only Begotten Son who was sacrificed for our sins. Since Isaac can be seen as a precursor to Jesus, the similarities are astounding. Isaac is the promised son, while Jesus is The Promised Messiah. Isaac was conceived by the miraculous hand of God using both Abraham’s seed and Sarah’s womb. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in His mother’s womb. Both were a work from God, not man. Isaac carried the wood up the mountain where Abraham placed him on the wood to be sacrificed. Jesus carried The Cross up the hill of Calvary to be nailed on it, as God’s Perfect Lamb to be sacrificed for the sin of the world. We do not read about Isaac refusing to be offered up. In my Study Bible it says, according to Jewish tradition, “Isaac was a willing sacrifice who threw himself on the altar.” (Quest Study Bible p28) Jesus was completely submissive to the Father’s Will, and freely and willingly, gave Himself up for us as He went up on The Cross. God stops Abraham from killing Isaac and provides a sacrifice in his place. Jesus is The Sacrifice, not only dying in Isaac’s place, but in ours. Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the ram, the one to be sacrificed in Isaac’s stead. When we look up, we too can see the One who was sacrificed in our place. God substitutes the sacrifice of Abraham with a ram, an animal, a temporary atonement. Later, God substitutes Jesus, the Lamb of God, as The Atonement for all mankind. There are so many comparisons pointing us to Jesus in this narrative. And Abraham too can be seen as an example of God who gives up His one and only Begotten Son for us, as The Sacrifice that saves us all. But this is the point to Faith and the point to growing up, isn’t it? To be more and more like God. Abraham is coming to the end of his journey and has matured into a lovely picture of the obedient servant we should all become. As an act of gratitude and worship, Abraham renames this mountain calling it “The Lord Will Provide,” or in Hebrew Jehovah Jireh. It is here on mount Moriah where many, many years later, the Temple is built by King Solomon and God’s promise to Abraham takes roots permanently. And again, many, many years later on a hill not too far from this one, called Calvary, the promise reaches its climax with Jesus, The Provision of God for all the world. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen 12:2-3) This is the promise, and through Abraham, in ways he would never have imagined, God did provide for him, and for the entire world.
God continues the godly lineage. Then we read how Abraham is told that his brother, Nahor, became a father to twelve sons, eight from his wife and four from his concubine. One of these, Bethuel, fathers a daughter named Rebekah, which will become important in the history of Abraham’s children. More on that another day. While the Bible follows the ancestry of The Messiah, it is important to note that every human on earth has the same opportunity to understand God’s Plan. From the beginning God uses Abraham’s Faith and family to bring about our Salvation. Even though we might not be from this original line, we can become a spiritual child of Abraham and be used by God as a blessing to this world also. My Friends, we never really know how God can use our lives. Every person is precious to God. Never discount your potential impact on this world. Continue to seek God, grow in your Faith and choose to be gratefully, faithfully and sacrificially obedient to The Lord. Then we too can become a member of His godly lineage…with all the blessings that come with this honor. I know every time I surrender to God and simply answer, “Here I am,” the peace and joy of God fill me to the overflow. Do you want that too? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
