The story of Abraham and Isaac is one of those classic Bible
stories, one of those stories we learned as children in Sunday
School. Remember the lesson sheet we’d get and take home? Kind
of like this one we had with the Scripture reading. What I
remember in my head from my childhood Sunday School days was a
picture of Abraham with Isaac bound on the altar, Abraham with
knife raised but the hand of the angel of the LORD on his arm to
stop him…and in the background a ram caught in the thicket.
Sound familiar to anyone else? And one has to wonder—what were
they thinking? For a long time after that Sunday School lesson I
didn’t go within ten feet of my father. I didn’t sleep for weeks
if my father was in the house. And I definitely wasn’t
going anywhere with my dad without additional supervision! Come
on! A Sunday School lesson about a father taking his son off to
sacrifice him? And disaster is averted only at the last second
by an angel of the LORD? Uh-uh. "No thanks, dad, I think I’ll
just stay home here…close to mom. And I can’t say I’m too keen
on this God you’re having me learn about at church either." What
kind of story is this for kids? Or for us for that matter?But
there it is, right there in the Bible. And a familiar story at
that. Maybe "infamous" I should say. What are we to make of this
story?
First of all—and this only lessens the concern a little—there
is a bit of a cultural issue here. All around Abraham, in this
new land God has called him to, are tribes of people who worship
other gods, numerous gods, and they practice child sacrifices.
Sounds barbaric I know, but that is the reality of that time and
place. We’re not told this, but perhaps Abraham’s father and
family themselves practiced this ritual. Whatever the case,
Abraham is familiar with the practice. He is surrounded in this
new land by people who worship other gods and practice child
sacrifices as a part of their worship. One point to the story is
that God is saying, "I’m not like the ‘gods’ those other people
worship. I’ll never again ask you to do this."
The cultural issue makes me wonder what the story would be
like if it were told today. There may be some people somewhere
who are practicing child sacrifices yet today, but I’m not aware
of any. So, what would be the cultural setting for this story
today? "I want you to take your child’s ‘Gifted and Talented’
application and burn it?" "I want you to take you child’s
premier soccer league application and burn it?" Or, removing
children from the story—for those of us with grown children, or
no children—"I want you to take your 401k, or your job, your
skills and abilities, your home…your health…and place it on an
altar and sacrifice it to me?" Because another point to the
story is that God has first place in our lives. Whatever we
value most, whatever we most want to hang onto, we ought to
value God more. We ought to hand those things over to God and
place our confidence and trust in Him. Whatever we most look to
bring us joy and pleasure in our lives, whatever we think we
can’t live without…we ought to feel that even more so about God.
Do you feel that way about your relationship with God? Can you
endure any loss in your life as long as God remains first in
your life? Does your relationship with God provide all you need
for this life—and the rest is bonus? Perhaps that is the
cultural relevance of this story for you.
There are a couple of other things that strike me in this
story. One is certainly the obedience of Abraham and the
commensurate trust he has in God. But I am also impressed with
Abraham’s availability. Twice in this passage Abraham responds,
"Here I am" when God calls his name. Being in relationship with
God means being available, ready and willing to respond when God
calls us. Even when called to something difficult like
sacrificing the thing most precious to us. I am struck by
Abraham’s availability to God.
Then there is, of course, Abraham’s obedience which is fueled
by absolute trust. He is asked to do a terribly difficult
thing—sacrifice his son. Every fiber in our being wants to
shout, "No! Don’t do it Abraham! Don’t go!" But go he does,
seemingly willing to carry out this incomprehensible act.
However we get a glimpse that his willingness is clothed in
trust by his answer to Isaac’s perceptive question, "Dad, we’ve
got the fire and wood for the sacrifice, but where is the
sacrificial lamb?" And Abraham replies, "God will provide." I’m
quite certain that Abraham didn’t know exactly what that
provision looked like. I doubt that he envisioned a ram being
found caught in a thicket. But of this he was certain—"God will
provide." Abraham has the faith that he can endure anything
because he absolutely trusts in God. The writer of Hebrews sees
Abraham’s faith this way, "By faith Abraham, when God tested
him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the
promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even
though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your
offspring will be reckoned.’" He’s being asked to sacrifice
the child of the covenant! "Abraham reasoned that God could
even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did
receive Isaac back from death" (Hebrews 11:17-19). Wow!
That’s a lot of faith and trust. I don’t have that kind of faith
and trust. Working on my faith and trust…but skeptical I can get
to Abraham’s level.
Hopefully, that level of test will never come. Tests will
come, but hopefully not to that level. In any event, as I work
on my faith and my trusting in God, I am assured of a few
things. One, God will never allow a test that I can’t endure.
And, two, if I continue to seek God in the midst of whatever
challenge comes my way, I know He will provide a way out. When
difficulties come in my life, when challenges of various kinds
come, I am encouraged to persevere through the example of faith
on the part of people in the Bible and through the words of
faith throughout the Bible itself. One specific word of
encouragement is 1 Corinthians 10:13,
a memory verse from a long time ago, "No temptation
[or test] has seized you except what is common to man. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you
can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way
out so that you can stand up under it." Those words are a
great source of encouragement and endurance for me. "No
temptation [or test] has seized you except what is common
to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also
provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Or, if
that’s too long for you to hang onto, a shortened version of
that—
"The Lord will provide." "The Lord will provide." Like
Abraham, walking through a great trial and testing, "The Lord
will provide." "Father, the fire and wood are here, but where is
the lamb for the burnt offering?" "The Lord will provide." A
serious illness has struck you or a family member. "The Lord
will provide." Things aren’t going so well at work, or perhaps a
job has been lost—"The Lord will provide." No testing will come
beyond our ability to bear it…and God will provide a way through
it. That’s the promise of a relationship with the Creator, the
Living God.
Learning to trust in God through all kinds of challenges is a
work in progress. The walk of faith. One of the best examples I
know of that—aside from the example of Abraham in Genesis 22—is
that of E.V. Hill. As many of you know, Dr. E.V. Hill is one of
my spiritual heroes. I’ve mentioned him in sermons and other
places, referring to the inspirations of his example in a
variety of settings. One example is the sermon he preached at
his wife’s funeral. Perhaps you’ve heard it. It’s been around
for several years and from time to time it resurfaces. You can
find it on YouTube, just search for E.V. Hill and wife’s
funeral. Anyway, Dr. Hill preaches the sermon for his wife’s
funeral. Can you imagine doing that? And he describes his
anguish when her illness progressed to the point where the
doctors said there was nothing more they could do. And E.V. Hill
says he went to the chapel in the hospital and prayed. And two
words kept coming to him, two words he felt God’s Spirit was
speaking to him. "Trust me." At first he thought it meant she
would be healed. But the journey continued downhill until his
wife died. Yet continually along the way those words, "Trust
me." Hill began to recognize that his vision was limited and
God’s was eternal. "Trust me." There will be reunion. Trust me.
Early in the sermon, Dr. Hill described meeting his wife and how
beautiful she was. And at the time of her death, he felt God
saying to him, "You think she was beautiful. You ought to see
her now. Trust me." In that rhythmic pattern of African-American
preachers, those two words, "Trust me," occur again and again.
By the end of the sermon he is literally shouting them, "Trust
me." And it’s those two words—trust me—that sustained E.V. Hill
through a most difficult testing of faith. "Trust me." "The Lord
will provide." God’s words, "Trust me." Our response in faith,
"The Lord will provide."
As Abraham walks toward the sacrificial altar on the
mountain, does he hear in his spirit the words, "Trust me?" And
that feeds his response…"The Lord will provide." As Moses stands
at the water’s edge, the people panicking around him as
Pharaoh’s army bears down on them—"Trust me." And the response,
"The Lord will provide." As David faces a vastly superior giant
of a foe—"Trust me." "The Lord will provide." As Nehemiah looks
over the ruins of a fallen Jerusalem, "Trust me." "The Lord will
provide." As Jesus sweats drops of blood at Gethsemane—"Trust
me." "The Lord will provide." As E.V. Hill watches his wife
waste away to nothing—"Trust me." "The Lord will provide." As
you walk through your own difficult challenge, whatever the
test, whatever the magnitude of the situation—a doctor says,
"I’m sorry, it’s cancer." "Trust me." And our response, "The
Lord will provide." An employer says, "I’m sorry, finances are
bad. We’re going to have to let you go." "Trust me." And the
response, "The Lord will provide." Sending a child off to
college. "Trust me." And our response, "The Lord will provide."
Whatever the challenge, whatever the test…listen for it…"Trust
me." And our response, "The Lord will provide."
"No testing has seized you except what is common to us all.
And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what
you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a
way out so that you can stand up under it." |
