I. What if God had said? C. Maye, take your son Bob to Lover’s Leap and offer him there as a burnt sacrifice. Dick and Dee, take Delaney; Marc and David take Kit; Larry & Sarah take Lyndal; Minnie take that grandbaby Raley up on the mountain and offer her as a burnt sacrifice; Debbie & Stan take Regina and offer her; Melody take Misty... and on and on to each of you, what if God had said take your first born son or daughter up on the mountain, place them on an altar and offer them as a burnt sacrifice?
Now there are probably times you might have desired God to give you this instruction, but no doubt it is hard for us to imagine a God that would say this to his people; if you are a parent or know someone who had lost a child you know it is one of the most devestating things we have to deal with in life. What parent wouldn’t rather deal with their own death than a death of a child? Even willing to cry out "Lord take me instead!" And we don’t even have to get to the issue of death, most parents cannot even stand to see their children in pain; with little bo-boos; sick or even just muddled down with life’s issues... we would gladly trade places with them, even when we know they should have made better decisions for themselves.
(22:1-2) But what did God say to Abraham... "take him and offer him, your only son Issac". What God? Have you no regard that Abraham has already lost his son Ishmael? Sarah bannished him to the wilderness, and now his only son (the only one that remains) is now to be offered as a burnt sacrifice. At first glance It makes us really wonder about a God that would ask such a thing; and about the people of Israel that would engage in such practices... and we ourselves would be truly incensed, I think, if God did give us these instructions: What God? are you talking to me? Did you say go offer your son as a "burnt offering?" Lord, I don’t even like for my sons to get sun-burned!
But, sometimes we have mis-read the Bible, like when we always say that Eve offered Adam an "apple"...It doesn’t say "apple" in the Scripture but simply "the fruit of the tree that was in the middle of the garden". (Gen 3:3), and in this passage God did not say to Abraham "go kill your son". That is simply the idea we have gathered from the text, but look again at those few verses - "God tested Abraham, by saying "Take your son, your only son Issac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you."
You see it was clearly from the beginning a "test" from God for Abraham to simply go and "offer" Issac there as a sacrifice. It is not a issue promoting "child sacrifice, clearly something that was abhorent to" the later nation of "Israel" (1). In fact in Leviticus 20:2-5 "any of the people of Israel who offer their offspring to Molech (mo’-lek) will be put to death". The literal Hebrew root of this word for mo’lek is defined as "to offer sacrifice", and specifically bannish from all Israelite thought and culture the very thought or notion of offering a child as a sacrifice to appease a vengiful god or king (2).
So at first glance we assume that God has directed Abraham to kill his only remaining son, yet clearly the law that is to follow is forbids this very practice. Meanwhile the test from God continues and Abraham without even one protest, packs up his son, his donkey, his firewood, his servants and off he goes into the wilderness in faithfulness to God. Not me, and probably not you...God would have had to drag me off kicking and screeming... even when Uncle Sam called me at home and said "pack your bags you are leaving for the war in Saudi Arabia", I didn’t even just blindly go, but questioned "Why God, why me?" Why not Sgt. Snuffy or Pvt. John Doe? Why me God, I’m being faithful to you?" Or why not I? Since apparently I didn’t even trust His plan for my life, and yet here is Abraham with such "un-comprehensible faith".
It is faith beyond any comprehension! Faith, without doubt! Faith without even questioning that would blindly pick up a knife, and firewood and a son and set off to the distant mountain to make a sacrifice. It is a faith that is so strong that I cannot even begin to get my mind around it (I know that’s hard to believe). I can grasp the faith of a woman who would touch the hem of a garment, hoping for God’s healing power; I can grasp the faith of a blind man sitting by the side of the road crying out for the healer to come; I can even somehow put into thought that miraculously out of a few fishes and loaves God can feed 5,000 people; but such a blind faith that would take the boy as a sacrifice off into the wilderness at the bequest of a testing God - this kind of faith seems just beyond my comprehension, and is a faith of magnitudal proporsions. A blind obediance.
II. But lets not approach this text with our faith; nor with out understanding of God; but lets look at this picture with the understanding of Abraham and the Hebrew people. Exodus 22:29 is clear when it says "You shall not delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me." It is no secret among the Hebrew people that from the very beginning, even from Abraham’s earliest understanding of God, He desired your first and your best, even "offering" the firstborn son. But God had already provided a way of "Redemption", listen to this earlier account from (Exodus 13:13-16)...
God required them to offer their firstborn son, but God had already given the instruction that once offered, they would be "redeemed"...or if you will "purchased back" with a price...or by example "something offered in their place". In this case offering an animal for the price of redemption. In the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, we see this happen, but this offering and redemption go clearly back, even to Abraham and Issac. It is by this faith and understanding that Abraham approaches God. God says offer your son... and with a faith that is beyond our understanding... Abraham goes.
When is the last time you have responded to God with this kind of faith? When was the last time you followed God’s leading with such an unquestioning faith, knowing clearly that God was calling you to a ministry?; a task or simply to get up and come worship him? Deb and I were talking about response to "the call" to ministry on Thursday and sometimes it seems, even when you first here it there is this desire to sit and think on it; ponder it; reflect on what God has said... and yet not Abraham... get up and follow God’s plan.
Perhaps we should take a look at what Abraham seems to also know about God in this text: (vs 5) He clearly tells the servents "stay here, the boy and I will go over there and we will worship, and then we will come back to you." He clearly knew, by faith that they were going to worship together, and that in faith they were coming back together.
And when his sons seems to catch on here that there is a slight problem... (vs 7)... "Dad" I see your shiny knife there; and some firewood that I’m carrying for you, but a dad --- I don’t quite know how to say this dad, (big gulp in the throat) but "where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
And Abraham, un-waivering; un-questioning; with un-comprehensible faith "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (vs 8). And as he raised the knife in un-comprehensible faith; his sound bound on the altar of the Lord... an angel interuppts (good timing) (phew!)... thank God the Lord’s timing is better than our timing.... and there in the thicket was a ram... caught up and the Scripture proclaims (vs 13b) "Abraham went and took the ram, and offred it up as a burnt offering instead of his son". Issac was redeemed; Abraham never had a doubt and he named the place "The Lord Will Provide"!
It is a powerful faith to believe in the redemption of God. (3) A friend named Sarah sent me a story this week, about a final test in a "Seminary Class". The Professor had loaded the class down with studying; terms; concepts and everyone was in a tizzy about the test (sort of like the week I was over at Austin Presbterian and everyone in Rev. John Wright’s Polity Class (including Deb) were in a tizzy over his 105 question exam.
In this class in the story, the Professor came in and said he would review with us for just a little bit before the test. We went through the review, most of it right on the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing that the students had never even heard of. Most of the students knew clearly they were not ready for the exam. When questioned about it, he said that they were in the book and we were responsible for everything in the book. I guess so to speak "every jot and tittle of the law".
Finally it was time to take the test. "Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one and I’ll tell you to start," our prof instructed. When we turned them over, every answer on the test was filled in! The bottom of the last page said the following:
"This is the end of the Final Exam. All the answers on your test are
correct. You will receive an ’A’ on the final exam. The reason you
passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All
the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the
A. You have just experienced...grAce."
He then went around the room and asked each student individually, "What is your grade? Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?"
The creator had passed the test for them. It would have taken great faith for Abraham to thrust down that knife, but he didn’t have to, God provided another way, a way of Redemption; God provided the lamb. He offered grace, and Abraham passed the test.
Abraham’s story is really no different than our own; the reuired atonement for our sin is "death", but like Abraham’s story, a sacrifice needed to be made for the atonement for our sins; And it would take a lot to pick up the wood and knife and go out into the wilderness to make atonement for our sins... in fact for my sins I couldn’t even carry enough wood; or sacrifice enough animals, but through faith, I don’t have to, for God hath provided the lamb. John knew it when he saw Jesus in the wilderness and proclaimed "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!".
And God’s only son Jesus, was lead out to the place we call Golgotha and offering; the Lamb of God.
(1) NIB, Vol I, p. 494-495
(2) research from "The Dictionary of the Bible and Religion, William H. Gentz, p. 703 and "The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible", p. 422-423 (J. Gray).
(3) - e-mail, author unknown
