TESTING of the PROMISE

February 26, 2024

Genesis 22:1-14 

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He 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 of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.



When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 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, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

TESTING of the PROMISE

Admittedly, this is one of the most well known and most difficult passages in the Bible. Would you agree? We first meet Abraham in Genesis 12, there he is described as the one through whom “all the peoples on the earth” will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). Now, remember that promise God gave to Abraham and Sarah when they were well advanced in years, and before they even had a child.

Today’s reading places before us the scene in which we observe that what started as God’s call to Abraham to leave his home has now reached a dramatic climax. God has now included in that call the ultimate sacrifice and test of Abraham’s faith, the willingness to sacrifice his only son. The pain and sadness of this moment is amplified by the fact, as I just mentioned, that Abraham and his wife, Sarah, had waited years without seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise of a son. God’s promise that a nation would come through their family seemed impossible  to Abraham and Sarah.

Put yourself in this situation. After waiting and waiting and waiting some more for God’s promise to be fulfilled finally they now have the answer to their prayers and God has given them a son. Now here is the uncomfortable part, the difficult part, the “how could God ask this? Part. God asks Abraham to do something that seems completely cruel and irrational. How in the world will God bless all the peoples on the earth, and create a people through Abraham by the sacrifice of Abraham’s only heir? How will this death lead to the blessings promised in Genesis 12? The answer comes as we move from the events of Abraham’s life to the events of the life of Jesus. There we see, the Grace of God in action.

Today, as you reflect on this story of faith and sacrifice in light of this season of LENT which leads us up to Holy Week, take the time to reflect on the way it foreshadows the faith and sacrifice of Jesus. Abraham’s declaration that God himself will provide the lamb (Genesis 22:8) reminds us of God’s gift of the Lamb to save the world (Mark 10:45; John 1:29, 36). God’s provision of the ram on Mount Moriah foreshadows his sacrifice of his only son, Jesus Christ, the true Lamb without blemish who died in our place on the cross. Like Isaac, Christ is the lamb led to the slaughter, yet unlike Isaac, Jesus didn’t open his mouth. Just as Isaac carried his own wood for the altar, Christ carried his own wooden cross (John 19:17). I invite you to go back and re-read the passage above with your eyes focussed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2).



Prayer

God, I thank and praise you for sending your only Son into the world. And in light of your grace may I live a life of faith, trusting in your goodness and grace. In Christ’s Name, Amen.