In Genesis, chapter 22, God tells Abraham:
“…Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about…” - (verse 2, NIV)
This, of course, is the classic story of Abraham’s obedience to what would seem to be the most extreme of heavenly requests. Abraham was asked to kill the very child that God had miraculously blessed him with. At the end of the story, however, God provides a ram instead of Isaac for the sacrifice. We discussed these verses last week in my bible study group.
I’ve heard it said that this story makes God seem like “a big bully”. Why would God demand something that seems so terrible, only to say “psych!” at the end? When we read this story as children, I think it’s very easy to have this type of view. I think I had this view myself reading this story as a young man. But recently a friend of mine pointed out that, as we get a little more mature in Christ, it becomes a little easier to see it differently.
I think for the most part this story was much bigger than Abraham. In one sense, God was foreshadowing the atoning death of Christ thru the imagery of a father sacrificing his son. In another sense, it’s a story that shows us the result of faith in God, as Abraham from this point went on to be richly blessed and to father many nations.
But the part I like to focus on is the effect of this moment on Abraham as a brother trying to walk his own spiritual journey. I believe that God was just as concerned with Abraham’s spiritual development as he was with the example this story would give to the ages. I believe that God knew that he was going to need to ask Abraham to call on some big-time faith in the years to come, and that in order for Abraham to be ready for that, he had to go thru some big-time training!
I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to believe that Abraham loved the heck out of his son Isaac. Perhaps a little too much? Perhaps God knew that Abraham needed a very strong lesson on the fact that, even in the case of this thing that He blessed him with, nothing can come between the relationship between God and Abraham. Certainly, Abraham was a man of God and certainly knew that this type of thing has always been commanded by God. But in this scenario, the wise words of Morpheus seem to resonate from out of the Matrix – “…there’s a difference between knowing the path…and walking the path…” :)
I also think verse 14 is significant:
“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide…”
If Ricardo had been on that mountain, not being quite as wise and faithful as Abraham was, I might have called it “The LORD didn’t take my stuff away from me”. If I did, it would be clear that I missed the whole point. It was significant that Abraham named that place the way he did. It shows to me that he recognized that at the end of the day, what was most important about that moment was not the fact that he got to keep his son, but rather that the sacrifice that the Lord requires and deserves was fulfilled. It’s not about him – it’s about Him.
So what’s the personal application? Fortunately, I don’t think God will call many of us to literally sacrifice the lives of our children for His purpose. However, he will probably call on us to sacrifice something that we ‘love’ – something that’s really important to us in our lives. Maybe it’s a career we’ve worked hard to achieve; a relationship we’ve spent a long time developing; maybe some possessions we’ve worked years to acquire. The bottom line – none of those things - even those things that are good in His sight and that we even give Him the credit for – none of those things can get in the way of our relationship with Him, and His purpose for our lives.
now Rep. John Lewis
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