In our studies in the life of Abraham today we will ascend a far more dangerous mountain.

Transcription

1 Genesis 22:1-19 Introduction In our studies in the life of Abraham today we will ascend a far more dangerous mountain. The patriarch will take us up the treacherous slopes of Moriah, an arduous journey for a man who was old enough to be retired. Yet, Moriah will prove be the summit of his devotion to God. Israel s destiny will be shaped by what will happen there. In our text from Genesis 22 we will discover what supreme devotion to God looks like. I. God s Terrible Request (22:1-2).

2 2 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham! Here I am, he replied. (Gen. 22:1) Once more now, God speaks to Abraham. We know from the outset that what God is about to ask of him is merely a test designed to find out what lies within his heart (Deut 8:2). Though this softens the full impact of God s horrific command for us, it certainly doesn t for Abraham. He will embark on a journey that will rip his heart open. In typical fashion, he responds with that obedient servant s ready reply in Hebrew, Hinneni ( Here am I, or, Behold me ).

3 3 His keen expression of availability will expose him to a vulnerability heretofore unknown to man. 2 Then God said, 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. (Gen. 22:2) The English translation misses some of the subtle nuances of the original. God s request opens with the polite please take. This is very unusual for a divine command. It is a hint that the LORD appreciates the costliness of what he is asking. 1 1 Gordon Wenham, Genesis (Waco, Texas: Word, 1994), 104. I have depended heavily on Wenham's excellent insights for many of my observations in the text.

4 4 Abraham is asked to take this very boy whom he had placed all his hopes in and go to the land of Moriah, where he is to worship God on a mountain to be specified later. Moriah is near Jerusalem. The very mention of its name gives the first hint that God may intervene in the story. So once they arrive in that place, Isaac is to be offered as a burnt offering. Abraham is supposed to lay his boy on the altar, slit his throat and burn the meat off his bones to express his complete dependence on God. 2 Thus we can appreciate the horror descending on Abraham as he tries to come to grips with what complete dependence means. 2 The Hebrew term olah comes from the verb to ascend, signifying the whole sacrifice is consumed by fire and thus goes up in smoke.

5 5 As the poet explains, In the twinkling of an eye dawn can go dark. 3 II. The Journey to Moriah (22:3-10). A. The Morning Departure (22:3). 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. 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. 22:3) In typical fashion, Abraham doesn t debate or delay when obedience is demanded. Early in the morning he rises and prepares for the painful departure. Whatever his state of his mind, we are awed that Abraham simply did as he was told. B. Separation at the Foot of the Mountain (22:4-5). 3 John Felstiner, Paul Celan, Poet, Survivor, Jew (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 34.

6 6 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. (Gen. 22:4-5) Abraham treks for three days with Isaac before their destination comes into view. Finally, on the third day (Exodus 2:18; 5:3), Abraham raises his eyes and sees that dreaded place from afar. We are left to imagine the pang that shot though the father s heart when he caught sight of it (Skinner). 4 At this point Abraham leaves his donkey and servants to travel the rest of the journey alone with his son. Was the ascent too steep? Did God tell him to go it alone? Was it too painful to have witnesses present? The text does not say. 4 Wenham, Genesis, 107.

7 7 But now we hear Abraham s first words in the story. They conceal almost as much as they reveal. 5 He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you. (Gen. 22:4-5) Abraham s statement, we will worship and return to you, is the center of the story. It can be interpreted as the apex of his faith. The author of Hebrews says this is a sign that Abraham holds onto the promise. He does so with such tenacity that he believes God will raise the boy from the dead (Heb 11:19). C. The Journey Up the Mountain Alone With Isaac (22:6-8). 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,

8 8 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, Father? Yes, my son? Abraham replied. The fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? 8 Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together. Abraham and Isaac, father and son, climb the last and steepest part of their journey alone. As he straps the wood to Isaac s back, he must have envisioned the terrible moment when Isaac would place his back upon the wood. With that, Abraham is seized by silence. The Genesis Rabbah, which is the Jewish commentary on Genesis, collected some centuries after Christ, views Isaac like a condemned man who took his cross upon his shoulders (56:3).

9 9 It is at this point that we cringe as we ponder about the missing ingredient for worship: 7 The fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? (Gen. 22:7) Abraham only reply is that God will provide. In the Hebrew it says, God will provide for himself, and more literally it says, God will see for himself. Just as Abraham was to go for himself, now God will see for himself or see to it, meaning, he will provide the necessary sacrifice. Here Abraham s faith presses to see beyond what he cannot see, into a future that outlives death itself.

10 10 Isaac must have satisfied, for they continue the rest of the way up the mountain. The scene is framed by the phrase, So the two of them walked on together. III. At the Summit of Moriah (22:9-19). A. The Preparations for the Sacrifice (22:9-10). 9 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. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (Gen. 22:9-10) Was he able to look Isaac in the eyes as he laid him on the altar? What amazing resolve! But Isaac s silent submission is equally remarkable.

11 11 So Abraham reaches for the butcher knife lest his emotions get the better of him. 5 But, as he stretches out his hand to perform what would be his last act as Isaac s father, a voice calls out from heaven. B. The Angel Speaks to Stop the Sacrifice (22:11-12). 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham! Here I am, he replied. 12 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. 22:11-12) The angel calls from heaven just as he called out to Hagar. 5 knife Ironically, in every occurrence of the nominative in the OT, it is used (literally or metaphorically) on human victims. In biblical use, then, the tool seems to carry the same ominous connotations as does the butcher knife in some modern contexts. Anthony Tomasino, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, William A. VanGemeren, ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 2:831.

12 12 Each of Abraham s sons is threatened with death in the wilderness, one in the presence of his mother, the other in the presence (and by the hand) of his father. At the center of the story, Abraham s hand holds the knife. For a third time in the story we hear Abraham s Hinneni. Now the angel of the LORD says 12 Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. (Gen. 22:12) Looking up, he beholds the provision of God. C. The Provision of the Ram (22:13-14). 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided. (Gen. 22:13-14)

13 13 As the smoke ascends into the heavens, the angel of the LORD speaks to Abraham a second time. D. The Angel Speaks a Second Time (22:15-18). 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. (Gen. 22:15-18) Now the LORD seals Abraham s worship with an oath. This, the only divine oath in the patriarchal narratives, shows how deeply our obedience moves the heart of God.

14 14 This act is the demonstration that Abraham s faith was real; and in the act of obedience his faith was perfected. 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (James 2:17) 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God s friend. And, lest Abraham have any doubts about his significance in history, God concludes by saying that his seed will be the spiritual center of the universe. Some future descendant of Abraham s will be the source of all blessing to all nations.

15 15 All of this is given to Abraham for the devotion he showed to God that day... because he obeyed the LORD. IV. Descent Down the Mountain (22:19). 19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (Gen. 22:19) This text describes the height of devotion, the very summit of worship. Here at the highest peak we gain a clear vision of where our journey of faith is going to lead each of us. It is at once terrible and supremely wonderful. This is the paradox of true spirituality: the cost is terrible, the blessing indescribable. V.Lessons on Our Journey to Moriah. A. The Terrible Cost of Obedience.

16 16 We observe 3 characteristics of the terrible cost of obedience. First, after years of walking by faith, Abraham is given a command that takes him right back to his very beginnings: go by yourself. The command shakes us to the core. It evokes all those initial sacrificial steps of faith that cost Abraham dearly. Now, after some forty years, he is told to do the same thing all over again. Obedience can be a lonely road. Even in our old age we can never become complacent. At the age of retirement we may be making our most lonely yet faithful journeys for God.

17 17 Second, God doesn t tell Abraham exactly where, but he is to walk by faith until God reveals that place to him. So he journeys not by sight but by faith. Once God reveals the exact mountain, he will ascend it and worship the LORD. Obedience is a lonely, uncertain road. Third, God asks Abraham to sacrifice the very gift he had invested all his hopes in. This is not Ishmael, whom he had created in his own strength, but Isaac, the gift of God whom he had received by faith: Isaac, the gift that came out of his weakness and represented God s future kingdom on earth. Now God commands him to kill the dream.

18 18 That is the terrible cost of obedience. It is a lonely road, because at times we have to travel it alone. It is an uncertain road, because we don t know where we re going. And it is a painful road, because God asks us to give up the very thing we love most. But, if the cost is great, the blessings are supreme. B. The Blessing of Obedience. First, we discover Abraham s loneliness is met by God himself. If Abraham goes by himself, then God provides for himself and swears by himself. This is what God has for each one of us.

19 19 We reach a point in our destitute isolation when we find God, and he alone is more than enough. So don t run away from your loneliness; run up the mountain to Moriah. Second, when Abraham walks by faith, not by sight, he ends up seeing everything. He raises his eyes and sees the ram. He sees the God who sees, the God who provides. In that moment the dreaded mountain becomes the place of vision. Third, when Abraham is willing to give up his most precious possession to God,

20 20 he receives him back with a new appreciation and a richer love than if he had tried to possess him for himself. His obedience is built into the very fabric of the promises of God, and shapes history forever. C. The Greatness of the Father s Love. But, finally, there is one more important lesson for us in this journey. Though it s hidden beneath the surface, it is probably the crux of the whole story. Many people have a hard time believing that God really loves them. How does that truth move from the head to the heart?

21 21 The answer is, go to Moriah. Take the boy s hand and travel three days with Abraham. Climb the steep terrain in awful silence, holding the butcher knife in your hand. Look into the eyes of the son you bound, mute, willingly lying on the altar. Can you feel the father s heart exploding in horror? How can you not weep? Then you come to appreciate the greater horror of the story s glow: the son that was spared was you, and the ram that took your place was his son, his only son, the one he loved, Jesus.

22 22 The Father never tells us how much it cost him, but he does tell us the ancient story. If you don t know the love of the Father, I can only ask you, Have you never been to Moriah? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32) Closing