Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our heavenly Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! The text is our Old Testament lesson from the book of Genesis, chapter 22, verses 1 through 18, and I will quote from it as we go. Ever wonder if it makes any difference if you obey God in a particular thing or not? Now, I m not talking about some massive sin in your life. I m talking about something you feel called by God to do, and you talk yourself into saying someone else can do it, or it wouldn t matter to anyone anyway. You know the drill. But what if it did matter? I mean, what if it really mattered as part of God s plan. Maybe even mattered for the future of the entire human race? I guess if we are all part of a continuum of human events within the will of God, then every event matters to the outcome. It s like that butterfly theory that a butterfly flapping its wings somewhere in India stirs a breeze that creates a hurricane halfway around the world. Regardless, the point is our actions and inactions have real consequences. Which brings us to father Abraham and a short phrase that I find particularly troubling in today s text. Verse 1 of Genesis 22: NOW IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS THAT GOD TESTED ABRAHAM. Let s put this in context. You recall how Abraham got to this point in his life. He left his homeland decades earlier when God commanded him to head out, NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING. Now both He and his wife Sarah were old, ancient in fact, well past child bearing age. A hundred or so. And the Lord came to them and promised Abraham a son, an heir, through whom he would become the father of a great nation. And Sarah laughed, until she gave birth to their son, whom they promptly named Isaac literally, laughter. So my point is: Abraham and Sarah had already seen that God could do the impossible. 1
Then God calls to Abraham and says, TAKE NOW 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. Isaac is at this point a boy of perhaps 8 or 10 years. The text calls him a lad. And God tells Abraham to take this lad, whom he loves, this miracle child that God himself had provided, this little boy who was to be the heir through whom Abraham would be the father of a great nation to take him and offer him as a burnt offering. And we think we re being tested by God. And we are. The fact is: God tests each believer according to His wisdom and love severely or lightly, often or sparingly. We have to decide whether we regard God as a convenient means to fulfill our wishes, or whether we are committed to let God s will be done in full confidence that it is a good and gracious will. And make no mistake, Abraham fully understood what God meant. The burnt offering was a sacrifice qorban, a necessary ritual to draw near to God. Abraham knew the deal: since he was a man, sinful and unclean by nature, he needed a way to approach the infinitely holy God with assurance of acceptance. That was the primary purpose of the burnt offering. But it also represented something else. It showed that the one bringing the offering was wholly dedicated, because none of the sacrifice was returned to him. It was burned up, fully consumed, so it was gone to him forever. And it needed to be spotless in order to be a perfect substitute for the one bringing it. The one bringing it even placed his hand on its head to identify himself with the sacrifice. You get the picture this was no small thing for Abraham to accept! So how did he respond? What might you have done? I suspect I would have to remind God what he had apparently forgotten: 2
Lord! This is Isaac, remember? The child you promised us? He s a miracle child! You promised me a great nation of descendants through him! This isn t right! What could you be thinking, Lord? Abraham could have said that, but he didn t. What did he do? ABRAHAM ROSE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND SADDLED HIS DONKEY, AND TOOK TWO OF HIS YOUNG MEN WITH HIM, AND ISAAC HIS SON; AND HE SPLIT THE WOOD FOR THE BURNT OFFERING, AND AROSE AND WENT TO THE PLACE OF WHICH GOD HAD TOLD HIM. He got up early to do what God had commanded. Wanna guess what his heart felt like? What did he say to Sarah? How did he look at little Isaac? He got up. He saddled his donkey. He packed the knife. He split the wood for the burnt offering. And he set out. Just as he had done many years before when God led him out of Ur, when he took his family and all he had and set out for a land God had promised him, not knowing where he was going. Not asking, exactly how is this going to work, Lord? And look at little Isaac. How did he see all this? I have grandchildren a bunch of them and they like to go places with me. I m their poppa. So I suspect this was an exciting adventure for the little guy; he got to go on an important trip with his poppa. So they set off. It took them three days to get to where they were going, maybe 50 miles walking with the donkey carrying their supplies. So Abraham had plenty of time to think about what he was doing, about what was going to happen. Then they arrived. Verse 4: ON THE THIRD DAY ABRAHAM LIFTED HIS EYES AND SAW THE PLACE AFAR OFF. 5 AND ABRAHAM SAID TO HIS YOUNG MEN, STAY HERE WITH THE DONKEY; THE LAD AND I WILL GO YONDER AND WORSHIP, AND WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU. 3
Interesting to note that he tells his servants, WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU. Did he know that, at that point? Verse 6 SO ABRAHAM TOOK THE WOOD OF THE BURNT OFFERING AND LAID IT ON ISAAC HIS SON; AND HE TOOK THE FIRE IN HIS HAND, AND A KNIFE, AND THE TWO OF THEM WENT TOGETHER. 7 BUT ISAAC SPOKE TO ABRAHAM HIS FATHER AND SAID, MY FATHER! AND HE SAID, HERE I AM, MY SON. THEN (ISAAC) SAID, LOOK, THE FIRE AND THE WOOD, BUT WHERE IS THE LAMB FOR A BURNT OFFERING? 8 AND ABRAHAM SAID, MY SON, GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR HIMSELF THE LAMB FOR A BURNT OFFERING. SO THE TWO OF THEM WENT TOGETHER. You know, I have had my share of minor troubles in life, but I have never known sorrow like this. Can you imagine what s going on in Abraham s heart? Three days he has been journeying with this little guy, whom he loves. Three days and three nights with his boy. What manner of love is this? In order to obey God, he has to sacrifice the one thing that matters to him more than anything else in the world! So he takes the wood he split for the fire, and he lays it on the boy s back. He takes the firepot and the knife, and starts up the mountain. And his sweet, respectful, trusting little boy says to him, Father? LOOK, THE FIRE AND THE WOOD, BUT WHERE IS THE LAMB FOR A BURNT OFFERING? And let s be clear, Isaac knew what they were going up that mountain to do. He had undoubtedly seen burnt offerings in his life, and he knew that a spotless lamb was needed. But where was the lamb? Whereupon father Abraham says something much bigger than this short text. He points to the future, for all of mankind. MY SON, GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR HIMSELF THE LAMB FOR A BURNT OFFERING. God will provide the perfect sacrifice, acceptable to Himself. What manner of love is that? That God 4
himself would provide the sacrifice so that Abraham wouldn t have to? SO THE TWO OF THEM WENT (on) TOGETHER. Verse 9: THEY CAME TO THE PLACE OF WHICH GOD HAD TOLD HIM. AND ABRAHAM BUILT AN ALTAR THERE AND PLACED THE WOOD IN ORDER; AND HE BOUND ISAAC HIS SON AND LAID HIM ON THE ALTAR, UPON THE WOOD. 10 AND ABRAHAM STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND AND TOOK THE KNIFE TO SLAY HIS SON. Three days of walking and talking with the boy, and how many nights without sleep? He stacked the rocks into an altar, he laid the wood on it. AND HE BOUND ISAAC HIS SON AND LAID HIM ON THE ALTAR, UPON THE WOOD. AND ABRAHAM STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND AND TOOK THE KNIFE TO SLAY HIS SON. How have we been tested by God? What has He asked us to endure? In faith, Abraham did what God had commanded him, not knowing the outcome, but trusting in the One who loved him! He accepted the limits of his own understanding. He placed his faith in the God who loved him and Isaac. And what is faith but moving out in full confidence, knowing that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE. Even, and perhaps especially, when they re things we don t even begin to understand. FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN. So ABRAHAM STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND AND TOOK THE KNIFE TO SLAY HIS SON. To sacrifice His only son, whom he loved. BUT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLED TO HIM FROM HEAVEN AND SAID, ABRAHAM, ABRAHAM! SO HE SAID, HERE I AM. 5
12 AND HE SAID, DO NOT LAY YOUR HAND ON THE LAD, OR DO ANYTHING TO HIM; FOR NOW I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD, SINCE YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON, FROM ME. God stayed his hand and granted pardon for Isaac. But it wasn t over yet. Where was the burnt offering? Abraham was sinful, and a holy God cannot be approached without an acceptable offering, a spotless and innocent sacrifice! 13 THEN ABRAHAM LIFTED HIS EYES AND LOOKED, AND THERE BEHIND HIM WAS A RAM CAUGHT IN A THICKET BY ITS HORNS. SO ABRAHAM WENT AND TOOK THE RAM, AND OFFERED IT UP FOR A BURNT OFFERING INSTEAD OF HIS SON. 14 AND ABRAHAM CALLED THE NAME OF THE PLACE, THE-LORD-WILL- PROVIDE; AS IT IS SAID TO THIS DAY, IN THE MOUNT OF THE LORD IT SHALL BE PROVIDED. Abraham had told Isaac, GOD WILL PROVIDE FOR HIMSELF THE LAMB FOR A BURNT OFFERING. And God did that for Abraham and for Isaac. Just as He has for us, as well. So that we can approach the throne of God, confident that our offering is acceptable to Him. Because He, himself, has provided the holy, innocent and spotless Lamb for the sacrifice, Jesus the Christ. So when John the Baptist saw him coming to the Jordan to be baptized, he shouted to the crowds, BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD! There is much more to be said about Abraham s faith. Suffice it to repeat the words of the book of Hebrews: BY FAITH ABRAHAM, WHEN HE WAS TESTED, OFFERED UP ISAAC, AND HE WHO HAD RECEIVED THE PROMISES OFFERED UP HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. He was declared to be righteous, not 6
because of what he did, not because of what he sacrificed, but because he believed God. But there is more to this picture. Abraham had brought his only son, whom he loved, to be sacrificed in order that he himself might approach the throne of God, that he himself might be acceptable. He was obeying God s command, and he was willing to sacrifice what he loved most in this world to be welcomed by God. But what if it hadn t been about him at all? What if Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac so that other people would be accepted by God? And what if those other people didn t even care? What if they were content to go on sinning, apart from God and the sacrifice he provided? What manner of love would that be? And what would it say about the sacrifice himself, willing to be led to his own death in obedience to his Father s will, knowing that many for whom he was dying would despise and reject him? But like little Isaac, trusting that his father s will is perfect. The One who said, BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD. The One who was OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. What manner of love would that be? And I wonder - how did Abraham look at Isaac on the way home? Here was his boy, back with him and safe, redeemed from death by the sacrifice that God himself provided! How did God the Father look at him? Bought back from death, precious in his eyes! How do we look at someone like that? Someone who was doomed to death, and is now alive? Take a look around the room, because it s full of them! And Isaac? How did he see that ram that God provided to take his place? Isaac had been bound with cords and laid on the wood for the sacrifice. The knife was ready, poised over him. But God intervened in mercy, and provided His own lamb instead. His blood for mine, his death, that I might live! 7
So what do we learn from Abraham and Isaac? Yes, Abraham was tested, far beyond anything most of us have ever known. And like Abraham, every true Christian, when he or she is tested, looks first to the nature of God. Thumbing our noses at even the oldest lies of Satan, lies like did God really say? we can lean into the unknown, knowing full well that HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL. So let s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, even when God crosses our most cherished plans or deprives us of our dearest possession, let us say as I suspect father Abraham might have done, It was good for me that I was tested. And know for certain that it was good for us that Abraham was tested, since God added to his promise in Verse 18 IN YOUR SEED ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, BECAUSE YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE. Because your seed, Abraham, your descendant: the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, is the true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! And in Him ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED. Because all who believe in Jesus are the true sons and daughters of Abraham, who live not by their own works, but by faith in the promise of God. The promise fulfilled in your seed, Abraham, the Messiah who blesses all nations on earth. Even Westminster, Massachusetts. Amen. Now may the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.+ 8