Pondering Genesis 22:1-19

Abraham Tested 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
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."

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. 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."

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, 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.

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. 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."

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] 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."

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 [b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Footnotes:

Genesis 22:13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text a ram behind him
Genesis 22:18 Or seed



Words, phrases that stuck out:

*** "only son" (verse 2) and "third day" (verse 4): It is so cool how God foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus, his only son, and on the third day, no less, hundreds of years before it actually happened. To me, this is just one of MANY examples from the Old Testament where the Cross is described, where God used similar circumstances surrounding Christ to make covenants, to bring salvation, etc. Amazing.

*** Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.; verse 10: Dang. First, this sentence is so powerful, it is it's own entire verse. It also makes me think of a discussion from my high school youth group (yes, I can remember those days on occasion), where the adult leading our discussion group talked about this passage, and how if God asked him to kill one of his kids, he'd basically say, "Hell no, God! I won't do it!" While I appreciated his honesty (and forcefulness...sorry if the "hell no" offends...), I always thought it was, while honest, an amazing lack of faith. Then I had a kid...and understood his initial thoughts all the more...

Honestly, I don't know what I would do. Oh, sure, I "hope" I would do whatever God would ask...but dang. I do think this passage has more to say to us than just "killing our kid" though. I believe at the core it is a test to see how far I would be willing to sacrifice for the sake of God's glory...I selfishly hope it would never be the sacrifice of my son, but now I can at least appreciate a smidgen of what God the Father went through when Jesus was killed... But, let's continue to ponder the concept of being "willing". Am I willing to sacrifice things, whether material or abstract, should God ask? I know a story, for example, of a couple (that will remain anonymous...and they aren't who told me...they have no idea) who felt so called by God to be able to give more generously to their church and mission...that they decided to sell their "dream home" (that had only been lived in for like 6 months) and downsize so they could give more to their church. What an example of obedience! Can you imagine the war going on in their hearts? "But, we just moved in! It's our dream house! We already give a lot!" You also need to know, their church isn't one of those kinda freaky, televangelist-led, "give us/me more money so God can move (and pastor can get a sweet home(s))"-type places. No, it is a missional, not-self-seeking, impactful, progressive community of faith. Could I do the same? Would you?

*** "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."; verse 12: See above for commentary on this one...I underlined it this morning, then after writing about verse 10, realize that I already explained my thoughts...

*** ...The LORD Will Provide.; verse 14: First, what a great statement of faith, not that God might provide, but will provide. But, this was actually a place, almost a signpost for Abraham and others to remember how God provided, and would again. It is very similar to the concept of the Ebenezer, something built to remember the Lord, his ways, promises, etc., that one can look back on and be encouraged and have hope (aka, certainty).

Questions for me:

How far is the limit of what I'm willing to sacrifice for God? What holds me back? Fear? Possible ridicule? Risks (even if only "possible")?

Are there "monuments", images, etc., in my life that I can return to and be reminded of God's promises, provision, etc.?