The reading Genesis
21:1-3; 22:1-14
21:1 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord
did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah
conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had
spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.
22:1 After these things God tested Abraham. He 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 that I shall show you." So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled
his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut
the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the
distance that God had shown him. On the
third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to
his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over
there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you." Abraham took
the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself
carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac
said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am,
my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the
lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham
said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my
son." So the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place that God had
shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound
his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took
the knife to kill 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, since
you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught
in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a
burnt offering instead of his son. So
Abraham called that place "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to
this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
The message
We are now 7
weeks away from the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
This event, which divided the church and changed the religious, political and
social world started on October 31st 1517 when Martin Luther posted
the 95 Theses or points. This document
was mostly a call to debate about the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic
Church. It also sharply questioned
church authority and the way things were done for centuries. As we approach
this historic event, I plan to include parts of Martin Luther’s writing in each
week’s sermon. As Luther found evidence
of God’s promises fulfilled through Christ’s death and resurrection throughout
scripture, we should be able to as well.
This week,
we start with the sacrifice of Isaac, one of the most difficult, uncomfortable
and complicated moments in the Bible. This story is an event in the history of
Israel that challenges our idea of God in serious ways. God tests Abraham by instructing him to kill
his son Isaac as an offering then waiting around to see if he does it.
I wanted to
talk about the characters involved in this story. Isaac is the child of a promise. The first time, God calls Abraham, God tells
him he will be the father of a great nation.
As proof, Abraham is told his wife, Sarah, who is long past child
bearing age, will give birth to a son, a true heir to Abraham’s name. Isaac is
that child and grows knowing he is a miracle.
Isaac is a good son, obedient and faithful. He trusts his father and
goes on this trip to Moriah. He thinks it’s strange that there is no ram or other
animal to sacrifice but does not think much more of it. After all, God has
spoken to Abraham many times before, he has gone to do things that seemed
unusual but it’s always worked out.
Abraham’s
wife Sarah, has no idea what the true purpose of this trip is. We are left to believe Abraham simply said “I
heard from the Lord, Isaac and I have to travel a large distance to offer a
sacrifice” to which Sarah replies “okay honey have a safe trip and gives him a
hug”. Again God has spoken to Abraham
many times before, he has gone to do things that seemed unusual but it’s always
worked out.
Like Sarah
and Isaac, the two young men who are helping with the trip, also have no idea
that Abraham is going on this trip to kill his son as a requested sacrifice to
the lord. They are simply doing their
jobs. At some point, we assume the land
changes and the donkey can no longer make the trip. The 2 young men are given the task of
watching the donkey and waiting for their boss to come back.
No one
realizes how close they really are to something awful, to a horrific event and
to being under the care of a God who demands the sacrifice of children or
whatever we hold most dear. Abraham is the only one who knows the purpose
of this trip. He has heard the Lord call
him several times before. Each time, answering here I am and receiving great
news, promises or instructions to do a task. This time is different. Now the
word from God is not you will be the father of a great nation, or you will have
descendants as numerous as the stars, this time, its “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 that I shall show you."
In the Old
Testament, there are many examples of people arguing with God or protesting
God’s instruction. There is Jonah who refuses to go to Nineveh and ends up in a
whale’s belly, there is pleading for saving Sodom and Gormorrah. In a few weeks, we will hear Moses tell God
“I don’t talk well, I don’t want to go to confront Egypt and set your people
free”. Here, Abraham makes no complaint,
he even gets up early to get a head start on this awful demand. Abraham does love Isaac more than anything
else, this child was not unexpected, he was impossible. Not having an heir was
the biggest disappointment of Abraham’s life, one that made everything seem
like a failure. God gave him this son
and now God was basically asking for him back. As they travel, Abraham carries
this burden alone. I imagine this burden took its toll emotionally and
physically on Abraham. I guess Isaac or the others stopped occasionally and
asked Abraham “are you okay, you looked troubled or you look tired”. Once they arrive close to the site, Abraham
and Isaac go alone. Now when Abraham
tells the young men, “Isaac and I will
go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you” I cannot
figure out if Abraham is lying, unable to even say what he is going to do, or
he has just come to trust that God will not let this happen.
Abraham and
Isaac get to the site chosen by the Lord for the sacrifice. Abraham goes through with it, he will obey
God’s command, he will kill his own beloved son. At the last moment, God
intervenes, an angel stops Abraham from doing what we cannot believe God asked
him to do. Isaac was never in true
danger . We never get any glimpse of the emotional trial this was. Abraham appears as a good solider, following
orders. He offers a ram as a sacrifice and calls the place “the Lord will
provide”. In later verses more news
comes for Abraham, its good again, he is told Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only
son, I will indeed bless you,
Instead of delving into why God has done this
test, I prefer to celebrate that God never gives anyone this test again. There
are lessons in this story we can see in the Reformation as well. The demands of faith are not easy. A life of
faith is not easy. Martin Luther endured
personal and spiritual struggles throughout his life, losing a child and facing
what he considered attacks by demonic forces trying to pull him from God. In his famous hymn a Mighty Fortress is our God tells us that even if we lose everything
we value, our children, family, house, fame, possessions, we are still loved
and protected by God. Luther writes: If they take our house, goods, fame, child
or spouse, wretch our life away, they cannot win the day, the kingdom’s ours
forever. I had sung this hymn a good
15 or 20 times before I noticed this line, a frightening vision that directs
our trust always and only at God alone, to the place where Abraham was
throughout this story.
As Luther
develops his theology, he never forgets, centuries after the sacrifice (well
non sacrifice) of Isaac, God will be in Abraham’s position, with God’s beloved
Son Jesus on the cross and this time, there is no last second reprieve. At the
crucifixion, the crowds, the disciples, even Jesus himself wonders will God
stop it. Once again, only God knows what
is happening, that Jesus will rise again and destroy the power of sin and death
once and for all. Luther had little
patience for people who thought or acted like God did rescue Jesus from death.
Instead, there was the Theology of the Cross, the realization that God is
present in our suffering, helping us endure. Faith is not a get out of
suffering free card, it’s a little note where God promises you are loved, saved
and cared for. Prayer is not a magic way
to get what you want, it’s a reminder that you are loved, saved and cared for
by God.
Finally, One
of the main causes that led Luther to speak up about what was going on in the
religious life of his time was the burdens people were carrying, their anxiety
about being forgiven, their fear of eternal hell and concern about following all
the rules that had accumulated in church over the years. Luther speaks up because he realized that God
does not want us to carry these burdens.
There will be the burdens of remaining faithful in the face of evil,
tragedy and temptation. There will not be the burdens of wondering if you are
forgiven or loved by God.
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