Lent 5 – Judica March 26, 2023
Genesis 22:1-14
A Challenging Test
v.1-2 After these things God tested Abraham and 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 of which I shall tell you."
Dear friends in Christ, all told my post-secondary (post High School) academic career has taken nine years: 3 years for a Bachelor of Arts, 2 years for a Bachelor of Education, and 4 years for a Master of Divinity. I say this not to boast of my academic accomplishments, but simply to illustrate that over the course of my life I have taken a great many tests. A TON of tests! Some have been relatively easy. Some have been extremely difficult. Of course, you know that there are different kinds of tests: often the most important not being academic in nature.
Such is the case for our text today. For herein the great Patriarch, Abraham, is tested by the Lord God. And he is tested in such a way that you and I pray we never will be. For after more than 25 years since the first promise by God to Abraham to provide him a son—after long years of waiting and failed attempts to bring it about on their own (ie. Hagar and Ishmael)—God had at long last fulfilled His promised Word and had given Abraham and Sarah a son—Isaac—even in their advanced age (Sarah being 90 and Abraham 100 at the time of his birth).
And now, some years later, God has commanded that Abraham take his son, his beloved son, Isaac, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering to the Lord. Can you even imagine such a thing? Abraham had previously sent his son Ishmael away at God's command, since God had declared (Genesis 21:12b), "through Isaac shall your offspring be named." Meaning that Isaac was the genuine son of the promise, which God had made to Abraham repeatedly in Genesis 12:2, 15:4, and 18:10, 18-19, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."
And now God tells Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son as a burnt offering. What an incredible test of faith! Not a temptation, for as James writes (1:13b), God "tempts no one." But rather a test, as St. Peter writes (1:6-7), "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." So, God is herein testing Abraham's faith—to further refine it as gold in fire—that it may be purified and shine all the brighter for all to see. But this didn't make it any easier on Abraham.
Just as your own tests and trials are not always easy to endure, beloved. For you, too, may be tested by the Lord God in many and various ways. Perhaps you are being tested as you wrestle with depression and despair at the ugliness and sin in the world and in your own sin-darkened heart. Or maybe you are being tested due to struggles with grief or broken and shattered relationships. Furthermore, you may be tested to resist some form of addiction, or you are facing incredibly difficult health challenges, or even persecution for your faith. No matter what it is you are enduring, it is no more challenging than the test that was laid before Abraham by God Almighty.
The pagan Canaanites who surrounded Abraham in the land no doubt practiced such abominable things as child sacrifice—indeed, we have records of this ugly and despicable thing taking place as worship of Molech and Chemosh. But this command of God seemed to contradict the promise He Himself had made to Abraham that Isaac was the son of the promise through whom all the nations of the world would ultimately be blessed—as through Isaac would eventually sprout the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3 who would crush the head of the devil and end sin's dread curse upon humanity. And now God was ordering Abraham to kill his son!
Amazingly, by God's grace, Abraham doesn't seem to flinch. "So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac." Abraham simply goes at the Word of the Lord. How? How could he even think of doing such a thing? How could he fulfill such a challenging word of God? We are given a hint in v.5 when Abraham says to the young men who had accompanied him, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." Abraham clearly states that he would go with Isaac, worship, and then BOTH would return. How could this be? The writer to the Hebrews (11:19) helps us understand when he writes of Abraham, "He considered that God was able even to raise him [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back."
What keeps us going through our own tests and trials in life? The same promise and hope that helped Abraham persevere—the sure promise of God of the resurrection from the dead and life everlasting. Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac up even from the dead, which He would have had to do had Abraham sacrificed Isaac. Because Isaac was the son of the promise. God had said so. And Abraham had learned through long and hard experience that God never went back on His Word, but always fulfilled it. So, if Isaac was to die, but was also the son of the promise, then God would simply have to raise him back to life again.
Now we also receive this hope and comfort of the promise of the resurrection amidst our trials by this same gift of faith in the Son of God who was offered up as a sacrifice for our sin in our place, as the Ram was sacrificed up instead of Isaac. For Isaac serves as a prefiguring of Jesus in many ways: Isaac is the beloved son of his father, just as Jesus is the heavenly Father's beloved Son. You will recall at Jesus' baptism the voice of the Father from heaven declaring (Matthew 3:17), "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Furthermore, Isaac carries the wood of his own sacrifice up the mountain just as Jesus carried the wood of His own cross (John 19:17), "So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha." Incredibly, Isaac (though a strong young man, having carried a heavy load up a mountain), offered no resistance to his father, but trusted him, even when about to be sacrificed. Jesus, fulfilled this when He exhibited perfect trust in His father as the time of His sacrifice approached (Luke 22:42), while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And when He was bound upon the wood of the cross to be sacrificed, yet He did not revile or rebuke, instead He offered up words of forgiveness (Luke 23:34), "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And, as St. Peter writes (1:23), "When [Jesus] was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly."
But Isaac is not the only one who prefigures Christ in our text. For we also see that God provides a ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. God prevented Abraham from slaying Isaac by saying (Genesis 22:12-13), 'Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.' And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son."
So there is a ram—a sheep—caught in a thicket of thorns by the horns around its head. Just so, you will recall how our Lord Jesus at His passion was given a crown of thorns for His head (Matthew 27:29a), "…and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head…" Furthermore, John the Baptist declared of Jesus (John 1:29), "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." So Jesus is the final and ultimate sacrifice of God for the sins of the world. He is the perfect Lamb without blemish, sacrificed on the altar of the cross for the sins of all people—you and me included! It was there on Mount Moriah, later known as Mount Calvary, that the beloved Son of God would give His life as the pure and holy sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
Indeed, the Lord has provided for you, as He did for Abraham and Isaac. Prophesying of what was to come we are told, (Genesis 22:14), "So Abraham called the name of that place, 'The Lord will provide'; as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.'" Jesus has offered up Himself for you—giving you the good promise and assurance of forgiveness for all of your sins by His blood sacrifice. For all the sacrifices of rams, bulls, and goats could not take away your sins as the author of Hebrews notes (10:4), "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Therefore, Christ came to offer Himself and His blood for you and me and all people.
By the forgiveness of your sins you now also have the promise of the resurrection and everlasting life. St. Paul writes (1 Cor. 15:20-24), "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and authority and power."
So, beloved, take heart! Be of good cheer! No matter the trials and tests you are undergoing. For you can withstand and endure every test knowing that the Lord your God loves and has given His only Son to die for you. And that by His resurrection, you also shall be raised to new and everlasting life, free from sin, sorrow, pain, suffering, and death. For Christ has destroyed every rule and authority and power by His resurrection. His victory is complete. He has passed the test! And by faith in Him (faith further strengthened by such testing), that victory is yours! Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Genesis 22:1-14
A Challenging Test
v.1-2 After these things God tested Abraham and 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 of which I shall tell you."
Dear friends in Christ, all told my post-secondary (post High School) academic career has taken nine years: 3 years for a Bachelor of Arts, 2 years for a Bachelor of Education, and 4 years for a Master of Divinity. I say this not to boast of my academic accomplishments, but simply to illustrate that over the course of my life I have taken a great many tests. A TON of tests! Some have been relatively easy. Some have been extremely difficult. Of course, you know that there are different kinds of tests: often the most important not being academic in nature.
Such is the case for our text today. For herein the great Patriarch, Abraham, is tested by the Lord God. And he is tested in such a way that you and I pray we never will be. For after more than 25 years since the first promise by God to Abraham to provide him a son—after long years of waiting and failed attempts to bring it about on their own (ie. Hagar and Ishmael)—God had at long last fulfilled His promised Word and had given Abraham and Sarah a son—Isaac—even in their advanced age (Sarah being 90 and Abraham 100 at the time of his birth).
And now, some years later, God has commanded that Abraham take his son, his beloved son, Isaac, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering to the Lord. Can you even imagine such a thing? Abraham had previously sent his son Ishmael away at God's command, since God had declared (Genesis 21:12b), "through Isaac shall your offspring be named." Meaning that Isaac was the genuine son of the promise, which God had made to Abraham repeatedly in Genesis 12:2, 15:4, and 18:10, 18-19, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing."
And now God tells Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son as a burnt offering. What an incredible test of faith! Not a temptation, for as James writes (1:13b), God "tempts no one." But rather a test, as St. Peter writes (1:6-7), "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." So, God is herein testing Abraham's faith—to further refine it as gold in fire—that it may be purified and shine all the brighter for all to see. But this didn't make it any easier on Abraham.
Just as your own tests and trials are not always easy to endure, beloved. For you, too, may be tested by the Lord God in many and various ways. Perhaps you are being tested as you wrestle with depression and despair at the ugliness and sin in the world and in your own sin-darkened heart. Or maybe you are being tested due to struggles with grief or broken and shattered relationships. Furthermore, you may be tested to resist some form of addiction, or you are facing incredibly difficult health challenges, or even persecution for your faith. No matter what it is you are enduring, it is no more challenging than the test that was laid before Abraham by God Almighty.
The pagan Canaanites who surrounded Abraham in the land no doubt practiced such abominable things as child sacrifice—indeed, we have records of this ugly and despicable thing taking place as worship of Molech and Chemosh. But this command of God seemed to contradict the promise He Himself had made to Abraham that Isaac was the son of the promise through whom all the nations of the world would ultimately be blessed—as through Isaac would eventually sprout the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3 who would crush the head of the devil and end sin's dread curse upon humanity. And now God was ordering Abraham to kill his son!
Amazingly, by God's grace, Abraham doesn't seem to flinch. "So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac." Abraham simply goes at the Word of the Lord. How? How could he even think of doing such a thing? How could he fulfill such a challenging word of God? We are given a hint in v.5 when Abraham says to the young men who had accompanied him, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." Abraham clearly states that he would go with Isaac, worship, and then BOTH would return. How could this be? The writer to the Hebrews (11:19) helps us understand when he writes of Abraham, "He considered that God was able even to raise him [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back."
What keeps us going through our own tests and trials in life? The same promise and hope that helped Abraham persevere—the sure promise of God of the resurrection from the dead and life everlasting. Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac up even from the dead, which He would have had to do had Abraham sacrificed Isaac. Because Isaac was the son of the promise. God had said so. And Abraham had learned through long and hard experience that God never went back on His Word, but always fulfilled it. So, if Isaac was to die, but was also the son of the promise, then God would simply have to raise him back to life again.
Now we also receive this hope and comfort of the promise of the resurrection amidst our trials by this same gift of faith in the Son of God who was offered up as a sacrifice for our sin in our place, as the Ram was sacrificed up instead of Isaac. For Isaac serves as a prefiguring of Jesus in many ways: Isaac is the beloved son of his father, just as Jesus is the heavenly Father's beloved Son. You will recall at Jesus' baptism the voice of the Father from heaven declaring (Matthew 3:17), "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Furthermore, Isaac carries the wood of his own sacrifice up the mountain just as Jesus carried the wood of His own cross (John 19:17), "So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha." Incredibly, Isaac (though a strong young man, having carried a heavy load up a mountain), offered no resistance to his father, but trusted him, even when about to be sacrificed. Jesus, fulfilled this when He exhibited perfect trust in His father as the time of His sacrifice approached (Luke 22:42), while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And when He was bound upon the wood of the cross to be sacrificed, yet He did not revile or rebuke, instead He offered up words of forgiveness (Luke 23:34), "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And, as St. Peter writes (1:23), "When [Jesus] was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly."
But Isaac is not the only one who prefigures Christ in our text. For we also see that God provides a ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. God prevented Abraham from slaying Isaac by saying (Genesis 22:12-13), 'Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.' And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son."
So there is a ram—a sheep—caught in a thicket of thorns by the horns around its head. Just so, you will recall how our Lord Jesus at His passion was given a crown of thorns for His head (Matthew 27:29a), "…and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head…" Furthermore, John the Baptist declared of Jesus (John 1:29), "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." So Jesus is the final and ultimate sacrifice of God for the sins of the world. He is the perfect Lamb without blemish, sacrificed on the altar of the cross for the sins of all people—you and me included! It was there on Mount Moriah, later known as Mount Calvary, that the beloved Son of God would give His life as the pure and holy sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
Indeed, the Lord has provided for you, as He did for Abraham and Isaac. Prophesying of what was to come we are told, (Genesis 22:14), "So Abraham called the name of that place, 'The Lord will provide'; as it is said to this day, 'On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.'" Jesus has offered up Himself for you—giving you the good promise and assurance of forgiveness for all of your sins by His blood sacrifice. For all the sacrifices of rams, bulls, and goats could not take away your sins as the author of Hebrews notes (10:4), "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Therefore, Christ came to offer Himself and His blood for you and me and all people.
By the forgiveness of your sins you now also have the promise of the resurrection and everlasting life. St. Paul writes (1 Cor. 15:20-24), "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and authority and power."
So, beloved, take heart! Be of good cheer! No matter the trials and tests you are undergoing. For you can withstand and endure every test knowing that the Lord your God loves and has given His only Son to die for you. And that by His resurrection, you also shall be raised to new and everlasting life, free from sin, sorrow, pain, suffering, and death. For Christ has destroyed every rule and authority and power by His resurrection. His victory is complete. He has passed the test! And by faith in Him (faith further strengthened by such testing), that victory is yours! Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.