Genesis 22, (part 2). What it means for you and me.

Yesterday we looked at the testing of Abraham in Genesis 22. Wow, what a story! You can read more about it here. Basically God called Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah. Abraham trusted and obeyed God and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, but was stopped by God at the last possible second. God commended Abraham for his faith and fear of God and therefore promised to bless him tremendously and unilaterally. I said this all much more eloquently and more in depth yesterday, but that's the general idea. Today's blog is more about looking to what happened and thinking about what it means for you and I today.

First a few points:
- God calling on Abraham to sacrifice his son was not totally unheard of in that time. Many of the pagan religions of Abraham's day sacrificed their children to their "gods". What was unusual was God asking Abraham to do the same since it was not something God had ever commanded and never commanded since.
- Genesis 22 talks about how Isaac was Abraham's only son. I hear you asking, "What about Ishmael?" Yes, Ishmael was his son, too. However, Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac was the only son of promise. I think that's the general idea of the language.

So What did we learn from Genesis 22?
- Sometimes God will test our faith through difficulty. Genesis 22 opens up with "Some time after these things God tested Abraham." The whole purpose of this chapter was God testing Abraham's faith. This is the first time Abraham is specifically mentioned as being "tested" by God, but I would submit that the whole of Abraham's life contains tests and challenges of faith. Abraham had plenty of challenges to his faith throughout his life. Sometimes he passed and sometimes he failed. But God used those events in his life to grow him into a man of faith and dependence on Him. Finally at the end of his life Abraham passed the ultimate test of God, being willing to sacrifice his one and only son. The bottom line is that God uses difficulty and challenges in our lives to test and grow our faith and relationship with Him.

Life is hard. Water is wet. Brussel Sprouts are gross, etc.

In the book of James in the New Testament God says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing," (James 1:2-4). Difficulty can be the ground through which we grow, see also David, Moses, Nehemiah, Jacob, Joseph, Peter, Paul, etc. Does that mean every red light and bad day is God deliberately testing us? I don't know. I think the point is every difficulty is an opportunity to trust or not trust, obey or disobey and if we're faithful the Lord can do some amazing things in our hearts and lives. Is that easy? No. Difficulty by definition is difficult. (Feel free to write that down and amaze your friends with that quote). Life is hard, (another brilliant quote, I know), and God works amongst hard things to test us and grow us up.

I do not support your penguin cupcake business.

- Abraham showed incredible faith in God. God told Abraham that he would have a son through whom he would make a great nation and inherit the promises God had given. Now God tells Abraham to kill the same son. Does that make any sense to you? I don't think it did to Abraham either. But Abraham knew God was faithful to his promises no matter what, (see Genesis 15). He obeyed God, even when he didn't understand how it was going to work out. "By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son...He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back," (Hebrews 11:17-19). Abraham told his servants who were with him, "You guys stay here. Me and Isaac are going to worship and WE'LL come back." He also told Isaac that God would provide the lamb needed for the sacrifice. He didn't know how it was going to work out, but he exhibited faith in the promises of God.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This doesn't mean that you can mortgage your house and open your dream penguin cupcake business because you "have faith". Nor does this mean you can get healed from cancer because you "have faith". God had given Abraham specific promises and Abraham's actions were based on those specific promises. Please don't do anything crazy and send me a nasty email later telling me it's all my fault because I told you to "have faith". I say Nay-Nay!

- Isaac as a foreshadow to the cross.
Abraham, the father, leads his son up a hill to die. God the Father led Jesus up Golgotha to hang on a cross and die for the sins of men. Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice. Jesus carried the cross on his beaten and bloody back. Isaac was Abraham's one and only son whom he loved. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son" (John 3:16). God provided a spotless lamb for the sacrifice in Abraham's day and a spotless lamb in Christ. Abraham found a ram caught by its horns to sacrifice instead of Isaac. As I mentioned previously, God had showed he only accepted blood sacrifices from unblemished animals. Jesus was a man without sin, without unrighteousness, without evil. He was an unblemished and innocent sacrifice to God for the sins of men. In contrast to Abraham and Isaac, there was no other sacrifice that would be sufficient to pay for the sins of men. Sin and rebellion against God requires death. There was no ram caught by the horns who could take the place of Jesus. Only Jesus could pay for the sins of mankind and Jesus willingly went to the cross to suffer and die for you and for me.

Abraham, by faith, believed God would preserve Isaac's life, even bringing him back from the dead, if necessary. We, by faith, can have life and forgiveness of our sins in Christ. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

"What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other found I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus." - Robert Lowry