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Sacrifice and the Faithful
From Genesis 22:1-14: 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."
This is a difficult passage to read and even more difficult to imagine from a parent's perspective. Abraham, the father of the faith, promised a son; given one through a servant woman, later one from his wife, is tested to the limits of faith. Bob Dylan, in his classic "Highway 61" song said it this way:
Oh God said to Abraham,"Kill me a son" Abe says, "Man, you must be putting' me on" God say,"No." Abe say,"What?" God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but The next time you see me com in' you better run" Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?" God says, "Out on Highway 61."
The father of the faith faces the greatest testing of faith. The question as posed by the Oxford Annotated Bible in its study notes asks, Do you have enough faith to surrender that which God has given you? Isaac was the gift of faith from God to Abraham, then God asks for this gift to be returned. Faith is what allowed Abraham to know that in God is life; God who is able to make all things out of nothing, and even provide an heir when most would find themselves on a golf course in twilight years, moves toward that act of obedience asked by God. Obedience is the product of faith, seeing what no one else can see, hoping above hope and moving towards that which God has asked. It is not easy, but necessary. One can only imagine the pace that Abraham took as he made his way up that mountain, praying all the way. Some of our life's most difficult moments slow us down to that pace of prayer in the face of what we believe is certain defeat and sure loss. The trip took three days, uphill all the way. You and I have traveled those paths, have we not? It was on that third day that he left his helpers behind and took his young son with him to the site where he would sacrifice his son. In other religions of the area, this was a commonplace practice, but for the Hebrews it was not, and shows the difficulty in understanding and accepting of such a barbaric ritual. Then the questions from the boy, "Where is the lamb?" Where is the lamb, indeed? A question that would be asked for years until the Pascual Lamb, Jesus the Christ came to answer it for all time.
At the point of what many would consider the point of no return, God intervenes and God provided. And yes, that should be the name of our faith journey with God, "God will provide, for He always does."
PRAYER: Loving God, be with those facing difficult decision and situations with loved ones, especially sons and daughters. Bring to them the hope that rises above hope, and the peace that passes understanding. This we pray in Christ Jesus, amen. Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Eradio Valverde
