Hearing the Questions of Children
Genesis 22:1-14
The Old Testament story we step into today is the life and death test of one man’s faith and obedience. Abraham feels directed by God to sacrifice his only son as an act of worship on Mt. Moriah. Suddenly, this boy who has brought laughter to a couple in their elder years, is surrounded by a trail of tears. It is a hard story, a bizarre story, a story for mature audiences only. Yet, it stands as a shining example of one man’s faith and God’s power to provide.
Let us first consider this story through the eyes of Isaac. This dream child of Abraham and Sara is raised with love and unusual devotion. His name means laughter and he brings great joy to his parents. His mother even manages to excommunicate Isaac’s half-brother, Ishmael, into the wilderness so that there would be no sibling rivalry. Isaac had it all. When his daddy drags him out of bed before daylight to make this mysterious, frightful trip into the unknown, one can only imagine the kinds of questions that had to be on the young adolescent’s mind.
The first question I would have asked is, “Where are we going? Years ago, about this time of the year, I remember loading my two kids into our truck and heading for Florida for a week’s stay in in our 5th wheel. We were about 50 miles away from home when the questions started from the back seat. “Are we there yet? How much further? Can we stop now?” That is when my son leaned forward and said, “Dad, when we get to where we’re going, where will we be?” Children always want to know.
“Is this a camping trip, Dad? How long will we be gone?” Questions like these had to come from Isaac’s lips.
Is life anything more for you than a roller coaster ride? When you get to where you are going, will you be where God has directed you to be? Consider the questions of children!
Isaac’s second question is in the text, verse 7: “Will there be a sacrifice when we get there? We’ve got the wood; we’ve got the fire but where is the lamb?” Isaac knew to worship God meant to give up something, to delay something, to surrender something, to forego something. It meant a lamb without blemish, the best of the flock. Why would they be heading to worship without the essentials for worship?
Sacrifice! What a strange word. We come to worship in the 21st century hoping to get something out of it, to assess it, and comment on it on our way home. But bring something to it? That is strange to us. To ask anyone to delay a gratification, to give up a possession, to forego a pleasure, even for God’s sake, is strange in our culture. But Isaac asked the question.
Of course, the sacrifice God desires, from us, is not an animal, but us. St. Paul in Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you brothers and sisters to offer yourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God which is your spiritual act of worship.”
Where is the sacrifice? You are supposed to give something in worship, primarily yourself.
Abraham takes all the questions of his young son and answers them with a profound ritual that is repeated throughout this old story. With every question there is this answer: THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. Have you enough faith to proclaim that? The Lord will provide.
God will provide faith for the journey. God and Abraham had climbed too many mountains already for him to stop now. And as impossible as it all seems, Abraham gets up early one morning and sets out for Mt. Moriah. Somebody once said that when things get difficult, don’t pray for smaller mountains, just ask for increased climbing ability, because the Lord will go with you when it is difficult.
Abraham travels on when he does not have a clue where God is leading and when he cannot understand for the life of him, what God is saying. Abraham walks by faith on the journey. Do you trust God that way? The Lord will provide.
Isaac trusted his dad, but Abraham trusted God. V5: “We will worship and then we will be back.” What kind of faith empowered Abraham to believe that the God will provide faith for the journey.
God will provide insight for the moment. The drama is almost too much for civilized people. We shutter when Abraham arranges the wood. We gasp in disbelief when the boy is tied down and, in that micro-second between the raising of the knife and the release of the wrist that would have ended his own son’s life, the angel of the Lord cries out, “Abraham! Abraham!”
It is almost like watching an Indiana Jones movie. In that dramatic moment of decision, when Abraham almost sacrificed his son, God provided. Would you think about this word for a moment….almost. I do not know what your life has been like, but I have lived my life in the almost, in the nearly, in the close calls. I have lived in those squeaky moments when it could have gone either way. When I think about the choices I almost made, paths I almost followed and the temptations I almost surrendered to, I thank God today for not deserting me in the almost of my life. In the critical moment where life hangs in the balance, God speaks. Oh, give me the ability to hear God crying out in the night—Wait a minute, Abraham, you don’t understand. This is not the way it is. You’ve misunderstood all along.
God’s hand provides.
I urge you this morning to remember that the next time you are tempted to sacrifice your loved ones on the altar of greed, in the pit of some passion, or in the service of some lesser God. In the moment of great trial, God calls you by name. Look up and listen to that voice—God is calling for you.
God will provide. God will provide faith for the journey. God will provide insights in the critical moments of life.
Abraham is considered the father of 3 great world religions. Jews, Muslims, and Christians all call Abraham, father. Could Father Abraham still be a blessing in our terror- stricken world that we have inherited together? Jesus said in John 8:56 “Your father, Abraham, rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, he saw it and was glad.”
In the obedience of Abraham, we glimpse the faithfulness of God who was willing to sacrifice God’s only son for our salvation. The obedience, the righteousness of one man continues to be a blessing for Christians like us.
On Mt. Moriah, Abraham passed the test. But you know something else? God passed the test, too. Abraham obeyed, but God provided and by faith you and I can discover the nature of the God whose hand has provided all that we need. The Lord will provide. Thanks be to God.