22 May 2014

"Leave your country... and go to the land I will show you."

In early April, I was blessed to have the chance to preach at my home church in WNY.  Having studied the life of Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, I was compelled to preach on one of the most significant passages in the Old Testament.  In Genesis 22, we find the narrative highlighting God's seemingly unthinkable command to Abraham.  But, in order to understand how obedience was even remotely possible, we first looked at a brief history of the man's walk of faith, beginning in Genesis 12.  Here God says, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you" (Gen. 12:1, NIV).

In many ways, this call is mirrored in the lives of modern day missionaries.  There is a very real sense in which we leave our homes, our relationships with beloved friends and family, and set out on a journey that always begins by faith and often ends in realms unknown.  With this in mind let me first comment on our status as it relates to joining the ministry of SIM Ethiopia.  We have updated our profile to reflect a transition from "our" country, South Sudan, to a new country to which God has led us.  This process will likely begin in earnest after my graduation from seminary.

And, on that note, let me thank all of those faithful supporters who saw formal education as actual ministry.  What can you give to students unless you have been equipped?  We have also updated our links for giving financial support online.  The process in the USA is much easier now.  And we have added the possibility of giving from Australia and/or New Zealand. 

Now, back to the sermon on Abraham.  If you were in church that Sunday, you can skip down to Genesis 22:15 because you heard the first fourteen verses expounded.  Also note that I have made a manuscript of the spoken words of the sermon, so you'll have to imagine you're in an audience or sanctuary as you read!



"Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible and our Old Testament, to chapter 22.  Here we find the narrative about Abraham and the offering of his son Isaac.  And I know at the outset that this story is a familiar one... and so, we risk overlooking some very important details because of that familiarity.  When we think we know what a passage says, we often glaze over it without much concentration or concerted effort to get to its meaning.  In order to get there... to get the meaning of any biblical text, we desperately need the help of the Holy Spirit.  So let's start in prayer.

PRAY

            I trust that you've found your place in Genesis 22 and we'll read the entire passage from verses 1 to 18 before we look at the background material as to why this narrative is so important, not only for the ancient Hebrew recipient, but for the modern believer as well.

READ Genesis 22:1-18 (NASB)

            What a remarkable passage!  Verse 1 gives us our first clue that the storyline has already been introduced.  Indeed, in order to grasp the truly gripping nature of what we just read, we will be helped by a review of the preceding context as outlined in Genesis 1-21.  Let's take a brief look at why the “Seed of Abraham”, at why the boy Isaac, is so very important.

(Creation – Fall – Cycle of Sin and Grace)

            The first important note is that Genesis 1-11 covers hundreds of years of human history... maybe thousands of years.  As we move further and further away from creation, we notice that human corruption becomes increasingly strong.  However, we are made aware by the text that a cyclical pattern of "more sin = more grace" is God's response to the growing problem.  (Note that this happens in the life of Adam, Cain, and Noah leading to Genesis 11.)  At the Tower of Babel, at the end of chapter 11, we are waiting for the cycle to complete itself once again, but the text only leads us to one man.  And we'll see how this one man is a picture of God's grace to all mankind.

            Remember now that the narrator is Moses (who is also the author of the first 5 books of the OT – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – which are known collectively as the Pentateuch, or the Books of Moses, or as “The Law” or “Torah” in the ancient Hebrew.  And so Moses is writing these events as the nation of Israel, who had escaped from Egypt in the miraculous events of the Exodus and then wandered in the desert for many years before reaching the plains of Moab, is encamped there just across the Jordan from the Promised Land.  Moses' concern is that the nation of Israel remain faithful to Yahweh, their God, as they enter the land promised to their forefathers.

            In fact, it was first promised to Abraham, which we'll look at here momentarily.  So Moses covers hundreds of years in the first eleven chapters of Genesis.  But now watch... he slows WAY down as he gets to chapter 12.  From 12 to 21, he covers 25 years.  And within that, from 17-21, he covers only a SINGLE YEAR.  Why?  Why would the narrator slow down?  It is to draw our attention to something very significant... and that, in this case, is the life of Abraham and the birth of his son, Isaac.  (At this point, I was illustrating on a white board how Abraham received the promises of God and is the answer to the grace question of chapter 11; note the textual link “make for ourselves a name” in 11:4 – contrast with “I, God, will make your name great” in 12:2).  God promised (1) to make Abraham into a nation (later to be known as Israel)... (2) to give Abraham and his descendants a land as their inheritance (later to be identified as Canaan)... (3) that kings, or rulers, would come from Abraham's descendants (this is tied to the line of David, from which also is to come the Messiah - the Christ)... (4) that through Abraham, God would bless all the nations of the earth (see note italicized below).

(Abraham – Offspring (Nation) – Land – Kings – Blessing)

            Highlight the importance of blessing as the antidote for the curses given in Genesis 3.

            The purpose of this chart is to show you why Genesis 22 is so important... indeed, why it is vital for our understanding of the Abraham/Isaac narrative.  Hopefully you can see that EVERYTHING HINGES ON THE SEED OF ABRAHAM... the promises of God are all centered around the boy Isaac.  And that makes the events of chapter 22 all the more intriguing as we approach the exposition of the text.

Verse 1 –“After these things... God tested Abraham.”
            We just want to make brief mention of the theological significance of this statement... that GOD tested Abraham.  The theology affirms...
·         the sovereignty of God (that He is in control of the affairs of this life)
·         the love of God (as the old hymn says, “all that thou sendest me, in mercy given”)
·         that the goal of God's testing us is the strengthening / refining of our faith

            So we would anticipate seeing Abraham's faith grow as a result of this ordeal... and that's exactly what we will encounter.  God will do anything for you... bring any trial into you life... because your faith is that important to Him... like Pastor's poem from last week, which I thought was absolutely beautiful (you would have to attend my home church to get this, but it's ok).

            But let me warn you at the outset, that we are not intended to admire Abraham in the book of Genesis.  Moses does not intend for you to look at Abraham and say, “wow, look at what a great man of the faith!”  No.  The writer is constantly pushing us to God... look at what God is doing in this broken human being... see the faithfulness of God in the lives of faithless human beings.  There will be several points in this text where we are tempted to admire Abraham, but it is God who works in and through him, bringing about the faith and obedience that we are about to see.

Verse 2 –“Take now your son...”
            See first how the repetition strengthens the father-son relationship.  We go from your son... to... your only son... to... the son that you love.  See the progression and how it develops the way that Abraham must have felt about Isaac?

            The other note we need to make about this verse is the location to which God called them.  Have you ever thought about Mount Moriah?  Do you know where it is?  If you don't know, you're probably not alone.  Not many people are doing their devotions in 2 Chronicles, are they?  You don't need to turn there, but let me read it for you from the NASB.  It says in chapter 3, verse 1,
            “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where        the LORD had appeared to his father David...”
Brothers and sisters, we are on the temple mount here... the dwelling place of God... the glory and splendor of the whole earth.  Abraham is called to sacrifice his son, his only son, the son of promise on a hill in Jerusalem.  Are you getting this amazing parallel?  Wow... is all we can say.  And we return to the text in Genesis 22 with awe in our hearts.  And we do so remembering that EVERYTHING HINGES ON THE SEED OF ABRAHAM!  Will Abraham trust in the promise of God even when he cannot see it... when God is calling him to kill the very promise?  Will Abraham live on the word of God alone?

Verse 3 –“So Abraham rose early... and went.”
            Notice that he went early in the morning.  Do you hear the narrator telling us something about this man?  No doubt Moses wants us to see the faith of Father Abraham here.  See how his faith is developing?  There is no delay.  There is no second-guessing.  There is just simple, straight-forward and immediate obedience.  Do we struggle with this ever?  Oh boy, we talk to God and chatter at him as though he doesn't know anything.  And He is the God of the universe.  How broken and sinful must our hearts truly be?

Verse 4 –“The third day...”
            There's more that we could say about this, but we just want to know that Abraham's obedience was not just spur-of-the-moment, but sustained as well.  How hard do you think these three days were for this father?  How difficult was this long journey?  And yet he walks the road.  His obedience is not just immediate, but sustained.

Verse 5 – “We will return to you.”
            Again, the faith of the man is coming through; it is being built up through the trials that he undergoes.  We know from Hebrews that Abraham believed in the God who raises only begotten sons who have been offered up to die... raises them to new life in order to keep His covenant promises.

Verse 6 – “Abraham... laid the wood on his son.”
            We are being brought back to the father-son relationship here.  The role of the father in the sacrifice of the son is often overlooked and should not be underestimated.  Certainly there is no sacrifice without the obedient son... conversely, there is no sacrifice without the resolve of the father.  We have already drawn so many parallels here to the God the Father / Jesus the Son relationship, and we do so again.  In Isaiah 53:10, we find that it was the Father's will to crush the Son.  In Romans 3:25 we find that the Father presented the Son as a sacrifice of atonement... which is literally the old English term “propitiation” that has unfortunately fallen out of common usage.  The Greek word (hilasterion), is translated “propitiation” or, in a figurative sense, “mercy seat” and carries two meanings.  First, it means that Christ has taken away the wrath of God.  Second, it means that Christ has washed away the sins of His people.  So the mercy seat, where propitiation is made, is wrath-removing and sin-removing and the place where, and the means by which, the relationship between God and man is thus restored.  This is a powerful term.

            We get back to Genesis simply to assert that Abraham has laid the wood upon his son.  And his son bears the weight up the hill to where he would die.

Verse 7 – “Where is the Lamb?”
            We've already mentioned the father-son relationship sufficiently.  Moses brings it right back to our attention.  As if we were unable to see it, he hits us with it again.  This repetition is only meant to draw our attention.  See how much Abraham loves and values Isaac?
            And then the question.  This is perhaps the most significant question of the whole Old Testament.  In fact, you could read the rest of the OT as an answer to this very question... “where is the lamb?”  The prophets are looking for the lamb.  The kings are looking for the lamb.  The exiled remnant of faithful Hebrews are looking for the lamb, just as Isaac and Abraham are looking for the lamb.  For hundreds and hundreds of years... in the midst of thousands upon thousands of animals sacrifices (likely reaching the millions of numbers)... where is the lamb?  Until the provocative declaration of the Baptizer, who in John 1:29 triumphantly proclaims, “Behold, the Lamb!”  And the eternal song of God's redeemed in Revelation 5:12, “Worthy is the Lamb!”... and the whole of biblical history is summarized.  (1) Where is the lamb?  (2) Behold, the Lamb! (3) Worthy is the Lamb!  And if this realization weren't beautiful enough... look at verse 8.

Verse 8 – “God will provide for Himself.”
            Look again at the developing faith of our Father Abraham, but remember what we said at the outset, that this is God's work in and through him.  Isn't this remarkable?  God will provide for Himself.  This is the Gospel in the Old Testament, the clearest announcement of salvation until the ministry of Christ himself. 
            We don't just want to glaze over this either... that God must provide the sacrifice.  All the generations of sacrifices – the millions of sheep and other animals – didn't remove sin.  So why were they offered?  Wow, that's a whole new sermon and we cannot take the time to answer that question here, but I'll leave you to ponder that in your own Bible study.  Anyway, there is no merit in humans by which we can offer anything acceptable to God... no merit whatsoever.  And of course, God did provide the lamb, didn't He?  In fact, God Himself would BE the lamb.

Verse 9 – “Abraham built an altar.”
            Abraham is continuing to follow God.  His life is almost defined by this act of altar building.  He is promised that he will inherit the whole land... but not in his lifetime... no, all the evidence we ever see that Abraham was even IN the land is a series of altars he leaves in his wake. 
·         Genesis 12:6-8
·         Genesis 13:3-4
·         Genesis 13:18
·         Genesis 22:9 (our passage)
What's the significance of the altars?  Why does Moses push this issue so consistently for us to see it and take note of it?  What do the altars mean?  I think three things... though there are undoubtedly others as well...
1.      Altars are built for the worship of God.
2.      Altars are built as a visual demonstration of the faithfulness of God.
3.      Altars are built for sacrifice – the dedication of yourself to God.
So the text asks us...
            WHERE ARE YOUR ALTARS?  WHERE ARE MINE?
            ARE THERE ANY GODLY EVIDENCES OF OUR HAVING BEEN TRAVELLERS THROUGH THIS LAND??... that other people would look at and know that God was           worshiped... God was faithful... that there was self-sacrifice that happened here?

Verses 10-12 – “For now I know that you fear God.”
            It sounds redundant to mention the faith of Abraham again.  But Moses is surely driving home this point as we read.  Will Abraham follow through even when the very promises of God are at stake?  And we see that he does.  Verses 11 and 12 together confirm the obedience of Abraham.  The Lord intervenes when, according to the spiritual realm, the sacrifice has been made, but, according to the physical realm, no blood has been shed; no harm has come to the seed of Abraham.  In verse 12, we find that Abraham has not withheld anything from the Lord... he has feared the Lord.

            If the fear of God is found in our obedience... and our obedience is evidenced by not withholding anything from God... then the question becomes, “What are we withholding from God?”  Are we in complete obedience to Him?  Or are we holding something back?  Our kids?  Our money?  Our family?  Our health?  What is it that we want to control and are therefore holding back from God?
            I can't answer that for you, but I pray that the Spirit of God will help us in this.

            I pray that we will sing the old hymn with reverent hearts...
                        “Once earthly joy I craved; sought peace and rest
                                    Now Thee alone I seek; give what is best.”  (More Love to Thee, O Christ)

Verses 13 & 14 – “The Lord will provide.”
            The Lord did provide.  The faith of Abraham from verse 8 finds expression here in verse 13.  Verse 14 simply highlights the name of that place... that place... remember where we are?  We are in Jerusalem, the land of Melchizedek, who appeared in the Genesis narrative in chapter 14... the King of Salem... Salem... Jerusalem... it is the same place... on Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount, a hill in Israel where God provides the Lamb.  Isn't this beautiful?  Look at the wisdom of God and remember that Jesus says in that very place, some 1,500 years later, in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”  And John tells us that Jesus is the temple... he is referring to himself.

            On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.  This verb, “will be provided” in the Hebrew is literally “will be seen.”  This took me a long time this week.  I thought and thought about this for quite some hours.  What's the connection between the literal “will be seen” and the translated “will be provided” here?  And I think I have something that makes a good bit of sense.

            What is the “it” here... see, “in the mount of the Lord... IT... will be provided”?  What is the “it” in the passage?  What is provided?  What is seen on the mountain?  Verse 13... READ... “then Abraham raised his eyes and looked...”  What did he see?  The lamb... the sacrifice... the promise he believed in verse 8... “God will provide for Himself the lamb”... the promise has been provided, AND IT HAS BEEN SEEN.  And this is a reminder to us, that however hard it is to trust in the promises whose fulfillment might not be seen to us now, however difficult it was for Abraham at 100 years old and his wife at 90 years old that they would have a son... however challenging it is to follow a God we cannot see, believe in promises we cannot confirm with our sensory perception, stake our lives on the reality of an unseen heaven, an unbelievable eternal life, and an inexplicable resurrection from the dead... however difficult any of this is... IT WILL ALL BE SEEN SOMEDAY.  It will all be provided.  And we will see it.

            The apostle John says in Revelation 5, “No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.  I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.  Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'  THEN I SAW A LAMB, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne” of God.  And in that moment, all that had been promised will be seen.  We will see the Lamb.

            I think that's what's going on in Genesis 22:14.  The promise from those many years back, believed by Abraham as he ascends the hill to sacrifice his son, is realized.  The walk of faith has become a walk of sight.  And our own walk of faith, in which we are called to believe the unbelievable, will ultimately become a walk of sight as well... when the New Heaven and New Earth are revealed and God's Kingdom on earth will be restored.

Verses 15-18 – “By Myself I have sworn... in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”
            This scene is unpacked in the New Testament in Hebrews 6:13-20 and it gives us the reasons that God swore by Himself...
1.      God wanted to show that his resolve to bless His people is unchangeable.
2.      In order that we may have encouragement that our hope is real.  This is just what we've been talking about... the realization of our faith.

            In verse 17, notice that the promises are being reiterated (offspring / land / kings / blessing).  Remember that “blessing” is short-hand for the antidote for the curses of Genesis 3 and the transformative restoration of the world.

            And verse 18, this blessing is going to be experienced by those from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation.  Did you know that Galatians 4 talks about you?  It says that you who believe in Christ are spiritual heirs of Abraham... we are his seed and heirs of the promises.  This means that God is resolute in His desire to bless you because you believe the promises of God in Christ... you
·         who have fled the desires of this world
·         who belong to another kingdom, as yet unseen, but evidenced all around you
·         you, who have built altars proclaiming the faithfulness of God
·         who have withheld nothing in your devotion to the Lord
·         who have journeyed to Mount Moriah to offer yourself as a living sacrifice
·         you, who have become by faith the children of Abraham, the man of faith and the friend of God."

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