The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 22:1-19 Rev. Christopher D.

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New Hope Lutheran Church, Toledo, OH St. Pauls Lutheran Church, Monroe, MI July 22, 2012

HOMILIES ON GENESIS: ABRAHAM PREPARES TO SACRIFICE ISAAC There are two general truths that exist for every believer: Where there is blessing, there is also responsibility, and where there is responsibility, there is necessary personal sacrifice. Take, for instance, when a congregation is blessed with an abundance of children. What a tremendous blessing of the Lord. With that blessing comes responsibility on the part of every congregation member to help and assist the parents to bring their children up in the instruction of the Lord; in fact, when an infant is baptized, in our WELS Lutheran Baptism liturgy, at the end, the pastor gives an exhortation to the congregation, calling all members, especially parents and sponsors, to assist in whatever manner possible so that the child will remain a child of God until death. With blessing comes incredible responsibility, and with responsibility comes sacrifice, putting oneself aside, putting your comforts aside for the sake of the spiritual well-being of others. Isaac was Gods miracle blessing to Abraham. About that, theres no question. Abraham and Sarah had been childless for years, and even after God promised Abraham that he would have a son through whom the Messianic covenant would be carried, his impatience got the best of himand he fathered a child through Hagar the maidservant. Isaac was Gods miracle child given to Abraham. With that blessing came responsibility and incredible sacrifice a willingness to set aside personal comfort, personal feelings, feelings that only a parent can have for their child in order to be completely obedient to the command of God. And what a strange command: Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. Were told that Everything written in the past was written to teach us And this account of Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac, his only-begotten Son, gives us plenty to think about and take home with us for our daily lives. Look at the dedication of the father of believers, Abraham, who refuses to question the omniscience of the Lord. Look at the obedience of the son, Isaac, who foreshadows the obedience of the Son of God. Look at how the Son of God appears in the form of the Angel of the Lord to stop the sacrifice and offer a substitute in the place of Isaac, introducing the Messianic truth of salvation through substitutionary sacrifice. Its all there to teach us, to encourage us, to help us understand the beautiful and mysterious ways in which God executes his plan to rescue us from the bonds of sin. What an odd command God gave to Abraham. Its odd not just because he commanded Abraham to essentially murder his son. Its odd because it appears to stand diametrically opposed to Gods promise. Earlier in Genesis chapter 17, God had said to Abraham, Sarai your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. In other words, this child of promise, Isaac, was going to be the ancestor of the Christ. That was the everlasting covenant. That was the promise for his offspring after him. And now, here in Genesis 22, God is commanding the sacrifice of Isaac by the hand of his father. How will he have children if he dies on Mt. Moriah? How will his line of ancestry continue to the coming of the Christ if it is cut off by the burnt offering? The command seems to be completely opposed to the promise, and in fact, by its execution would nullify the promise. Quite a dilemma! But instead of rationalizing, instead of looking for every excuse in the world not to carry out the command of God, Abraham simply obeyed and trusted that God would find a way to keep his promise even when it appeared it was not possible. So, he went. They all went, making that 3 day journey. Make no mistake. This was no impulsive act. Abraham had plenty of time to think about what was going to

happen on Mt. Moriah. He had plenty of time to gather his thoughts and come up every reason why this command of God should NOT be obeyed. But he went anyway. What incredible dedication, and incredible spirit-given insight to believe that, if he offered his only son on the fires of the altar, that God would raise him from the dead. (We learn that from Hebrews 11:17-19) Abrahams dedication to his Lord and God is just incredible, and does put us to shame a bit. Being a child of God involves sacrifice. And the most basic element of that sacrifice is the sacrifice of time to spend with God in his house and in his Word. Hes not asking for your first-born son. Hes not asking for your life. Hes not asking for you to take a vow of poverty. Hes not asking for you to suffer and be persecuted as the early apostles were. Just worship. And that worship doesnt involve the kind of worship that Abraham was about to engage in. It doesnt involve a knife, or slitting the throat of a sacrificial being, or blood splattering everywhereits just hearing the good news that your sins have been forgiven you through the blood and merits of Jesus Christ; the good news that you have been brought into Gods family through his Holy Spirit; and that you are his child, the good news that he will govern the affairs of this world for your benefit; that he will attend to your needs every single day and send his holy angels to guard you in ways that you will never fully understand on this side of eternity. Its not a great sacrifice is it? With blessing comes responsibility and with responsibility comes sacrifice. And yet, so many are unwilling to sacrifice anything, even just a few minutes, because its not convenient, or it doesnt fit their schedule, or their way of doing things. Abrahams dedication to the Lords Word and his immediate obedience is a wonderful example for all of us. At the same time, look at the obedience of Isaac. Were not told one bit that he resisted in any way. He willingly went to the sacrifice that had been ordained for the one and only son of Abraham, the child of promise. And right there, you have, in Scripture, the first clear and concise indication in Genesis of how God would choose to cure the world of the sin epidemic through the obedience sacrifice of the one and only Sonnot AbrahamsnoGods one and only Son, Jesus! Think of how much it must have grieved Abraham to know that he was about to kill his son. He had 3 days to think about it. He had a long 50 mile journey and then a hike up a mountain to consider all that was about to happen. Imagine if you were in that position, parents! Could you order the death of one of your children? Could you carry out a death sentence on your own son? Thats what God asked Abraham to do. Abraham had no idea that an intervention was about to happen. He had no idea how God was going to make good on his covenant promise that the everlasting promise would continue through Isaac. He didnt know, he just obeyed, and when the time was just right, the Angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ appeared and stopped him from sacrificing his son. Another divine intervention! The test was complete. The test of Abrahams faith, the epic test was done and he had passed by clinging to the promises of the Lord. So, the Lord stepped in; specifically the 2 nd person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ before he became human. He stepped in and offered a substitute for Isaac that would be sacrificed instead of Abrahams one and only son. How incredible. Whats even more astonishing is the significance of this sacrifice in the course of salvation history. As one looks down from Mt. Moriah, one could see another hill, a smaller one. It isnt as majestic as Moriah. Probably not as imposing as Sinai, and yet its significance surpasses them all for from the lofty height of Moriah you can see Mt. Calvary. There the Father ordered his Son to death. There the Father in heaven led his Son Jesus. There Jesus willingly went, not resisting in any way, as Isaiah tells us: As a lamb before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. There, the spotless Lamb of God laid down his life. No angel stepped in. No intervention. He suffered completely and fully in body and soul, offering himself as a whole offering, fully dedicated to the will of the Father, fully trusting in the Word of the Father, fully committed to the salvation plan of the Father, not wavering one bit, so that you are brought to God through his sacrifice; so that you are brought to everlasting life through his humble and obedient death on the cross.

I said at the beginning that there was a lot that we can take away from this lesson, a lot that we can take home with us. Preeminently, what we learn is that God is going to accomplish what he promises, and the means by which he chooses to do that are often way beyond our comprehension. Thus, like Abraham, we cling to the Word of God with all our might. Remain firmly dedicated to the Lord and his Word, an endeavor that requires sacrifice, which in and of itself is an action born of the Holy Spirit. And remember the length to which God has gone to show his love for you by ordering the death of his Son for the everlasting life of sinners. Now thats sacrifice. Thats love! Amen.