Confession
Genesis 22
has never been one of my favorite passages.
I don’t think it is because it is over-done … because certainly some of
my favorite passages are the typical ones (John 3:1-21 for example). I think it because inevitably every time I
hear someone speak on this passage they always focus on poor Isaac who had to
carry the wood for his own sacrifice. Of
course, never mind that it wasn’t for his sacrifice in the end.
Moriah
So, I will
try to go another route – and trust me, there is plenty in this passage to bring
out. First, I did a search for the word
Moriah. {No, this has nothing to do with my love for Tolkein} And I found out something interesting. The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy
Land gives us this interesting tidbit, which I think somewhere I knew but
couldn’t recall:
Moriah (Or land of Moriah): “The land that was designated to
be the place of sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22:2). It is also the hill where God
appeared to David and where the House of God was to be built by Solomon (2 Chr.
3:1).”
That’s pretty cool.
Here in this passage Abraham takes Isaac up to the future Jerusalem and
discovers that God provides an alternate sacrifice. If this isn’t a foreshadowing of Jesus going
up to Jerusalem to be sacrificed and take the punishment that we deserve, then
I don’t know what is! I especially like
that Abraham calls Moriah – future Jerusalem – the place where “God will
provide.” God provided a ram for Abraham;
God provided Jesus for us. It’s stories
like this that makes scripture very cool.
It’s stories like this that removes any doubt at all that God is at work
in this world. You can’t make this stuff
up.
Sacrifice
So I’m also pondering this idea of sacrifice. Abraham was willing to give up everything he
had been promised through Isaac to follow God’s direction. Yet at the same time, Abraham also had the
promise that Isaac would begin God’s chosen line through Abraham. At the very least, there is plenty of room
for confusion within Abraham. He goes
forth trusting God but unsure of what the future will actually look like.
As I ponder this idea of sacrifice, I also must ponder
myself. What am I willing to
sacrifice? What “sacred cows” in my life
have I established as off-limits to God?
Will God truly be willing to use me so long as I hold onto those sacred
cows? Does not God demand that He be
first? When God gives the 10
Commandments to Moses doesn’t He say that we are to have no other gods before him? What do I let get in my way of following
God? Salary? Property?
Possessions? Relationships? Fame? Renown?
You see, I have a vision for the churches in which I serve. Wherever I go I have a vision for this
congregation to become a disciple-making congregation first and foremost. Above all else I want the focus to be on
making genuine disciples of Christ who are not conformed to this age but
transformed through the renewal of their mind.
At the same time, I also know that in order for that to
happen God expects us to put Him first.
God expects us to put all of our trust in Him – He will provide. Only then will we ever have a chance at
becoming a disciple-making congregation.
Sacred cows need to be taken to the altar.
When we put anything before Him, we will not be making
disciples for Him. Instead, we will be
making disciples for whatever we put ahead of Him. I think that’s why Isaac’s sacrifice is so
important. When Abraham places God
before Isaac, God knows that He’s got Abraham.
When Abraham clearly demonstrates that nothing comes before God, God
knows Abraham understands relationship with God. Only when I genuinely demonstrate willingness
to give up what I have in order to follow God’s direction will I truly say to
God, “You have me.” And only when He
truly has me will I be able to make true disciples.
I love the line in Genesis 22:16 where God says, “Because
you have not withheld your only son.”
This is such a great theological line.
Because Abraham did not withhold his only Son, God will use Abraham’s
lineage to bless the world by not withholding His only Son. But I think it’s deeper than just a
foreshadowing of Jesus. Because Abraham
truly is centered on God, God can use him.
Nothing – not even family – comes between Abraham and God. Now that’s a close relationship with God.
Closeness to God
So I wonder, what have I used to close the door on God as He
asks me if I am willing to follow? What
have I told God I was unwilling to do that is preventing me from truly being
His disciple?
Forgive me if this ending of this passage sounds mournful,
but I think that is my current state of mind.
I think I am mourning because of all the stuff that I have as an American
Christian. How much of it gets in the
way of truly following God? Like the
rich man before Jesus, I think of all the stuff I am unwilling to
sacrifice. I cannot help but think of
all the things that I allow to come between God and me and it pains me as I
write this.
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