Picture Frames
And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.” Genesis 22:2 (JPS commentary on Genesis)
Go – The test of Abraham concludes the journey of faith that began when God called Abram out of Ur. The text deliberately sets the frame of this journey with a repetition of the Hebrew phrase lekh lakha (go forth). This phrase occurs only two times in Scripture, at the beginning of the story of Abram and at the last test of Abraham. With this deliberate linguistic technique, the writer encapsulates the life of Abraham. We are meant to see these markers and reflect on Abraham’s journey.
Abraham has already lost one son. Now it appears that he will lose the other. When God called Abram from Ur, he had to leave behind his family, his city and his culture. Abram became a wanderer for God, led only by divine intervention and guidance. Abraham was schooled in the discipline of dependence for nearly 100 years. During that time, we see Abraham’s failures and triumphs. Now, at the end of the saga, Abraham is faced with the last, and perhaps the most difficult test. God asks (He does not demand) Abraham to voluntarily give up his beloved son (here is a typology of what will come thousands of years later) as a test of devotion and loyalty. To truly understand the magnitude of this request, we must enter into the story of Abram-Abraham. We must become this man, stripped of his past, a stranger to his surroundings, seeking to please a God who only occasionally speaks with him. We must read into the lines of the text the panoramic colors of his emotional struggles, his doubts, his collapsed marriage, his angst over his two sons. Imagine his faith walk. Strip yourself of the Scriptures. Tear yourself away from everything familiar. Break loose of your community. Follow only the voice of the Lord. After all that, are we prepared to burn to ashes the last earthly treasure we have?
This great story of faith (the Akedah – binding) is the hallmark of true discipleship. Until we stand with Abraham at the altar, looking down upon what we love most dearly, slaughtering knife in hand, we are not ready. We will fail this test. Perhaps that’s why God waited 100 years to put it to Abraham. Perhaps that’s why God asked but did not command. Perhaps that’s why God framed this story as the final step of Abraham’s journey. God knows when we are ready. Quite often we don’t have any clue. We live day to day as if our gradual and incremental progression toward faithfulness is all we can muster. Then God comes with a body-blow. “Take your son, your only son, the one you love, and go forth.”
Abraham learned the appropriate response, hinneni (“here I am, Master”), over the course of a lifetime. That is the way God teaches all His children. A long obedience in the same direction (as Eugene Peterson rightly noted). God began a frame around your life the day you heard His first call. Now you and I are watching for the other edge of the frame so that we can also say, “Here I am, my Lord. What would You have me do?”
Topical Index: lekh lakha, go forth, Akedah, Genesis 22:2, hinneni
Someone (Skip) once said, “the way we know our future is by looking at our past.” Abraham had a history with G-d. So did Moses. So did David. So did Skip. So did Carl.
G-d did not just “up and say”- hey Abraham, -“go kill your kid.” No, He did not. Pay attention to the words. (oy!..). Your only son “whom you love.” Not just sacrifice your son, but (please) take the son of promise. And dear reader please notice.. G-d does not “command” Abraham, He asks. (In Hebrew- “na”)- a very big, “little” word.) Why would G-d ask Abraham to do this? As Rick Warren (PDL) might say, “this is a test.” Again, “oy.” Have we (yes, you and I) ever been “tested?” – Only every day we live on this green planet. “Crisis du jour.” Some big, some little- all toward an end..to conform (a word of heat and pressure) us to the image of the Son. (G-d is Sovereign, remember?)
Abraham knew something. He also knew Someone. He had a history with G-d. So does the nation, Israel. They have a history with G-d. They are the chosen ones. We are the adopted ones.
Follow the pattern with me: 1- G-d is faithful 2-G-d is faithful. 3-G-d is faithful. (Great time to interject- “I AM YHWH- I do not change.” (Remember?) and now to continue the test… er.. “pattern. Here comes another crisis- but this time it’s different, it’s not a 2 or 3, -it’s a 4!! Moses, Moses..”we don’t have any water, what are we gonna do?” (Remember?) Yes, “remember.” Remember 1, remember 2, remember 3? What happened? G-d delivered. G-d delivered. G-d was faithful. Ah.. but this is different- this is a 4? “I AM YHWH- I change not.” Semper Fi y’all. G-d is Faithful. (and yes, “always.”) Always, all the time and to everyone.. forever good.. forever merciful.. forever Faithful. Not only to Abraham, not only to Moses, not only to David, but to you and to me. “Always.”
This is a test. We will be tested. “Rest Assured.” There will be a test today kids.. Will it be a lion? Will it be a bear? Will it be Goliath? Let us remember the words of our Christ- “Be of good cheer…- I have overcome the world.” Who is our Champion? (Remember?)- “The victory belongs to the LORD.” Oh.. and one other thing..I need to mention, – so do I. And so do you. You do belong to Him, right? You and I also bear His name. We also (as Abraham) have undergone a name change. (Abram to Abraham.) Let’s look a little further into this name change. Why? Why did Saul become Paul? Why did Abram become Abraham? Why did “Carl” receive a new name? Because of the adoption. I’m in a new family now, “joint-heirs” with Christ. -Selah. Amein. I am (and you are) bought with a price. Redeemed. Every day, made new. At the dawning of this new day, I may say “this is the day which the LORD has made- I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Whatever comes my way- He is with me and He is for me. “My G-d”- (my Abba) will supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” But wait.. “there’s more!”- lol!. Amein.
“This is a test. We will be tested.”
Hi Carl,
Yeah, I was starting to feel like I had been tested enough.
That things in my life were starting to improve and that things would be smooth sailing for a while.
I can’t get in too much trouble taking my kids to school, walking my dog, going to work, and living alone with Max.
But I definitely experienced my recent illness and trip to the hospital as a test in the literal and Biblical sense of the word.
Sickness seems to leave you with no way out; there is nothing you can do, but focus on Yahweh.
Maybe I had been losing focus with all the things I need to do now.
In any case, I think Genesis 22:1 is a good one to keep in mind:
“It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. “Abraham, Abraham” he called.”
“and go to the land of Moriah”
“the hallmark of true discipleship”
I might have mentioned this before, but back in the 9th grade.
My oldest and best friend, Michael D. Hallmark, introduced me to a great song.
Now they refer it as Mariah online, but it always sounded like Moriah to me.
Back in 1963, The Kingston Trio seemed very cool to me.
They Call the Wind Mariah
The Kingston Trio
From their 1959 LP “From the Hungry I”
SLOWLY
Way out here they have a name for wind and rain and fire
The rain is Tess, the fire’s Joe, and they call the wind Mariah
Mariah blows the stars around, sets the clouds a’flyin’
Mariah makes the mountain sound like folks was up there dyin’
Mariah, (Mariah), Mariah (Mariah), they call the wind Mariah
SLIGHTLY FASTER
Before I knew Mariah’s name and heard her wail and whinin’
I had a gal and she had me and the sun was always shinin’
Then one day I left my gal, I left her far behind me
And now I’m lost, so gol-durned lost, not even-God-can find me
Mariah, Mariah, they call the wind Mariah
EVEN FASTER
Out here they have a name for rain wind and fire only
When you’re lost and all alone there ain’t no name for lonely
I’m a lost and lonely man without a star to guide me
Mariah, blow my love to me, I need my gal beside me
Mar-i-ah, (Mar-i-ah), MARIAH ! (Mariah), they call the wind Mar-i-ah
Mar-i-ah, Mariah, Mariah
They call the wind Mar-i-ah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8e9F8PV-m4