Tag: Abraham

Posted on

Patriarchs and Matriarchs – Foundation of Faith

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” God said Abraham. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son Isaac, your only son.” Genesis 22:12

Abraham and his wife Sarah were incredibly old when God promised to give them children. God vowed to make them into a great nation of lots of people. Sara found the idea so crazy that she laughed behind the back of God’s messengers who told them they would have children. When she finally became pregnant and gave birth, they named the child Isaac which means “he laughs,” and this time, her laughter was of pure joy.

However, God commanded Abraham to take this son Isaac to the top of a nearby mountain and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Abraham bound his son with rope and set him on an altar, and when he raised the knife over the boy to kill him, the Lord suddenly stopped Abraham, and provided a goat to sacrifice instead. Abraham showed he was willing to give up the most precious thing in the world to him so he could be faithful to God. He passed the agonizing test, and God knew he would be the one through whom all humanity would be blessed.

Even if we, the reader, know from the start that this is only a test, it’s a pretty terrible test to put someone through. Academic scholars will say that this story actually functions as an important lesson for ancient Israelites to understand child sacrifice is completely off-limits. It was something that neighboring peoples practiced. But what kind of God would even test someone in such way? Christian writers have filled entire sections of libraries exploring this one passage from Scripture.

There are details in the story on which we should reflect with great care. Isaac obeys his father and carries the wood himself to the top of the hill. Abraham freely offers his one and only son, though he loves Isaac more than anything. A son is not sacrificed that day, but a Son is sacrificed later on a different hill called Calgary.

From this moment forward, Abraham is considered the Father of the faith, and this episode foreshadows the foundational story of the Christian faith: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is himself a descendant of Abraham and Isaac and the children that follow. The Son of God has not been withheld as a sacrifice for our salvation, therefore let us pursue the cause of heaven with renewed passion and thanksgiving.

Posted on

Patriarchs and Matriarchs – Being a Blessing

The Lord had said to (Abraham), “Go from your country, your people, and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:1-2      

Yesterday, we talked about God’s first covenant with humans after the flood story. In today’s verse, we are dealing with God’s second covenant, which is specifically between God and Abraham and Sarah. In exchange for faithfully serving God, the couple is promised children. So many children that they will become a great nation. God promises them land on which to build their nation and that they will be a blessing to the whole world because of their faith.

However, before any of this can happen, Abraham and Sarah must leave home. They must leave the comforts of familiarity and protection of their current community. They must literally walk with faith into the unknown.

It is difficult to be a blessing to others when we stay inside our comfort zones. And there are plenty of opportunities in our lives to walk in faith into the unknown. Perhaps the most frightening transition in a young person’s life is changing schools. Maybe that student has moved or is going off to college. In I960, Ruby Bridges was just six years old when she agreed to be the first Black student to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana. She walked to school every day, escorted by law enforcement while being threatened by an angry racist mob threatening to kill her. Officers later recalled, “She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn’t whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier, and we’re all very, very proud of her.”

The Bible says Abraham and Sarah were 75 years old when they followed God’s call into the unknown. Ruby Bridges was only six. How is God calling you into the unknown? And how can your faith be a blessing to others?