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“Our extremity is God's
opportunity.”
Genesis 22:1-14,
Hebrews 11:17-19,
James 2: 21-24
June 26, 2005
The Rev. Kong Namkung
When he was in the land of Haran, Abram was called by God at the age of 75 to leave his hometown to the land that God would show him. (Genesis 12:1-4) Abram at 75 and his wife, Sarai at 65, did not have a child. So when Abram was 86 he took Hagar his wife’s slave girl and had a baby, Ishmael (Genesis 16:16), who is claimed to be the first son of Abraham according to Islamic belief today. After Ishmael was born, God made an everlasting covenant, circumcision, and changed his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “the ancestor of a multitude.” The angels of the Lord appeared to Abraham at the age of 99 and Sarah. They said to Sarah, “Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:10) When Abraham was 100 years old, Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac, which means “laughter.” A few years later, Sarah said to Abraham, “Cast out this salve woman with her son, for the son of this salve woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” (21:10) so Hagar and Ishmael were forced to move out of Abraham’s house. Now Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah in their old age. With this background I want you to listen to today’s scripture lesson.
1 After these things God tested Abraham, He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” and he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. 9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took knife to kill his son. 11 But he angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He siad, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”, as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
“By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be names for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead and figuratively speaking he did receive him back.”
Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
A little boy, Billy, loved to eat canned and fast food. His mother told him not to eat them. One day Billy was in the pantry. The mother asked him, “Billy, what are you doing there in the pantry?” Billy responded, “I am testing myself in the pantry, mom.”
Like Billy tested himself before canned goods, Abraham was tested before God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. If God is God, who is faithful and gracious, it is clear that Abraham is Abraham, who is a father, and has his only surviving son. The anguish was exceedingly tremendous. Abraham had to make a devilishly difficult decision that looked like it would lead to certain sorrow and despair in his life. He desperately wanted harmony between God and his son, but he did not know how in the world he could achieve it while remaining faithful to God. So he made the choice- the tough choice to kill his son.
It’s my prayer that every one of you will discover that to sacrifice your loving child for your faith is the hardest, the most difficult thing. What if God had said? Richard Upchurch, take your son, Matthew, to the Smoky Mountains and offer him there as a burnt sacrifice. Ken and Glenda, take Wesley; Bill and Tammy take Angel;... and on and on to each of you, what if God had said take your first born son or daughter up on the mountain, place them on an altar and offer them as a burnt sacrifice?
Think about your response to God for a moment. I guess most of us would respond to God by kicking and screaming. When Uncle Sam called your home and said, “Pack your bags. You are leaving for the war in Iraq or Afghanistan,” We do not go blindly, but questioning “Why God, why me? Why not Sergeant Lazy or Private John Brave? Why me God, I’m being faithful to you?” Or “why not I? Since apparently I do not even trust your plan for my life?” When we are in a difficult situation, our faith and works could be different and instead we ask God “Why me?’
I understand the faith of a woman, who had been sick for 12 years, and who touched the hem of a garment, hoping for God’s healing power, which is found in Mark 5:24-34. I can grasp the faith of a blind man, Bartimaeus, sitting by the side of the road crying out saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me,” for the healer to come and heal him so that he might regain his sight in Mark 10: 46. I can be in the same shoes of the woman, who asked Jesus to cast out her daughter’s unclean spirit from her. Because of her nationality, Gentile, she was treated as a dog by Jesus in Mark 7:24-30. I understand the hearts of parents, who pleaded with Jesus to heal their children. But I still have some trouble understanding Abraham and his blind faith taking his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice into the wilderness at the request of God.
If you are a parent or know someone who has lost a child, you know it is one of the most devastating things we have to deal with in life. What parent wouldn’t rather deal with their own death than the death of a child? We are willing to cry out saying, “Lord, take me instead!” But, we don’t even have to get to the issue of death; most parents cannot even stand to see their children in pain, sick or even just muddled down with life’s issues... we would gladly trade places with them, even when we know they should have made better decisions for themselves.
When you and I were told the story, we really wonder about God, what kind of God would ask us to do such a thing?! We may think God is contradictory because in Leviticus 20:2-5 it says, “Any of the people of Israel who offer their offspring to Molech will be put to death.” God did not ask anyone to sacrifice a human being except Abraham out of the whole Bible, but why did God ask Abraham? We also wonder about Abraham who was willing to engage in such practices. We ourselves would be truly incensed if God did give us these instructions: “What God? Are you talking to me? Did you say go offer your son as a "burnt offering?" Lord, I don’t even like for my sons to get sun-burned!”
Go back to the initial question. What do we know about God in this passage?
 | Why does God test God’s people? |
1. God refines us.
God tested Abraham, not to trip him and watch him fall, but to deepen his capacity to obey God and thus to develop his character. Just as fire refines silver or gold to extract precious metals God refines us through tests and difficult circumstances. When we are tested, we can complain, or we can try to see how God is stretching us to develop our character. Ps 11:5, “The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence.”
2. God teaches us about commitment to God.
When God performed miracles through Moses for the deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, Pharaoh wanted to compromise with Moses. For the first three plagues which were water turned into blood, frogs all over places, gnats, Pharaoh hardened his heart, but on the fourth plague, flies, Pharaoh said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the land.” (Ex8:25) After the plague of locusts, Pharaoh allowed only young men to leave, not children, in (10:11). Later, after the plague of darkness, he let all people go except animals (10:24). God’s requirement, however, was firm. The Hebrews had to leave Egypt. Sometimes people urge believers to compromise and give only partial obedience to God’s commands. But commitment and obedience to God cannot be negotiated. When it comes to obeying God, committing halfway will not do.
3. God brings out our true character.
2 Chron 32:31, “But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.” God tested Hezekiah to see what he was really like and to show him his own shortcomings and the attitude of his heart. God did not totally abandon Hezekiah, nor did he tempt him to sin or trick him. The test was meant to strengthen Hezekiah, develop his character, and prepare him for the tasks ahead. In times of success, most of us can live good lives. But pressure, trouble, or pain will quickly remove our thin veneer of goodness unless our strength comes from God. What are you like under pressure or when everything is going wrong? Do you give in or stay true to God? Those who are consistently in touch with God don’t have to worry about what pressure may reveal about them.
After this test, Abraham called the place, Mount of Moriah, or Jehovah Jireh, which means “God provides.” Abraham looked up to see a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns, and he sacrificed the ram in place of his son, discovering in a new and dramatic way that the Lord will provide.
The principle of Jehovah Jireh is to understand that God himself is our provider. God provides us with all things that we need for the glory of God. This is not just a mind game we play, it is the simple TRUTH. Until we really believe Jehovah Jireh, we will not be able to move forward in faith and obedience. But once you actually trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, then you’re ready to practice obedience.
God expects us to obey God when we are in our extremity. The definition of obedience is “To hear God’s word and act accordingly.” In the New Testament it is defined as “to trust.” Abraham was in the most difficult situation. In this situation God wanted him to trust God. Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”
All God’s promises have been fulfilled and will be fulfilled. Genesis 17:4-6, “You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations.” God told it to Abraham before Isaac was born. God wanted Abraham to sacrifice Isaac so that God may demonstrate the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham, who was in the extreme situation. God wanted Abraham to see his faithfulness and trustworthiness. One of my favorite Christian’s songs is “Great is thy faithfulness.” Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father, there is no shadow of turning with thee, thou changest not, thy compassions fail not as thou hast been thou forever wilt be. Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see all I have needed thy hand hath provided; great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto to me.
What kind of faith did Abraham have? Abraham had “incomprehensible faith”, “Un-wavering and un-questioning.” Abraham is a child of God and had a covenant with God, the descendent of Adam, as we are. We see at least 4 occasions of how much Abraham trusted God.
1. Genesis 22:3, “Abraham rose early in the morning.” He had incomprehensible faith that caused him to rise early in the morning. To have faith means to act on what you believe. When I taught Tae Kwon Do in Fayetteville, NC, my business was very successful. When I first started, I had a little over 15 students, three months later I had 50, one year later 130, two years later 150, and when I quitted teaching Tae Kwon Do, I had about 200 students. As the number of students grew, the amount in my savings account increased. I wanted to quit because I was not happy not responding to God’s call even though I had lots of money in my savings account. I knew that I would receive one-fifths of the income that I was making when I became a local pastor. But the grace of God helped to quit my business promptly and I believed “Seek ye first kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added up you.” (Matthew 6: 33)
2. Abraham said to his servants in Genesis 22:5, “Stay here with the donkey the boy and I will go over there we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Before Abraham killed his son, he believed nothing would happen to Isaac.
3. When Isaac asked Abraham, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” We can imagine the ache in his chest and the lump in his throat as Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (vs. 8).
4. Abraham bound his son
Isaac, laid him on the altar, on top of the wood, and clutching the knife in his
hand, reached out to kill his son. But an angel appeared with a last – minute
say of execution, and announced that Abraham has passed the Lord’s test of
faithfulness.
God is with you and God will be with you if you choose the tougher path for your faith, and will supply you with everything that you need as God provided Abraham with a ram in a thicket. If God is calling to service, to obedience, or to greater faithfulness, God will challenge you as he challenged Abraham- to trust him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You will discover that divinely sanctioned conflict does not lead to death and destruction, but rather to life and growth and new opportunity. Because God is the God of Jehovah Jireh, and God is also the provider. Our extremity is God’s opportunity.
Isaac, who carried wood to the mountain Moriah, which is in Jerusalem today, and his attitude toward his father, Abraham, showed his complete obedience to the point of death, is a foreshadow that Jesus took his own cross walking on Calvary and obeyed His Father unto death. Abraham’s story is really no different than our own; the required atonement for our sin is "death", but like Abraham’s story, a sacrifice needed to be made for the atonement for our sins; And it would take a lot to pick up the wood and knife and go out into the wilderness to make atonement for our sins... in fact for my sins I wouldn’t even be able to carry enough wood; or sacrifice enough animals, but because of faith, I don’t have to, for God hath provided the lamb. John knew it when he saw Jesus in the wilderness and proclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And God’s only son Jesus, was lead out to the place we call Golgotha and offered as a sacrifice; the Lamb of God.
God’s command to sacrifice Isaac could have led to an easy peace, with Abraham abandoning the Lord and living a safe and remarkable life with his little family. But he chose instead the productive conflict that goes along with being faithful to God, and he became the father of a great nation. For those who choose the productive conflict that goes along with doing God’s will in love and justice, there can be life and growth and new opportunity. The God, who provided Abraham with a ram instead of Isaac, is the same God that we believe in today. The God who tested Abraham is the same God who tests us for our new opportunity, growth, and blessings. And the God, who worked in Abraham’s extremity, is the same God, who works in our extremity. Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
22:1 Some time later God tested
Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and
go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one
of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took
with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough
wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him
about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the
distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I
and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to
you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son
Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them
went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham,
"Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the
burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt
offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an
altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid
him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and
took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to
him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him.
Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your
son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its
horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.
And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be
provided."
NIV
Hebrews 11:17-19
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who
had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even
though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be
reckoned." 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively
speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
NIV
James 2:21-24
21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he
offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions
were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And
the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was
credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24 You see
that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
NIV
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