Midweek in Lent 3 - The Testing of Abraham in Genesis 22:1-18
The following Homily was offered at three congregations in Indiana: Trinity, Goodland; Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Monticello; and St. John's Lutheran Church, Rensselaer.
2025-3-26 & 27 Wednesday in Lent
The Testing of Abraham Genesis 22:1-18
O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
There are traditions within some Jewish and Christian communities where certain Scripture passages and commentaries are withheld from the young until they reach an age of maturity. These same communities make similar decisions regarding encounters with great works of art in their forms of literature, visual, or music. The rational for such censorship is that the young will neither understand nor appreciate the deeper message and meaning that is being conveyed. It will be lost on them. They will either be dismissive or unduly frightened by the great Truth that is before them.
If we were to practice such discretion, I think today’s reading from Genesis would certainly be a candidate for exclusion until a later, more discerning age. Because God requests that a father sacrifice his child, one can easily miss important components of the narrative that point us to a deeper truth. The horror of this request along with Abraham’s compliance does not allow us to ever forget this particular biblical story. Consequently, a young child or an uninformed adult might conclude that God is cruel.
But an informed and mature perspective knows that this is not the case at all. In fact, the evidence that we observe from the natural world and that is embedded in the Scriptures is that God is generous, benevolent, and loves His creation deeply. Out of love God created the universe, our world, and us. God lovingly provides for us abundantly through the natural rhythms and resources of this world for our well-being. As is evident from the many stories that God’s Word provide, God is patient with us beyond reasonable understanding as he addresses the ongoing manifestations of our rebelliousness. We discern that God understands our limits and the implications of our sins far better than we do and consequently provides for our salvation through Jesus Christ.
In Genesis 3:15 we receive the first promise that a Messiah is coming. Jesus is the son of Adam that will crush the head of the serpent. In Genesis 6, the story of the great flood illustrates that God will use water to both destroy and restore humanity. In Holy Baptism, God’s Word connected to the water, destroys the everlasting grip of sin upon us and we receive God’s merciful gift of Christ’s righteousness and the faith to receive Jesus’ sacrifice as accomplished for us. In today’s reading we learn that God will save us through the sacrifice of a son: Not Abraham’s son, but God’s own Son, Jesus. Jesus is our substitute. God provides Jesus for us because our own death, or the death of a loved one, will not be the righteous sacrifice in our behalf that we need. The details of Abraham’s time of testing assure us that our coming Savior will be a substitute for us. As the sacrificial lamb, Jesus will bear the wrath of our heavenly Father, so that we might live with hope of resurrection life.
There are four things that an informed Christian should see in this story that alert us that this incident was recorded so that future generations will understand how God plans to save the world.
The first is the two primary characters of Abraham and Isaac. They are what we call a “type.” They point us to the reality of God. Jesus revealed that He is the Son and that He says and does what the Father tells Him to say and do. Jesus does all of this through the power of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the blessed Trinity. But, the story points us to the Father and the Son.
Abraham, the Father, loves the son, Isaac. The Son obeys the Father. The son’s trust in the Father never wavers. Even to the point of laying down upon the altar. Jesus’ trust in our heavenly Father is immense. Jesus’ trust in the Father permits him to become incarnate and enter the fullness of our humanity. Jesus’ trust in the Father never wavers, even to the point of being betrayed, suffering, and receiving the nails in his hands and feet upon the cross.
Second, this is a time of testing. The reading begins with, “After these things God tested Abraham..” Abraham has already received God’s covenant. Abraham responds to God’s covenant with faith. Genesis 15:6 says “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
God “tests” us in order to strengthen our faith. Abraham’s faith is about to be strengthened in profound ways. Abraham’s faith is such that despite what he heard God command him to do with his Son, he obeyed. When Isaac asked the obvious question, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
Third, Yes, God will provide the lamb. This too points us to Jesus. What did John the Baptist declare of Jesus? Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Any sacrifice we offer is insufficient and transitory. By the time we have come down the mountain, we need to go back up again and offer another sacrifice. Our sin comes fast and furious. Our own efforts at atonement for sin are insufficient to cover our sin. The Lord must provide. Just as Abraham said. The Lord will provide. In the fullness of God’s time, the Lord provided Jesus to die on the cross for our salvation.
Fourth, when Abraham raised the knife, the time of testing was concluded. Abraham’s faith, despite appearances to the contrary, grew. In his time of testing, he chose to believe and be obedient to the Lord no matter what. Abraham’s faith statement was fulfilled. The Lord provided the ram in the bushes. The ram became the substitute for the sacrifice. The ram’s spilled blood and spent life fulfilled the obligation of the law and covered their sin.
Abraham’s faith, Isaac’s trust and obedience, the ram that the Lord provided for the sacrifice, all point us to the coming Christ. In the telling of this gripping and horrifying moment in Abraham and Isaac’s life, we receive a Gospel promise. The Lord provides for our salvation. God’s own Son Jesus is sacrificed in our behalf so that we may believe in Him and live in the promise of everlasting life.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment