Sunday January 28, 2024
Theme: “Growing in Faith”
Text: Genesis 22:9-18
9. When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10. Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11. Then the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham! Abraham! And he answered: Here I am! 12. The angel said: Put not thine hand upon the child, nor do anything unto him; for now I know that you fear God, and have not withheld your only son from me. 13. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind him a ram held in a bush by the horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14. Abraham called the name of this place Jehovah Jireh. Therefore it is said today: In the mountain of the LORD it will be provided. 15. The angel of the LORD called Abraham from heaven the second time, 16. and said, By myself I swear, word of the LORD; because you have done this, and have not withheld your only son, 17. I will bless you and multiply your descendants, like the stars of the sky and like the sand that is on the seashore; and your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies. 18. All the nations of the earth will be blessed in your descendants, because you have obeyed my voice.
Let's remember:
Abraham left all his servants far from the place of sacrifice to avoid disturbances and arguments when offering his son. His servants would be shocked to experience such carnage even if the country in which Abraham lived had this custom of offering each first born child as a sacrifice, by burning him with fire. Abraham set up an altar for sacrifice. Setting up an altar is in itself a mark of deep worship. He put the wood, which is a symbol of intercession and consecration. He tied the child to prevent him from falling from the altar when it was time to burn it; which is the mark of courage and obedience. This entire sequence represents the trust placed in a God who would resurrect his child, failing which, he would give him another. Wasn't Isaac born by a miracle? God would have done it again. Abraham said nothing to Sarah his wife about the sacrifice that the Lord God asked of him. He certainly avoided the crazy discussion that would arise and the conflict that would remain open until their last breath. When our faith has already grown, there are actions that we take without measuring the human impact that would follow. We first perform the act of obedience and leave it to God to manage the consequences. Let us imagine how a father's heart bled when he bound his only son with the promise. But he continued his sacrifice of worship. In Abraham's place, we would have peppered God with endless questions. We would have even asked for a guarantee and proof that it was He God who was speaking. We would also have asked who has already suffered such a situation before us? Thank God, Abraham did an act that blesses us all because all nations are blessed by it. Excellent Sunday. Amen
Alain Louz.-
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