February 21, 2021 Text: Genesis 22:1-18
Dear Friends in Christ,
Here is a simple story that makes a point: “A little boy came running into the house after playing outside. His mother stopped and asked what was on his right hand. He said, ‘Just a little mud.’ His mother then asked if he was going to get the mud off his hand. He paused and said, ‘Sure, mom, I will just wipe it off with my other hand.’ One dirty hand with a clean hand now equals two dirty hands.
People are like that little boy. They see the evil in their life and figure they can make themselves clean by bringing good into their life to bear the problem. But you and I know it doesn’t work that way. To be spiritually and morally clean we need another way. The only solution is found in the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all our sins.”
This first Sunday of Lent we consider . . .
“THE LORD WILL PROVIDE”
We delve into the first two verses of our text, “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ 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 of which I shall tell you.”
This is always an emotional story. A father who loves his son is to sacrifice that son. It cuts deep into our soul. How could God ask this of Abraham? Just like a boss who should be willing to do what his employees do, God is not asking Abraham to do anything that God wouldn’t do. More on that later.
We’re whiners. I’ll admit that. Who hasn’t been whining about the cold and the snow and the roads and trying to get things done and . . . it could go on and on. Look at father Abraham. He doesn’t whine, doesn’t debate God – “what again are you asking me to do?” He even tells Isaac, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” (v. 8)
He binds Isaac and even has the knife out – he is going all the way – somebody please stop this. “The angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’…Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (vs. 11-12)
Do you know who the angel of the Lord is speaking from heaven? This is the pre-incarnate Christ speaking. This is Jesus before His birth into the world.
This is a foreshadowing of God’s love for us. God took his son and laid him on a cross on top of wood, just like Isaac. God carried a knife as He allowed His Son to be beaten and whipped and mocked and crucified at Calvary. Christ died for our whining and our lack of faith. He gave His life for the world’s people who are always questioning what He is doing. “All the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (v. 18)
Jesus died for people who mess up, have to swallow a lot of regrets and sometimes, can’t find their way through an open door with the lights on; people who are afraid of tomorrow and horrified by death. He died for you – for me – for all the sinners on this earth. You can count on this; He loves us beyond anything we can imagine. Would you kill your child so that others might live? God did. That is the kind of sacrifice and love that He demonstrates. It is a love that we should never take for granted. It is a love that promises an eternal future. It is a love that is with you today and tomorrow and forever.
The Lord will provide . . . He has . . . He will . . . let it show in your life.
Amen.