Friend Of God
3 Things to Notice in Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac
Abraham
was called “friend of God.”
What
an amazing thing to be called.
One
of the places where we see this friendship at its most tender is the time when God
calls Abraham to sacrifice his son on a particular mountain.
What happened on that mountain
reverberates throughout the whole of history, and Abraham shared some of the
most painful emotions of his friend, God.
The
first thing to notice in the story found in Genesis 22 is Abraham’s response to
God’s call.
God calls his name,
“Abraham”, and Abraham responds, “Here I am” – or "hineni" in Hebrew: an expression of unconditional
availability.
The
second thing to notice is what God says next.
The
Hebrew reveals that the wording God uses is not wording of a command, but a
request.
“Please take
your son, your only son, the son that you love”….
It
is reminiscent of His first command to Abraham, when He told him to “Go!”:
To leave his country, the land of his relatives, the home of his father.
But
this time He is not insisting: He asks.
The
third thing to notice is that this is the very first time the word “love” is
used in the Bible.
Often
the first mention of a word or concept is key to unlocking its meaning in the
broader picture of the Bible.
The
idea of love comes first in this concept – a father’s willingness to
sacrificing a beloved son on Mount Moriah – and the love mentioned is the love
of the Father for the Son.
The
text tells us that old father Abraham is the one who split the wood – heavy
work for an elderly man – and they go off to the mountain of God’s choosing
together.
The
son carries the wood on his back, up mount Moriah, the very place that Yeshua
would later be crucified.
Isaac innocently asks about the sacrifice, and his dad
assures him, “God himself will see to the lamb.”
According
to Jewish tradition (Rashi), Isaac’s hands and feet were bound behind his back, and I
cannot even begin to imagine the thoughts and emotions that raced through
Abraham’s head as he held the knife up high…
But
thoughts and emotions would have been many and excruciating… the pain would
have been almost unbearable… wait – what is going on here?
The
Biblical text tells us that God was testing Abraham, but we well know that God
already knew the condition of Abraham’s heart.
Was
He allowing Abraham too to see how ready and willing his heart of faith truly
was?
Is
there not something else going on here too? Do we see here that God is bringing
his friend, Abraham, to the place where his own Son would be slaughtered, so
that He could share some of his heart and pain over this experience with
Abraham?
Did
Abraham’s ability to identify with some of God’s agony in that moment enable
him to bring some comfort, empathy, and love to his friend, God, as they shared
in the bitterness together?
I
believe so.
Perhaps this is what Paul writes about when he talks about
the “fellowship
of sufferings” in Philippians 3:10.
We
have the awesome privilege of drawing close to the heart of God, He calls us
His friend, and sometimes, He invites us and draws us in to share some of His
pain.
Are
you willing to allow God to share some of His thoughts with you? To show you
how He feels about some of the things on His heart?
Are
you willing to listen, to be available to Him? To be a friend to God,
partnering with him in what He wants to do?
God never calls us to do
something for Him that He does not empower us to do if we are willing to do the
work and time. Take the time to get to know God in an intimate way.
Your purpose on earth is to shine
God’s love to a lost and dying world.
Open your ears and your heart to
the Lord and be excited about your new future serving Him in spirit and truth.
Serve Him.
Wait on Him.
And expect … for He is able to do
much much more than you can ask or imagine.
Settle that sin issue ....
“Father
God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my
past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my
sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule
and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to Your
Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and
to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the
Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
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