“Binding of Isaac”

Genesis 21:1-3; 22:1-14

^21:1The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. ² She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. ³ And Abraham named their son Isaac.

^22:1Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

² “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

³ The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

⁶ So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, ⁷ Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

⁸ “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a woman who introduced her boyfriend to her parents. The father of the woman took the boyfriend aside and began the questioning. “Soooo, what do you do for a living?” “I’m going to seminary, training to become a pastor,” responded the boyfriend. “A pastor, huh? So how do you plan to provide for my daughter?” With a smile on his face, the boyfriend boldly said, “God will provide for us.” The father thought a little further. “And how will you afford the shiny, diamond ring we both know my daughter deserves?” Again, the boyfriend said, “God will provide for us.” Growing a little more agitated, “Yes, but how will you provide a nice, safe home for my daughter and future grandchildren?” Somewhat expectantly, the boyfriend simply responded, “God will provide for us.” Later that night, the mother and father were lying in bed when the mother turned to the father, “How was your time with our future son-in-law?” The father gruffed, “I think he has no plans, doesn’t have a job, and he thinks I’m God!”

Aaah, the joys of being a seminarian! From all outward appearances, a seminarian doesn’t appear to have their life together, relying solely on God and God’s good graces to help him/her get through life. But they’re no different than any adult willing to forego the working world to acquire knowledge or a skill, say at a college or technical training school. With little to no income coming in save from student loans or the generosity of loved ones, a student’s life and future are just as uncertain as a seminarian’s. At least a seminarian has a sense of assurance that God will somehow provide. The witness of scripture attests to it over and over again! Many people throughout history have found themselves in situations where they have little to no resources, or at least the applicable resources, to help them through. But with a little prayer and divine assistance, they come to realize that God provides in unforeseen ways. Our God does provide! Sometimes more than we expect, sometimes just enough, but our God always provides. Everything we have in this world is a gift from God! Our health, our strength, our minds, our courage, our homes, our families…everything a gift from our loving God! We’re fools to believe otherwise…

Many people struggle with our reading for today. Many people have hard time believing that God would ask Abraham to kill Isaac especially since Abraham waited most of his life to receive Isaac. God didn’t give Isaac to Abraham until he was an old man, presumably with few years to enjoy him. Of course, Abraham lived many years, 175 according to scripture, so receiving Isaac in his 90s wasn’t all that bad. But it seems so out of character that God would ask anyone to kill their child, even if it was to prove their faith and obedience to God. Why would God ask such a thing? After all, He’s a God of life and creation as we heard last week. A mere 21 chapters later and we get quite a different God, a God of death. Well, we must keep in mind that God doesn’t actually go through in the killing. He stayed the hand of Abraham and Abraham’s faith and obedience was revealed which is perhaps the whole point of the test, to reveal absolute faith and trust. The importance of faith and trust. God considers faith and trust to be very serious. God wants each of us to consider it seriously too. God wants us to trust him with our whole hearts and minds and bodies! Trust IS important! Without trust, there is no relationship and without a relationship, there is no purpose for existence. Friends, trust is important.

And God establishes trust by providing. We heard Isaac question his father, “We have the fire and the wood but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” And how does Abraham respond? “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son?” What a loaded response to the question! Abraham trusts God will hand his son over to be slaughtered and, in a way, he is denying his own culpability in the slaughter. “I’m just doing what God told me to do. This isn’t what I want but what God wants!” And how does Isaac respond? He doesn’t, it just says, “And they both walked on together.” Abraham’s trust in God remained intact, Isaac’s trust in his father remained intact.

Trust is important. It’s important between God and us. It’s important between a father and his son. And it is built on providing for each other. When we provide for each other, we build trust for each other. That’s why God will always provide…because he wants our trust. This narrative between God and Abraham and Isaac is about revealing the importance of trust. Our God is a providing God and a trustworthy God, and this is confirmed by scripture. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (4:19) And we are assured by Jesus’ words in Matthew, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” (6:31-32) We ought not by anxious and worry because God will provide. Why? Because He wants our trust!

It is difficult passage because it shows just how far God will go to get our trust. We know He’ll provide the ultimate sacrifice, his own Son, to regain our trust. Trust is important to God! Let us also treasure trust and provide for each other in whatever we can. And let us give thanks for all that God provides for us. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.