Wandering Toward Promise: Week 4 - The Mountain of Trust

The Season of Pentecost & Summer Sermon Series

These stores aren’t about perfect people. They teach us to trust God even when we cannot see the path ahead.  

Today, we are going to be reading a story that is horrifying and confusing, but also one that teaches us what it means to trust God’s ultimate purposes. 

In this story, Abraham is told by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and he very nearly does it.  So, is this a "text of terror," as some theologians call extremely problematic passages in the Bible, or is it something else?  

And what do we do when we are faced with what seems like a terrible choice, no matter what we do?  When life seems incomprehensible... when we might feel as though we have no control... when we wonder if we really will have to give up what is most dear to us?  

WE CAN TRUST GOD WHEN LIFE FEELS INCOMPREHENSIBLE 

Genesis 22:1-14

After these things, God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 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 that I shall show you.” 

• The Akedah - one of the most important moments in Abraham’s story. 
• The literal translation of the text reveals something very different.  
• The command is the same as when God told Abraham to leave his birthplace and go "to a place I will show you." 

Classical Midrash followed by Rabbi Rashi: 

"Your son," He said to Him.  "I have two sons," He said to Him. "Your only one," He said to Him.  "This one is the only one to his mother, and this one is the only one to his mother.  "Whom you love." He said to Him.  "I love both of them. He said to Him, "Isaac." 

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 

• Abraham is called to do something that is terrible and tragic.  
• Child sacrifice in the ancient Mesopotamian cultures was prevalent.  

4 On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.

• The only time Isaac speaks is a telling moment—Abraham’s response is, too.
• 1st Century rabbinical teachings took this story in a different direction. 

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 

• But then, God’s messenger speaks (Hagar’s story) and stays the sacrifice.
• One of the lessons here is that God abhors child sacrifice (tolerates others)
• The word na’ar is spoken over Isaac, just like his brother Ishmael

13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide,” as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

• All three monotheistic faiths look to this story for meaning.  
• Mt Moriah is said to be where God began the creation of the world. 
• Mt. Moriah today.  

Trust is not the absence of questions—it is refusing to let go of God in the middle of them. 

Some Questions

• Was God testing Abraham, or was Abraham testing God?

Some ancient rabbinical teachings indicate that God was basically saying to Abraham at the end, "I didn't think you'd actually go through with it!"  The lesson of the story seems to work either way.  

• What about Isaac?  How do we see his part in this story?

This must have been a traumatic experience, but according to the text, he trusts his father, who seems confident that God will provide a way through it.  Sometimes our children face incomprehensible things along with us.  What are we teaching them about our faith and trust?  

• Where in our lives do we have moments where trust in God seems like a real reach?

The one thing we have to understand from this challenging story is that God demonstrates God's intervention without requiring a transaction.  Later in Scripture, God speaks through a prophet to tell the Hebrew people, "I hate your sacrifices, and abhor the smell of your incense.  Your worship is shallow.  What I want from you is to show mercy, and walk humbly with me, trusting that I've got this."  

• How do we distance ourselves from the idea of a transactional God?

We embrace acts of surrender and trust even over the most difficult things to let go of, and even in the most incomprehensible moments, letting go of our need for control and all of the outcomes.  There's no bargaining here, just trust that even when we don't understand, God is making a way.  

WE CAN TRUST GOD WHEN LIFE FEELS INCOMPREHENSIBLE