“SURELY THE LORD WILL PROVIDE”
GENESIS 22:1-14
22:1 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."
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.
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. So 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." So the two of them walked on together.
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."
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."
Children
are one of God’s greatest blessings. They can really fill your life with joy. For example, few things are more exciting
than watching your little girl take her first steps or hearing your little boy say “dada” for the first time. Sometimes children make you smile and then there are those days when they drive you
absolutely crazy. They cry and complain. You tell them not to do something and it goes in one ear and out the other. Why?
Because they want what they want and they don’t want it tomorrow. They want it right now.
If you’ve
ever been a parent you can probably remember a time when you felt just like the woman whose husband was a colonel in the Army.
Shortly after he was transferred to a base in Germany the
woman got on a plane with their seven children. All of them, by the way, were under the age of eleven. Well, after flying
all night they finally arrived at the Rhein-Main Air Base. By now the children were cranky and crabby and the woman was exhausted. The customs official didn’t know what to think when she walked over to him with
a dozen or so suitcases and all those children. “Ma’am” he asked.
“Do all these children and all this luggage belong to you?” “I’m
afraid so,” she said with a sigh. The customs official shook his head in
disbelief and proceeded to the business at hand. “Ma’am” he
asked. “Do you have any weapons, contraband or illegal drugs in your possession?” At that point the woman shrugged
her shoulders and said, “Young man, if I had any of those items, don’t you think I would have used them by now?
There
are times when children can drive you crazy. Even so, no sane and sensible person would ever think of doing what Abraham did
that day. This is a story that really makes you wonder. What kind of a father would be willing to sacrifice his only son?
Not only that, but what kind of a God would ask a father to sacrifice his only son?
It should come as no surprise that most people today find this sacred story repulsive and repugnant.
Well
I’m here to tell you right now that there was no way Isaac was going to be sacrificed that day. God knew it and what’s
more important, Abraham knew it too. You see the key to the story is what Abraham says to Isaac while they were making their
way to the top of that mountain. When Isaac asks him where the lamb is for the sacrifice, do you remember what Abraham says?
Abraham says, “God…will provide a lamb for the burnt offering my son.”
Now
Abraham didn’t say that to keep Isaac from freaking out. Abraham said it because he believed it. He really believed
that God was going to provide a lamb for the offering. Abraham was certain of it because of the promise that God made to him
many years earlier. Even though Abraham and Sarah were very old, God promised them a son who would make of them a great nation.
If Abraham really had to sacrifice Isaac that would have meant that God’s promise was nothing more than a cruel joke.
So, Abraham knew that God was going to provide the lamb
for the burnt offering and that’s exactly what happened. In fact, God didn’t just provide a lamb for the burnt
offering; God provided a full grown ram. Abraham’s faith was vindicated
and validated that day. Abraham and Isaac walked down from that mountain with the conviction that God does provide. God is
always faithful.
You
know what? I think we should take all of our children to that mountain. Not to traumatize them, but to show them the God who
really does provide. It just might help undo some of the spiritual neglect and abuse that seems to be going on these days. Unfortunately, a lot of well intentioned parents are unwittingly sacrificing their
children to a lot of false gods. Children today are being sacrificed to the gods of success and a self-esteem that says, “Whatever
makes you happy! That’s the only thing that really matters.” Children aren’t being taught what I like to
call the three R’s. Reverence for God. Respect for others and Responsibility for themselves.
Recently
someone sent me an email that suggested another way that children are being sacrificed these days. I don’t know who
wrote it, but it makes a lot of sense. This is what he had to say,
“A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning,
Dad was fascinated with this newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted
and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later. As I grew up,
I never questioned his place in our family…the stranger…could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries,
and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was
like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, my brother, and me to our first major league baseball game. He
was always encouraging us to see the movies...The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but
sometimes Mom would quietly get up - while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places
- go to her room, read her Bible, and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see,
my Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity,
for example, was not allowed in our house - not from us, from our friends, or from adults. Our longtime visitor, however,
used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted.
My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed
exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He
made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely about sex. His comments were sometimes
blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing…As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the
stranger did not influence us more. Time after time, he opposed the values of parents, yet he was seldom rebuked and
never asked to leave…His name?.......We just called him........TV.
The solution to all of this spiritual neglect and abuse of course is simple.
We need to take our children to that mountain, so they can come to know the God who really does provide. So they can
discover the God who gives you a love that not only is with you when you’re sad, but also teaches you right from wrong,
gives you a sense of purpose in life, makes demands of you and has expectations; a love that hugs, but also nudges you with
a little kick in the backside when you really need it; a love that says you’re not going to find a full and fulfilling
life on the baseball field or in a job that pays big bucks unless you use give as well as receive. We need to take our children
to that mountain so they can come to know the God who provides you with what you really need to survive and thrive in your
day to day life.
A number
of years ago John Bowes, chairman of the Wham-O company was asked to participate in a charity event. Now if you think back
to your childhood days you’ll remember that Wham-O is the company that makes Frisbees. So, Bowes ended up sending thousands
of the plastic discs to an orphanage in Angola. He figured
the children would enjoy playing with them and it would brighten their lives a little. Well, several months later, a representative
of the Wham-O company visited the orphanage. One of the nuns thanked him for the wonderful “plates” the company
had sent them. She told him the children were eating off the Frisbees, carrying water with them and even catching fish with
them. When the company representative explained how the Frisbees were intended to be used, the nun smiled and was pleased
that the children would also be able to enjoy them as toys.
How
often do we, as well intentioned adults give our children what they want or what we want them to want instead of what they
really need? What we really need to do is take our children to that mountain
so they come to know the God who provides; the God who provides you with what you really need in life. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
June 26, 2005
