After 25 years of waiting for the son of promise to be born God finally fulfilled His oath to Abraham and Isaac was miraculously born to Sarah. Some thirteen to twenty years later when Isaac was at least in his teen years, God called Abraham to sacrifice his only son, the son he loved.
How could God ask such a thing? Wouldn’t that have been murder? How was Abraham’s descendants going to be as many as the sands of the sea or the stars of heaven if he killed the one through whom those descendants would come? Many doubts regarding this command must have come into Abraham’s mind. This was the biggest test of his life, one of the biggest tests that any human has been asked to perform.
Abraham chose to obey God. He took two servants, Isaac, and most of the preparations for the journey of three days. But one vital item was missing. Isaac did not notice it was missing until the third day, but when he asked about it Abraham gave him one of the most amazing prophetic answers in the Bible.
God led them to a specific mountain which later on would have huge significance for hundreds of years, and for our day as well.
When they reach the mountain Abraham asked the two servants to wait while Isaac and he continued on a little further. Abraham added a phrase to those instructions which is an astounding statement of faith.
The Test
Abraham and Isaac built the altar for the sacrifice. At some point Abraham reveald to Isaac the command of the Lord. Isaac’s reaction was most interesting. Isaac was youthful and full of strength, while Abraham was old and weary after an arduous and restless three day. Isaac could have done anything he wanted to do, but his response was amazing, and prophetic. The test was not only for Abraham, but also for Isaac.
It is easy for us to at times focus on the sacrifice of the father, and forget about how much the test was also for the son. It is also easy for us to focus on the sacrifice of the Son and forget the sacrifice on the part of the Father.
Looking deeper than what is on the surface
In this week’s sermon Rabbi Jeff Zaremsky helps us see the deep messages in this Biblical account. We find the prophetic fulfillment to Abraham’s statement to Isaac regarding the missing item they needed for their journey. We learn what was so significant about the spot God chose for Abraham. We come to understand what faith really looks like as we hear Abraham’s instructions to his servants. We are drawn in to feel the pain of both the father and the son, and we rejoice in hearing the greater fulfillment of this Biblical account. And as always we find lessons for our lives today.
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