Pastor Daniel Slaughter
February 21, 2020
Lent 1
Genesis 22:1-18
A Sacrifice Worth Making
The season of a Lent is a call to sinners towards repentance that once again reminds us of the seriousness of our sins. And as we make that journey to cross, we fully appreciate the sacrifice that Jesus made.
Some people give up something for Lent. Are you doing that this year? Giving something up/sacrificing something for lent can be beneficial, but if Lent is only about giving up something like sweets, or social media, then we are missing something important. If we treat lent like a News Years resolution to do something that we should be doing anyway then we miss the big picture. But when we sacrifice something for lent it is meant to be something that is difficult for us to be without. And as we go without that thing, we replace it by thinking about our sin and focusing our attention on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
We don’t just sacrifice things for lent. We make sacrifices throughout our lives as well. There are some things that people will gladly sacrifice. For example, parents. There are certain things they will gladly sacrifice for their children. They will gladly sacrifice their time, their money, energy/sleep. Parents (for the most part) gladly and willing make sacrifices for their children because they love them, it’s their responsibility.
What is the most important thing in your life? What do you daydream about? What do you have nightmares about? What do you wake up in the morning thinking about? What is it that exists in your life to which you freely and effortlessly give your time, your energy, your emotion, your thoughts, and your money? What if I asked you to sacrifice it…to give that person or thing up. Would you do it? Could you do it? Now what if I told you it is A Sacrifice Worth Making.
God asked that very thing from Abraham in our lesson for today. “God said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you.” In OT times these burnt offerings symbolized a person’s complete dedication to God. And God wants Abraham to show his faith, to give him complete dedication by making this sacrifice of the thing that is most important to him.
There had to be a lot of conflicting things going on in Abraham’s heart and mind. Just think about the internal struggle Abraham had. He was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Sarah was well beyond the years that she could have a child. God made a promise to Abraham that he was going to give him a child, that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. This promise was going to be through Isaac.
So, you have Abraham who heard God’s promise, believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And God was faithful to that promise and gave him that precious miracle, Isaac. Think about how much Abraham loved Isaac. Trying and trying to have a child but they couldn’t. And when it was beyond physical possibility, they did. Think about how Abraham held Isaac. Think about how Abraham watched Isaac grow up into his teenage years.
Here is such a good thing that is before Abraham. The fulfillment of God’s promise to him, the wonderful blessing of a child. Think about how much he appreciated Isaac. Think about how much he loved him. What Abraham loved was a good thing. He loved Isaac. And now God is telling him to sacrifice this good thing, Isaac, Isaac whom he loves, as a burnt offering to show complete dedication to God. Could you do it? Would you do it?
Abraham’s love for Isaac, right and good though it was, might in time, have crowded out his love for God. This testing wasn’t for God’s benefit (he knew Abraham was God-fearing) but it was for Abraham’s spiritual blessing. God gave Abraham a chance to demonstrate his faith by wrestling with this impossible circumstance. And what further complicated the situation for Abraham was that God’s command seemed not only to violate a father’s love for his son but also goes directly against God’s previous promise that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him.
Can you relate to Abraham? What was that thing that exists in your life to which you freely and effortlessly give your time, your energy, your emotion, your thoughts, and your money? What do you love so much that it would be impossible to willingly and gladly give up if the Lord required it? What is that idol in your life… that good thing that you love too much?
There was no argument, not even a question—just obedience. Abraham didn’t hesitate he saddled up his donkey, took two of his servants and his son, Isaac. He split the wood for the sacrifice and left early that morning to land of Moriah. If it was the same place that Solomon built the temple it would have been a 50-mile trip ahead of him. It wasn’t some spur of the moment decision that he would be willing to go through with what God was telling him. It was about a 3-day journey, giving him plenty of time to think.
Can you imagine the devil seizing that opportunity to tempt Abraham to not listen to God? “God wouldn’t say that. How would God be able to keep his promise if he wants you to sacrifice him? God must not be good. God wouldn’t want you to choose between something good and him.”
What is that good thing in your life that you love too much? Would you be able to let it go willingly? If God would ask you now to give up house and home, wealth and position, all that you are and have, would you get up early and go straight to it? Or would you listen to lies of Satan. That person or thing makes you happy, you can’t live without it. Why would God ask you to choose? Love this person or thing more than God because they make you happier. The list goes on.
Sometimes God does allow hardship or suffering in our lives to give us an opportunity to consciously put God first. Abraham had to wrestle with the promise God made and the command that he gave him. So when they reached the mountain. Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on over there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” This is significant for two reasons. The first he says the I and the boy will worship… this act that was to follow was an act of worship. And two, and then we will come back to you. I mean how can a merciful God cut off the Messianic line? Abraham’s faith answered: If God commands me to kill Isaac and I obey him… God is simply going to bring Isaac’s ashes back to life.
Isaac recognized something was off and said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Once again Abraham demonstrated his faith by trusting in God and his promises even if it went against reason and logic. Abraham had an opportunity to put his faith into practice by listening to God and trusting in him.
Would you be able to make that sacrifice of that good thing you love? If you do not love God enough to give up your son for him, why should he give up his Son for you? But that’s what he promises in the closing verses of our lesson, “In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” That promise was fulfilled in Christ. As a New Testament believer looking back on this, we can’t help but see striking similarities. Abraham sacrificing his son, and that is exactly what God did for us. Isaac carrying the wood for the sacrifice…Christ carrying that cross for his sacrifice. The key difference… God provided a ram for Abraham to offer up as a burnt offering instead of his son. Jesus went through with his sacrifice.
It is not like God sent his Son to die on the cross because he knew you were going to love him above everyone and everything. No… it was quite the opposite. He sacrificed his Son in our place because we have failed to love the Lord “…with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.” God provided the sacrifice needed to once and for all take away our sins. To forgive us for putting God in the position of second or third or fourth or even fifth place in our lives. He did it because he made a promise, he swore by himself (the highest authority that there is) that he would keep his promise. He kept his promise he made to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the promise to provide the Savior. It was a sacrifice worth making! So that you can be with him for all eternity.
Some people during the season of Lent sacrifice something so that in the absence of that thing, they can solemnly remember their sins, and contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Today we repent. We repent of our sins of loving other people or other things more than our God. And we look to the cross, and we see the sacrifice of Christ, that was provided in our place. The promise that was made and the promise that was kept to give us forgiveness and life and salvation. As we recognize our sins, as we contemplate the sacrifice that God made on our behalf, it leads us to want to be like Abraham. To look at the things in our lives and to put our faith into practice by consciously looking for ways to put God first, by using our time, our gifts our abilities. That is a sacrifice worth making because he made the ultimate sacrifice for you. Amen.