Welcome! So glad you're here.

We’re looking at stories from the Bible where people responded to God’s voice with, “Here I Am.” Today is the story of Abraham from Genesis 22. In this story, Abraham says, “Here I am” 3 times.

So far in the story of Genesis, God created all things and made humans in his image to rule on God’s behalf. But the humans misuse their rule and the world descends into violence and death. Then God calls a man named Abraham to launch his rescue plan and bless the whole world through his family. But Abraham and his wife cannot have children as they are very old. So God made a promise that he would have a son and his descendants would be a great nation. And Abraham trusted.

But as time passes, Abraham and Sarah lie and scheme to get the blessing. He sleeps with his Egyptian slave Hagar to have a son, and they mistreat her. God sees this and sees to it that they’re cared for. After years of waiting, Abraham and Sarah miraculously have a son and name him, Isaac, because he brought laughter in their old age. Then when Isaac grew up, they disowned and kicked out Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. They were willing to sacrifice their safety and wellbeing to get the blessing on their own terms. Here God asks them to completely surrender the future blessing of their family over to God only to receive it back by God’s grace.

After all these things, God tested Abraham’s faith. (22:1) This is a TEST. You don't get that, you don’t get the point of the story. A test examines and proves someone’s character, reveals who they are and what’s in them. God wants to see what’s in us, and God wants us to see what’s in us. God is putting Abraham to the test for his good.

One day, God said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” It’s one word in Hebrew (hineini), an invitation to see. I’m here, listening, fully present to you, offering my whole self as I am. It’s about openness and availability, willing and ready to serve.

Here is the test: Please take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah ("God sees/provides") and offer him there as a going-up offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you. (In this culture, mountains are sacred places to meet God.)

What’s going on here? Why would God tell him to give up the promised gift of a son? Remember, when something in the Bible makes us uncomfortable or troubles us, that’s a sign to dig deeper and find out what’s going on. This is a complex, multilayered story, that must be read as part of the larger story of Abraham’s relationship with God. Abraham deeply trusts in God’s goodness and promises to the point of death. It’s a tenacious trust that holds on and won’t let go. Over and over in scripture, we see God wants to bring life and blessing to this world, and partner with humans in doing that!

What does Abraham do? He rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two servants with him, and his son Isaac, and he split wood for the offering, and rose and went to the place God told him.

On the third day, Abraham looks up and sees the place from afar. And he tells his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. We will go there, we will worship, and we will come back to you.” (22:5) Abraham believes Isaac will return alive. Abraham takes the wood and lays it on his son’s shoulders, and he carries the fire (a coal brazier) and the knife.

Together, the two of them go into the wilderness. They’re walking together, side by side, and Isaac says to his Dad, “My Father.” And Abraham says, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac says, “See, the fire, the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?” And Abraham says, “God will see to the lamb for the offering, my son.” In other words, God will provide.

And they walked on together. Abraham must have been thinking of his covenant with the Lord years ago when the presence of God passed through the sacrifice as a fire (Gen. 15:17), meaning: God would be faithful even it meant taking the deathly consequences on God’s self.

And they came to the place that God told him. And Abraham built an altar of stone, laid out the wood, bound Isaac his son, and placed him on the altar. (Keep in mind, Isaac is in his late teens or early twenties; he could’ve resisted.)

Time after time Abraham has not trusted God! But here he does, offering his son to God. Abraham reached out his hand and picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice…

At that moment, the Lord’s messenger calls from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” For the third time he says, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you truly fear (i.e. honor, love, trust) God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” (22:12)

Abraham looks up and sees a ram, behind Isaac, caught in a thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a whole burnt offering instead of his son.

Hebrews 11:17-19 says, “By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Abraham trusted that God could raise the dead. In a sense, that’s what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar.” Imagine their joy!

Now, child sacrifice was familiar to Abraham. In his culture, you offered crops, animals, and children to ensure blessing from the gods. Later, God explicitly banned this practice! (Jeremiah 19:5, Leviticus 20:2) Here, Abraham learned God’s true character. Yahweh is not like any other god. God doesn’t want human sacrifice. God wants a close relationship with you. In effect, Put down the knife. Abandon all the ways of doing what’s right in your own eyes.

And because Abraham obeyed, God said, I will bless you and make your descendants like stars in the sky and sand on the seashore, and through them all the earth will be blessed. Abraham called that place, (Yahweh-Yireh) The Lord will provide.

This place shows up again in scripture. Solomon built a temple there on the mountain in Jerusalem. And centuries later on the same mountain, Jesus came — God’s beloved Son, born of a miracle, carried the wood to his death, and rose from the dead three days later! Not even death can stop God's love.

I remember going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In the church above the place where tradition says Jesus was crucified, there is artwork on the walls. This story of Abraham and Isaac is portrayed, and looking to the place of the cross, you can see on the wall above a thicket, and the lamb is not there. “See Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Romans 8:32 says, “If God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will he not with him graciously give us all things?”

How might this story be a part of your story? I believe God is calling us to a tenacious trust. Will you trust God, or will you hold back?

God tests us in different ways. What do you hold most dear? For Abraham, it was his son. For the rich young ruler, it was his possessions. What is it for you? Is there anyone or anything that’s getting in the way of your loyal love for God?

Perhaps God is calling you to leave the comfortable behind? Perhaps God is calling you to offer up something that’s important to you?

Tim Mackie says, “When we are willing to surrender everything to God, those are the moments when God’s blessing can break out and overflow.” Psalm 40:4, “Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD.”

“Because of all that God’s done for you, offer yourselves as a holy and living sacrifice. This is true worship.” (Romans 12:2)

Application: I encourage you this week to sit in a quiet place, hold your arms out in prayer, palms open, and offer yourself to God…“Here I am.”

Resources:
Tim Mackie, Bible Project Podcast, Trees of Testing & Blessing
John H. Walton, IVP Bible Background Commentary
Robert Alter, Genesis Translation and Commentary
Andy Patton, Article: “Why Did God Ask Abraham to Sacrifice Isaac?”
John E. Hartley, Genesis Bible Commentary