I would like your feedback. Is this an accurate statement to say in my forthcoming sermon on Heb 11:17-22?
If Abraham had not been willing to destroy Isaac, he would have destroyed Isaac. In losing his son, he found him. . . Had not Abraham placed Isaac on Yahweh’s altar, he would have killed him on Abraham’s altar.
What do you think?
If we aren’t a bit undone by the story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, I wonder how carefully we’ve read it. . .Of course, then we survey the Cross where we’re really “undone.”
Very profound thinking. How I need to give my children to God so that MY ways do not destroy them. When I place them on Yahweh’s altar I am more likely to see them through God’s eyes and not my own.
I believe it is very accurate. If Abraham hadn’t been willing & ready to place Isaac on God’s alter, he would have told God that Isaac was more valuable to him than God was. God will never let us down, however our children will as will any human idol. Only God can handle being our God, the weight is too great for any human to bare.
Theological is accurate! Of course theology is the study of God and we know that His ways are higher than our ways. I think there are many undertones to the story of Abraham and Isaac. I view one of them as a lesson to parents to not enable and dote over our children as “idols”. Yes, we love our children and are God’s appointed protectors of them, but we must not put them on a pedestal to be “worshipped”. God should be our only object of worship. I agree with your summary that if we don’t put our children and God in the correct order when it comes to worship that we can be setting our children up for failure both spiritually and emotionally.
It is truly my prayer that the Almighty God has His will for their lives! I pray that they do not wish to worry about the patterns and things of this world, but rather they ponder, study, pray about and work for God’s Kingdom, even if it were to cost them their life! It is better for them to be a janitor (not that this is a bad job) at the grade school than to be the most educated church planter and be outside the will of God! May the Lord have His will for my children and not mine!
http://www.urgencytorise.com
Jeremy
Chris:
Sounds like Tim Keller, and that’s a compliment. I think you’re right. It’s astounding that God asked Abraham if he would be willing to offer up his son. It’s even more astounding that God was willing to offer up His Son for us.
This seems right, though I would make sure to also give the corresponding truth that not only do we love God more than any person, but that we also love God by loving other people. That would be an interesting tension to explore. Thanks for giving me something to think hard about!
Well said, Chris. God, qua God, by definition cannot hold 2nd place and the price for that, as you have said, is too large to bear (cf. Lk 14:26…of course we know what the fate is of not being a disciple). Moreover, for those who cannot bear the thought of God’s actions here, I would add that as Author, Redeemer, and Sustainer of life God can do with life as he chooses, so says my theological bent.
On a slightly different note: I wonder if your argument works not only in warning parents that God must be first place, but may serve as a back-door warning to children for refusing to honor and obey their parents. Put differently, a child elevating their own will above Spirit-inspired parental authority is to invite death (cf., Pr. 23:14).
Just thinking…
Paul
I also think of the blessings that Isaac inherited because of Abraham’s obedience to God’s will. What would Isaac have inherited if God’s will was not foremost? We’ve talked about the inheritance of a sinful nature. I can’t imagine what penalties the children of former Governor Blagojevich will pay in the years to come. If we really want what is best for our children in this life and in the next, then God’s way is the only way! It may have been the nation of Israel at stake, but in being a God fearing man, I imagine the fate his child was a more immediate concern for Abraham.
That’s a very interesting perspective. It just goes to show once again that God’s ways many times defy human logic and comprehension and yet his way is always the best way. I’ve experienced and also seen decisions other family members have made that were not necessarily in line with God’s word that seemed insignificant at the time by human standards only to see those decisions snowball into serious consequences later. Thank God for Abraham and that he passed his test of faith. My question is does God “test” our faith today?
This puts things is a great light for me, as no matter what I do or say to my adult children, it may or may not make any difference in their lives. But I am learning to put my works in God’s hands and just pray ALOT that he will lead them to the right choices, as I really have no power over them..only God has that. They choose to put their trust in a human over their trust in God, and suffer they will.
The tension is that God seemed to be breaking his promise about the son of promise. Was Abraham to kill this promise with his own knife?
Yet when God seemed to contradict himself, Abraham’s faith was proved genuine. God said that BECAUSE (conditional!) he did not withold his son, God would bless Abraham and multiply his offspring.
I wonder if the Ishmeal situation had caused Abraham to resolve never to manufacture what God had promised. Abraham’s raised knife was full throttle faith.
Sorry, missed this earlier. I’ll be anxious to hear the sermon.
Thanks, Chris. I really appreciated your sermon on this passage. It stimulated my thinking in some key areas. It is indeed hard to avoid being undone – “as annihilated” – by this passage.