Thoughts for the Day

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 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.’ 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. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away....

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. 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?’ Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.

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. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 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.’ 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. 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.’

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Standard Version)

Thoughts

God has made an agreement (a covenant) with Abraham that he will be the father of nations, even though he and his wife are elderly and have no children. But as promised Sarah has the longed for child, Isaac. Now God asks for the life of this beloved child. Will Abraham have sufficient faith in God's promise, or will he refuse to do as God asks?

Can we imagine the anguish in Abraham's soul. He has made a solemn covenant with God to obey Him in all things. Years later Moses will formalise this into the first commandment: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind' (Deuteronomy 6.4-5). Can he obey God?

This story also has amazing symbolism for Christians, as it foreshadows what will happen when God sends His only beloved Son to rescue His people and restore them to Himself. Mount Moriah where Abraham will offer Isaac as a sacrifice is also the place where Jerusalem will one day be built. It is the place where Jesus will offer himself in obedience to God and we shall see his anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is where Jesus will stand before Pilate and offer himself up freely to death. Another symbolism, Abraham travels for three days, and it's on the third day that Jesus will be resurrected.

Sometimes we too can face the anguish of a decision, where we have to face a choice between God and the things of this world. How will we choose, and will we make the right choice? Will we have enough faith to stick with God?

Heavenly Father,
we too made a binding covenant
with You at our Baptism or Confirmation,
may we remember to turn to You
when choices become difficult.
Give us the faith to make right decisions,
knowing that You are there
to help us.
Amen.