Who Are You Really?

Introduction

What kind of person are you? I think in our minds we have an idea about who we are. Knowing both our positive and negative qualities allows us to have a more accurate picture of who we are. We see ourselves as kind, compassionate, or giving; or we see our negative traits such as lazy, hesitant, or a push over. We all have positive and negative traits. I would suggest to you that who we are really is not accurately understood and portrayed until we are in a difficult situation. It is when we are going through a difficult time that we learn who we really are.

It is when the screws are being tightened; when it is bleakest and darkest; when the pressure is on that we really learn who we are. We find out who we really are when we are taking a test at school; or when we are having difficulty at work; or when we are dying. ILL. “Character.” When the pressure is on and we are faced with choices, what will drive us in making those choices? When things are bleak; when times are tough, what is our standard going to be for deciding how to live and what to do? Today we are going to look at a story that may produce a number of questions. But remember it is in times of testing that our true character is revealed.

Abraham’s Test

God called out to Abraham and told him to take his son, Isaac, to Moriah and sacrifice him there. This episode begins very much like chapter 12 when God first called Abraham. In the beginning, God told Abraham to let go of his heritage and family and follow him to a land he would show him. In this episode, God tells Abraham to let go of the promises and follow him to a hill where he would show him.

Early the next morning (this is the same wording as used in 21:14 when Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael out of his camp) Abraham makes preparations for the trip. Wood, fire, servants, provisions, and sacrifice are all brought together for the journey. On the third day they arrive at Moriah. Abraham and Isaac alone ascend the mountain. Except for a brief conversation they seem to travel in silence. At the designated spot, Abraham builds an altar, assembles the wood on the altar, bounds his son and places him on top of the rocks and wood. Lifting his hand to slit his son’s throat, the angel of the Lord intervenes. God stops Abraham from carrying out his work. God provides a ram for a sacrifice and God promises to complete all that he has promised.

While this is the basic story and while it is a gripping story, there are a lot of unanswered questions. I have heard this story preached on a number of times. Most of the time, the speaker tries to get at what Abraham was thinking and feeling during all this time. That is an important exercise. To reflect on the feelings of discomfort, fear, sadness, and wonderment may help us when we have difficult times in our lives. But the Bible does not always allow us to see the emotions of the participants. And when the Bible doesn’t tell us about the emotions, there may be another point to the story that we are supposed to get.

The Point

The first point comes from verse 1. God tested Abraham. The first point has to do with God. God is interested in bringing Abraham to a fuller and more complete faith. The point of the episode is to test Abraham. The point of the event is to see where Abraham is in his faith. Doesn’t God already know? Isn’t God able to see into the heart of his follower and know motives, thoughts, intents, and decisions which would be made? Yes. But did Abraham know. You see the test was for Abraham. When a teacher gives a test to students, it isn’t for the teacher’s benefit so much. Most teachers know before giving the test which students will do well and which will not. But the test is for the student to know where they stand.

I don’t want to sound callous or unfeeling, but no mention of Abraham’s emotions is because this is not about how Abraham feels but about his faith. He needs a test to learn where he stands. No one would deny that Abraham had a lot of mixed feelings as he went through this event, but the point of the test was not about feeling right it was about obedience. After all, the idea of faith means nothing unless actions accompany such profession of faith. Some would say that God gave too hard of a test. In our limited view, I would agree. But how else would Abraham know that he was sure of what he hoped for and certain of what he did not see.

Abraham could see Isaac. He had watched him grow up. He had watched him develop into a full grown man. The Jewish rabbis say Isaac was 37 in this story. We don’t know how old he was, but he was old enough to know about sacrifices and the need for animals to complete them. Abraham saw Isaac every day. Is it possible that Abraham began to place more and more confidence in his son rather than in the God who brought him into this world? We do the same thing. We amass our fortunes and believe that nothing could shake us. We watch our children grow and we become confident about the future. We get into a lifestyle which brings security and comfort and believe in our abilities rather than the God who gave them to us. That is when we need a test.

A test is when we have to decide who we are going to hope in and have confidence in. A test helps us decide about our faith. A test proves what is really important to us. A test defines life for us. Any test will leave us with a variety of emotions, but the test is about our faith not our emotions. It is in difficult times that we really learn what motivates and guides us. Tests are about who we trust—ourselves or God. Our abilities or God’s power.

There is a second point in this story and it has little to do with the story itself. In many ways the events of the Old Testament are best understood in light of what happens in the New Testament. While not every story finds its fulfillment in the New Testament, each story generally points to how Jesus is the completion of that event. Such is the case in this story. The similarities between this story and Jesus’s crucifixion cannot be dismissed.

The wording in verse 2 is similar to the wording found in John 3:16. Isaac is described as your only son. In some Greek translations of this text the word “monogenes” is used. That is the same word John uses in 3:16 to describe Jesus as the one and only son of God.

In verse 6, as Abraham and Isaac journey to the place of sacrifice, Isaac has the wood placed on his back. The similarity with Jesus carrying the cross beam cannot be missed.

Abraham’s response to Isaac about the sacrifice in verse 8 finds its fulfillment at Calvary. God does indeed provide a sacrifice.

In verse 2, Mount Moriah is in southern part of Canaan. By the time of Jesus, the area known as Mount Moriah has a new name. It is Jerusalem and the hill they go to may well have been the temple mount.

Verse 14, “on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” This document was written some 1500 years before Jesus’s death. The wording is accurate. It is a future statement. On the mountain of the Lord (Jerusalem), God will provide. God did provide. When we read the story of Genesis 22, we are to be transported to a future time when God provided once and for all time.

It was during a difficult time that Jesus learned who he really was. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “although Jesus was God’s son, he learned obedience from what he suffered” and that now Jesus is the “source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Even Jesus learned obedience in the difficult times. So we, too, must learn obedience in the difficult times. When the pressure is on we learn who we are. We may not like tests, but spiritual tests help us learn about our God and our faith. Invitation.

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