Today, April 7, 2023, is the holy day Christians in the Western traditions call Good Friday, and I’m thinking about the account of Abraham and his son in Genesis 22.
Twenty-five years ago today, on April 7, 1998, Ruth and I were in Göreme, Turkey, which happened to be the first day of Qurban Bayram, the Turkish celebration of the Islamic holy day of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. This festival commemorates how Abraham’s faith was tested when he was asked by God to sacrifice his son, Ishmael. It comes at the end of the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, required of all Muslims, and emphasizes Abraham’s obedience and God’s mercy. (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eid-al-Adha)
It is significant that Judaism, Christianity and Islam (listed in chronological order) all trace their spiritual heritage back to Abraham. As well, Jews, Christians and Muslims all grasp the importance of testing of Abraham’s allegiance and draw great hope from the mercy that God displays by providing a ram as the actual sacrifice, sparing Abraham’s son. It is important to note that Jewish and Christian Scriptures indicate that it was Abraham’s son Isaac, not Ishmael, that was offered up. The significance of that difference is identification as God’s chosen people on earth, for Isaac is the forefather of Israelites, or Jews, (including Jesus and His followers, or “Christians”) and Ishmael is the father of the Arab people groups in which Islam emerged.
But, because today (April 7, 2023) is Good Friday, I am reflecting on a different nuance of the account of Abraham and his son.
When reading the story in Genesis 22, it would be easy to come away with questions about the justice of God as well as a sense of works-based righteousness. What kind of God would demand human sacrifice, and worse, would ask a father to execute his own son as a sacrifice of worship? Is it only, or merely, extreme obedience that can make one right with God? But our worst fears about God get turned upside down when we consider the full context.
Genesis 22:1-14 (ESV)
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 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 of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
Two things stand out in this passage. First, Abraham demonstrated an obedience that was related to trust in God’s authority and His goodness. This is what the Bible means when it talks about “faith” in God:
Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV) 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
Romans 4:1-5 (ESV) 1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
Genesis 22 reveals an Abraham who was unquestioningly obedient, because He knew God to be good, and even able to raise Isaac from the dead. Shockingly, Isaac also demonstrates this kind of faith! He did not appear to resist, but trusted his father to follow the protocol for a burnt offering sacrifice.
Second, this entire account is clearly presented in the New Testament as a foreshadowing of a far greater test and a far greater sacrifice. In verse 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Then in verse 14 Abraham named the place of the sacrifice: “The LORD will provide.”
As Abraham’s love of God was tested, God tested and proved His own love by sending His Son, Jesus, as a lamb of sacrifice to cover the sins of the world.
John 3:16-17 (ESV) 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Romans 8:32 (ESV) 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
As Isaac submitted and trusted in God’s mercy to provide a different sacrifice, Jesus prayed in the Garden:
Matthew 26:39 (ESV) 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
But in Jesus’ case, he was indeed put to death to atone for the sins of the world. And yet, the Lord rose from the grave as Abraham trusted He could. God turns out to be more just that our fears suspected, and more loving than we could have hoped.
This poem is one I often reflect on from Good Friday through Easter Sunday. I hope it helps you reflect on God’s love for you demonstrated by Jesus’ sacrifice.
The Maker Of The Universe, by F. W. Pitt
The Maker of the universe
As Man, for man was made a curse.
The claims of Law which He had made,
Unto the uttermost He paid.His holy fingers made the bough,
Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow;
The nails that pierced His hand were mined,
In secret places He designed.He made the forest from whence there sprung
The tree on which His body hung;
He died upon a cross of wood,
Yet made the hill on which it stood.The sky that darkened o’er His head,
By Him above the earth was spread.
The sun that hid from Him its face,
By His decree was poised in space.The spear which spilled His precious blood
Was tempered in the fires of God.
The grave in which His form was laid
Was hewn in rocks His hands had made.The throne on which He now appears
Was His from everlasting years;
But a new glory crowns His brow,
And every knee to Him shall bow.
Here, the poem is put to music by Phil Keaggy: