May the mumbling commence!
When we honestly and completely
seek God’s will, the Lord will provide.
It was true for Abraham. It’s
true for us. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
Just then an angel of God called
to him out of Heaven, “Abraham!
Abraham!”
“Yes, I am listening.”
“Don’t lay a hand on that boy! Don’t touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear
God; you didn’t hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me.”
Abraham looked up.
He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
instead of his son.
Abraham named that place God-Yireh
(God-Sees-to-It). That’s where we get the saying, “On the mountain of God, he sees to it.”
The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second
time to Abraham: “I swear – God’s sure word! – because you have gone
through with this, and have not refused to
give me your son, your dear, dear son, I’ll bless you – oh, how I’ll bless you!
And I’ll make sure that your children flourish – like the stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants
will defeat their
enemies. All nations on Earth will
find themselves blessed
through your descendants because you obeyed me.”
Then Abraham went back
to his young servants. They
got things together
and returned to Beersheba. Abraham
settled down in
Beersheba. (Genesis 22:11-19)
Now read the same passage from the
NIV translation:
But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham!
Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he
saw a ram caught by its horns. He
went over and took the ram and sacrificed it
as a burnt offering instead of his son. So
Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is
said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will
be provided."
The angel of the Lord called
to Abraham from heaven a second time and said,
"I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done
this and have not
withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make
your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants
will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on
earth will be blessed,
because you have obeyed me."
Then Abraham returned to his
servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (Genesis
22:11-19)
Abraham was ready to sacrifice his
son, Isaac. Laughter would die. Isaac was the son who the promise would come
through. Isaac was the inheritor of the
covenant promise. How would God provide
an heir for Abraham now?
Abraham knew that God brought life
out of the nearly dead bodies of him and Sarah.
Abraham believed God could repeat that miracle and bring Isaac back from
the dead. The knife was poised. Abraham, likely with tears in his eyes, had
the knife poised to kill Isaac.
But the Lord intervened. God provided, just as Abraham had told
Isaac. God provided. That’s much clearer to understand than
Peterson’s “God-See-to-It”.
And was Isaac Abraham’s dear son
(Peterson), or was Isaac Abraham’s only son (NIV)? We might say there is also Ishmael… I think
that’s what Peterson is hinting at. But
for the sake of the covenant promise, there’s only Isaac. Isaac is Abraham’s only son. That foreshadows the sacrifice that God will
make with Jesus. It should not be
diluted with incorrect semantics.
And Abraham was always ready to
heed the call of the Lord. Abraham never
“settled down” (Peterson). He may have
stayed at certain places for a time, but Abraham was always ready to move when
God told him to.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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