Saturday, July 22, 2017

Day 4

Day 4: Genesis 21:1-7; 22


Here we see the immediate fulfillment of the promise from Day 3’s reading: though they are well past the age of bearing children, Abraham and Sarah have a son, Isaac. He is the first of the nation of Abraham that God promised to build. He is the indisputable evidence of the covenant. He is everything that Abraham and Sarah had waited for.  


And then, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.


Words cannot express the depths of Abraham’s questions and doubt as he led his beloved son up the mountain. “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering,” he reassured Isaac, but surely he wondered what God had in mind. After all, who would willingly sacrifice his only son?


Just as Abraham reached up the knife, the Lord intervened and provided a substitution in the form of a ram caught in a thicket nearby. This is one of the earliest instances of a substitutionary death - a life given in place of another life. As a result, Abraham named that place “The Lord will provide,” since God had allowed something else to die in place of the original.


After all, who would willingly sacrifice his only son?

Questions for reflection and discussion: Does God’s request of Abraham make you uncomfortable? Why or why not? What might God be asking you to sacrifice in your life? What sacrifice did God himself make, and how does that change this story?

Next Steps

Next Steps The past 40 days have taken you through 40 key passages in the Bible. You have experienced God’s overarching storyline of cre...