Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
We have
officially entered the season of Lent; a time of repentance and reflection. Did
you decide to fast from something? I decided to fast from social media except
for the time that it takes for me to post these devotions. I deleted the apps
from my phone, and it turns out that was a wise move. I have already tried to
go to the app several times out of habit. (Oops!) When I realized what I was
doing I used that time as an opportunity to repent and pray; which really is
the purpose in fasting.
On Tuesday we
read from Mark 1 about Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the wilderness. There
was that strange bit that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus, or cast Jesus, into the
wilderness to be tempted. As strange as that was, today’s reading has the very
strange account of when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Let’s
read it.
The Old Testament
lesson for the 1st Sunday of Lent is from Genesis 22:1-18 and I will
read it from the English Standard Version Translation.
The Reading:
Genesis 22:1-18
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."
15 And the angel of the LORD called
to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, "By myself I
have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld
your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will
surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is
on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18
and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because
you have obeyed my voice." (Gen. 22:1-18 ESV)
Comments
I remember the
first time I read this lesson after our first child, our oldest son, was born.
I couldn’t help but think of the heart rending emotions Abraham must have gone
through. I also can’t help but wonder how old Isaac was. I always imagined him
as a boy, but there is nothing in the text that proves that. Was he a willing
victim, following his father’s will, just as Abraham was following God’s will? We
don’t know.
What we do know
is that Abraham acted in faith, trusting that God could raise the dead. And we
know that his words to Isaac, that God would provide the lamb, proved
prophetic. One more thing that we know about this text is that what God asked
Abraham to do is what He, Himself, did with His Son, Jesus. But in that case no
one stayed the hand. No one stopped the sacrifice.
Meditate on this
today: God gave his only begotten Son to save you from your sin. It is as if
you should have been the victim on the altar, but God has provided the lamb
that saved you from death. How should you live in response to such a great
gift?
Prayers
O God, this
passage is difficult! Why would you ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? You
intervened, and saved Isaac from the knife and fire, but You did not intervene
to save Your Son from the cross. You did not intervene because His death meant
our salvation, and He willingly did Your will to save us. Thank You for giving
Jesus as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Please forgive us
for casually accepting Your grace without really thinking about the cost. Help
us to recognize how much You gave to save us, and help us to respond to Your
loving mercy; all that you did so that we may be Your own and live under You in
Your kingdom … help us to respond to Your loving mercy with thanks, praise,
service, and obedience. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Joel 2:13 - Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents
over disaster. (Joel 2:13 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
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favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
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God bless you!
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