Genesis proposes that one God created the heaven’s
and the earth, bringing order to a chaotic, wild, and dangerous abyss; bringing
the goodness of life to a barren wasteland.
This cosmic event has a capstone, the creation of humankind in God’s
image. The Spirit and goodness of God
dwells in humanity, men and women.
Equally full of God. God is a
rich provider, who entrusts the gift of creation to humans. They are called to
devote themselves to the care and nurture of all that God has made.
As the story Goes, God provides protective limits to
humans that they reject. Their
disobedience breaks their relationship with God and sends them out of his
protective custody where they are vulnerable, exposed, and unsheltered. They must find their way in the world. Their population grows, as does their ability
to do harm, to destroy, to kill, to disregard what God has made and so to
reject God.
God chooses Noah, a righteous man, to restore the
dignity of humanity. God floods the
earth and destroys the first creation.
He saves Noah, his family and a pair of every animal. God begins creation again. But even Noah proves to be disobedient to
God. God must find another way.
God does not abandon what God has made. God chooses a man; Abram. A desert Nomad. God speaks to Abram and commands him to leave
his father’s land and go to a land that God will show him. God speaks to Abram. This God is personal. And Abram listens and obeys. A relationship forms. Abraham and Sarah his wife develop a special
relationship with God. God speaks with
Abraham and makes promises to him. God
promises Abraham that he will inherit a land; he will have many descendants,
indeed fathering a nation, and he will have God’s protection. Descendants and land. The most important possession a man could
have. God promises Abraham, in his old
age, that he will have both. And at the
age of 100, he and his wife have a son.
It’s so funny that they name him laughter, Yitzak, Issac. Isaac is confirmation to Abraham that he
heard God speak to him and that God keeps promises.
And then, the story takes another dark turn. God commands Abraham to take his son, his
only son the one he loves (Isaac) to the mountain and offer him as sacrifice to
God. Now child sacrifice was practiced
by those devoted to the god moloch, a tribal god in that region. Understand that sacrifice in general was
practiced because people feared the gods
and their powers. The gods were
responsible for goodness and evil. When
there was food and shelter, the gods were blessing them and they offered
sacrifices in thanksgiving. When there was hunger and suffering, the gods were
angry and they made sacrifices to appease the god. They took divine power over humankind
seriously. We call this
superstition. We have come to believe
that we command and control life. We don’t
attribute much to God. Our version of
God is more like santa claus or a genie: a kind old man who does our bidding. There’s was far more powerful, unpredictable, and dangerous. They attributed everything to god. And the
result was fear.
Now Abraham thought he had a relationship with God,
a binding promise from God, and the first sign that God would keep his promise. Isaac.
How could God command Isaac to be bound and killed and still keep his
promise? The command contradicts the
promise. Now, parents who love their
kids provide for them and protect them. But sometimes, we say no. Sometimes we withhold. No dessert if you don’t eat your green
beans. Get your homework done or no
outside play time with friends. But this
story is abusive. And yet, Abraham is obedient to
God as he has been from the beginning of their relationship. Abraham responds with the same language (hineini in Hebrew) of
obedient listening as he has every time God spoke to him. And so he obeys God’s order. He prepares for a sacrifice and takes Isaac
along. One thing betrays Abraham’s will
to do this horrifying thing; he trusts God’s promise to provide. He said, "God will provide a sacrifice for himself, my
son." Ambiguous language. Does he speak
to Isaac or about Isaac? The storyteller
carefully walks us to the mountain and prepares us for the worst, when at the
last minute, a voice interrupts Abraham. Isaac is saved. A sacrifice is offered. And Abraham passes the test. He believed the
promise enough to follow the command, even when the command seemed to
contradict the promise. Abraham believed
in a kind, promise keeping God, not a ruthless commander.
God does not demand what
we cannot give. God gives what we do not
deserve.
The test.
Will God’s people listen for God’s voice? Will we obey God’s commands? Will we follow God to places we do not want
to go to do things we do not want to do?
Will we intervene in the lives of people who are suffering from abuse,
neglect, pain, grief? Will we provide
for those in need and protect those who are vulnerable? Will we give up the
false notion, that everything we have is ours to freely use for our own benefit
and discard when we are done? Will we keep ignoring the cries of those who
hunger as we eat our fill?
The promise. Jesus says, "I have come to give you abundant life." The bible is rich with promises from God: I will never leave or forsake you. I
will take your sin upon myself and destroy it once and for all, that the wicked
one will have no power over you. I will
provide for you daily and abundantly. I
will protect you and keep you safe, even death will not destroy you. I will be the lamb, the child sacrifice,
fulfilling God’s command and rescuing you. I will call you by name and send you
out as messengers of the good news; The Lord is good. His mercy endures
forever.
The promises of God trump the commands. Nothing we do can shake God from pursuing us, claiming us, and offering us an inheritance beyond measure. We belong to the God who made us and seeks us out, speaks with us, and calls us his own. If you have not heard this God, you are not listening. If you want to know how to listen, seek out a person of faith. Say a prayer. Open the bible. Go to a place of worship. God will provide a way.
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