A Son Saved: Part 2
Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14 (NRSVue)
Soren Kierkegaard in his classic Fear and Trembling, which explores in depth our Scripture passage, says, “There were countless generations who knew the story of Abraham by heart…, but how many did it render sleepless?”
The rabbis also convey the anguish of Abraham when they say at the height of the story, when Abraham is preparing to sacrifice Isaac and the angel hasn’t yet appeared, tears drip from his eyes into Isaac’s eyes, and Isaac’s vision is impaired for the rest of his life. That’s why Isaac has difficulty seeing in his old age when his sons Jacob and Esau visit him in his tent.
But this story must be more than the horror of God’s command because Isaac wasn’t sacrificed. He came back down the mountain, alive. So this story is also about faith, trust, obedience, blessing, and resurrection. With this spiritual binocular vision (God’s promise and God’s command), we’ll see with greater clarity the picture of faith God is painting for us. Yet this question remains in this supreme testing: Will Abraham, will we, respond to God in faith…or fear?
July 2, 2023 — Worship Service Bulletin
- Sermon Art: “The Sacrifice of Isaac” (1966), Marc Chagall wikiart.org
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Bible Study Questions for Genesis 22:1-14
- What emotions and feelings does this story bring out in you?
- Abraham had already been tested many times. Why do you think God keeps testing Abraham?
- Would God make an unethical demand?
- What do you think God’s response would have been if Abraham negotiated with God, like he did in his hopes to preserve his nephew Lot’s family and the city of Sodom? Why didn’t Abraham do that here?
- Do you think Abraham was devout or crazy or both for being willing to sacrifice his son because he’s heard a voice from God telling him to do this?
- Why do you think Sarah, a mother who fought so hard for Isaac, is silent in this story?
- What did God learn about Abraham from this test? Do you think God already knew or was this “new” knowledge?
- What do you think of this statement: God is a God who tests and a God who provides. We can’t pick and choose one of these, we must accept both.
- There’s a hymn that says, “God may not come when we want Him to, but He always comes on time.” How have you seen that in Scripture? In your own life?
- Can letting go of God’s promises ever be an act of faith?
- Do you agree with this maxim: “If you let it go, and it comes back to you, it’s yours. If it doesn’t come back to you, it was never yours.”
- For Christians, how might Jesus be seen as a New Isaac and God as a New Abraham? (Refer to John 3:16 and Rom. 8:32)
- This famous story about Abraham is not just about Abraham. How can we enter into this story and make it our own appropriately in the 21st century?
Other Sermons In This Series
Sibling Rivalry
July 16, 2023
Jacob’s Dream
July 23, 2023
Family History Repeats Itself
July 30, 2023