Reminiscere Midweek (03.19.2014)
Genesis 22:1-19/St Mark 7:1-23
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St Augustine once wrote, “In the Old Testament the New Testament is concealed; in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed.” Indeed, the whole Gospel is hidden in Genesis 22. The word of command, spiritual anguish, the hope of the resurrection and eternal life, the cost of sacrifice, the confidence of faith, the wood of the Cross, the power of a Substitute, the life of the Son for a son - all of these are there and more.
You are taught to pray, Lead us not into temptation. Indeed God tempts no one. He is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13). Abraham did not see a way out. The command of the Lord was clear: Take your son, your beloved one, whom you have loved - Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering.
So Abraham rose early in the morning. He would not leave the commandment of God, though it seemed to contradict the promise of the Lord to greatly bless him and multiply his offspring. Abraham faithfully obeyed the Word. Against his own reason, against his own logic and emotion, he submitted to the command of the Lord. He told no one the news, but saddled his donkey, took his servants and his only son, Isaac, whom his heart loved and began the ascent to the high hill to which the Lord instructed him.
No doubt his heart ached within him. Moses records that, On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes. He must have walked with his head low, his eyes downcast. In his heart and mind trying to reconcile the great and blessed promise of the Lord with this command. Through your offspring I will bless you; take your son, your only son, and kill him.
Reason cannot comprehend such dismay and opposition from God; as if the same Lord who blesses and protects, who showers mercy and love, also grants hardship and turmoil, tribulation and burden. Old Job understood. He confessed, The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord (Job 1:21). The Canaanite woman from last Sunday, she too wrestled with God, not content with allowing her reason and senses to overcome the Word of promise and faith. She knew Jesus to be a Man of mercy. She would hold Him to His nature and catch Him in His promises, come what may.
So too Abraham. For there is the hint of hope in his words to his servants, Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and we will come again to you. We will come. Against all odds, despite what his wicked heart felt and told him, Abraham trusted the Word and promise of God; he confessed the resurrection. We will return to you.
It is no different than King David. For when the child he bore with Bathsheba became ill, he sought God on his behalf. He wept, and fasted, and prayed - that Lenten triad of piety, of repentance and faith. On the seventh day the child died (1 Sam 12:18). His servants were afraid to tell him, fearing the grief and remorse would cause him to harm himself. But when he learned that the child had died, David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went to the house of the Lord and worshipped. And then went to his own house and ate and drank. His servants were perplexed. He fasted when the child was sick, but when he died, David arose and ate. This was odd to their reasoning.
Yet this is the way of faith. It clings to the promises of the Lord. The sinful heart despairs of itself and trusts the Word of the Lord despite reason and senses. And David confessed, I shall go to my son. He believed the Lord’s promise of the resurrection, even in the face of the death of his child. Note that this son of David died on the seventh day, that is, before he could receive the covenant of circumcision on the eighth day. And yet David confessed that the infant was with the Lord and that he would see him again! For Scripture attests everywhere to the faith of little children!
So too here with Isaac. Bearing the wood for his own sacrifice, the boy understood what was to take place. He asked, Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb? This lad understood the nature of worship. He knew the need for sacrifice. His question is insightful. And his faith is courageous. Though he comprehends what is about to occur, he does not run away, he does not flee. He submits to the will of Abraham, he honors his father; his righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. The child has been taught to ask, “What does this mean?”
Abraham said, and this is telling, God will provide Himself the Lamb my son. Hope remains. Even now! And the boy and the man cling to this Word, this promise of a substitute, the hope of the resurrection. So they went both of them together. The son and father understand one another. Together they submit to the command of the Lord. Isaac obeys his father Abraham who is but a mask of his heavenly Father.
When they arrived at the place they built the altar and laid the wood. Abraham bound his obedient son, the one whom he loved with all his heart, and laid him on the altar. With knife in hand he was prepared to make the sacrifice. And indeed it was a sacrifice, not only according to the command of the Lord, but truly a sacrifice for this father to offer up his only son, whom he loved. Such is the proper nature of sacrifice; it is not only for the offered, but the one doing the offering is affected, too.
But it was not to be! The Angel of the Lord stayed the hand of the aged father. Isaac was spared. A substitute was offered; a ram caught in a thicket. The Lord provided for Himself, just as Abraham confessed and Isaac believed.
So too are you given to believe and confess. For the story of Abraham offering up Isaac is the story of another Father offering up His only Son, His beloved. What is hidden in Isaac in the Old Testament is revealed in Christ in the New. For He, the only Son of the Father, the Beloved, in whom His heart delights, honored His Father, submitted to His will, and freely gave Himself up to be sacrificed.
He carried not only the wood of the Cross, but was laden with the sins of the earth. He hiked up the hill outside Jerusalem, outside the Temple, the very location of Mount Moriah, the same geographical place Isaac had nearly been slaughtered centuries before. He went there in worship and sacrifice, obedient to the command of the Lord. Indeed He cried out, My Father! But there was no answer. A substitute would not be offered. He is the Lamb. The Lamb God provided for Himself, as the great Gerhardt hymn sings:
This Lamb is Christ, the soul’s great friend,
The Lamb of God our Savor,
Whom God the Father chose to send
To gain for us His favor.
“Go forth, My Son,” the Father said,
“And free My children from their dread
Of guilt and condemnation.
The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,
But by Your passion they will share
The fruit of Your salvation.” (LSB 438:2)
Hear me, all of you, and understand. From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. We are all of us Isaacs, deserving of slaughter and death. No angel could stay the blade of justice that would mean to run us through.
Yet in mercy and in love the true Son of the Father became your Substitute. He was caught in the thicket of His crown and sacrificed upon the altar of the cross for you. Taking your place, His blood, covers you. From without He transforms your wicked heart, washing you up in Holy Baptism before you come to eat at His Table. In Him you are no longer defiled. In Him you are a child of Abraham and a son of your Father in heaven. For on the Mount of Golgotha, the Lord provided Himself the Lamb.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Genesis 22:1-19/St Mark 7:1-23
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St Augustine once wrote, “In the Old Testament the New Testament is concealed; in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed.” Indeed, the whole Gospel is hidden in Genesis 22. The word of command, spiritual anguish, the hope of the resurrection and eternal life, the cost of sacrifice, the confidence of faith, the wood of the Cross, the power of a Substitute, the life of the Son for a son - all of these are there and more.
You are taught to pray, Lead us not into temptation. Indeed God tempts no one. He is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13). Abraham did not see a way out. The command of the Lord was clear: Take your son, your beloved one, whom you have loved - Isaac, and offer him as a burnt offering.
So Abraham rose early in the morning. He would not leave the commandment of God, though it seemed to contradict the promise of the Lord to greatly bless him and multiply his offspring. Abraham faithfully obeyed the Word. Against his own reason, against his own logic and emotion, he submitted to the command of the Lord. He told no one the news, but saddled his donkey, took his servants and his only son, Isaac, whom his heart loved and began the ascent to the high hill to which the Lord instructed him.
No doubt his heart ached within him. Moses records that, On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes. He must have walked with his head low, his eyes downcast. In his heart and mind trying to reconcile the great and blessed promise of the Lord with this command. Through your offspring I will bless you; take your son, your only son, and kill him.
Reason cannot comprehend such dismay and opposition from God; as if the same Lord who blesses and protects, who showers mercy and love, also grants hardship and turmoil, tribulation and burden. Old Job understood. He confessed, The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord (Job 1:21). The Canaanite woman from last Sunday, she too wrestled with God, not content with allowing her reason and senses to overcome the Word of promise and faith. She knew Jesus to be a Man of mercy. She would hold Him to His nature and catch Him in His promises, come what may.
So too Abraham. For there is the hint of hope in his words to his servants, Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and we will come again to you. We will come. Against all odds, despite what his wicked heart felt and told him, Abraham trusted the Word and promise of God; he confessed the resurrection. We will return to you.
It is no different than King David. For when the child he bore with Bathsheba became ill, he sought God on his behalf. He wept, and fasted, and prayed - that Lenten triad of piety, of repentance and faith. On the seventh day the child died (1 Sam 12:18). His servants were afraid to tell him, fearing the grief and remorse would cause him to harm himself. But when he learned that the child had died, David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went to the house of the Lord and worshipped. And then went to his own house and ate and drank. His servants were perplexed. He fasted when the child was sick, but when he died, David arose and ate. This was odd to their reasoning.
Yet this is the way of faith. It clings to the promises of the Lord. The sinful heart despairs of itself and trusts the Word of the Lord despite reason and senses. And David confessed, I shall go to my son. He believed the Lord’s promise of the resurrection, even in the face of the death of his child. Note that this son of David died on the seventh day, that is, before he could receive the covenant of circumcision on the eighth day. And yet David confessed that the infant was with the Lord and that he would see him again! For Scripture attests everywhere to the faith of little children!
So too here with Isaac. Bearing the wood for his own sacrifice, the boy understood what was to take place. He asked, Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb? This lad understood the nature of worship. He knew the need for sacrifice. His question is insightful. And his faith is courageous. Though he comprehends what is about to occur, he does not run away, he does not flee. He submits to the will of Abraham, he honors his father; his righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. The child has been taught to ask, “What does this mean?”
Abraham said, and this is telling, God will provide Himself the Lamb my son. Hope remains. Even now! And the boy and the man cling to this Word, this promise of a substitute, the hope of the resurrection. So they went both of them together. The son and father understand one another. Together they submit to the command of the Lord. Isaac obeys his father Abraham who is but a mask of his heavenly Father.
When they arrived at the place they built the altar and laid the wood. Abraham bound his obedient son, the one whom he loved with all his heart, and laid him on the altar. With knife in hand he was prepared to make the sacrifice. And indeed it was a sacrifice, not only according to the command of the Lord, but truly a sacrifice for this father to offer up his only son, whom he loved. Such is the proper nature of sacrifice; it is not only for the offered, but the one doing the offering is affected, too.
But it was not to be! The Angel of the Lord stayed the hand of the aged father. Isaac was spared. A substitute was offered; a ram caught in a thicket. The Lord provided for Himself, just as Abraham confessed and Isaac believed.
So too are you given to believe and confess. For the story of Abraham offering up Isaac is the story of another Father offering up His only Son, His beloved. What is hidden in Isaac in the Old Testament is revealed in Christ in the New. For He, the only Son of the Father, the Beloved, in whom His heart delights, honored His Father, submitted to His will, and freely gave Himself up to be sacrificed.
He carried not only the wood of the Cross, but was laden with the sins of the earth. He hiked up the hill outside Jerusalem, outside the Temple, the very location of Mount Moriah, the same geographical place Isaac had nearly been slaughtered centuries before. He went there in worship and sacrifice, obedient to the command of the Lord. Indeed He cried out, My Father! But there was no answer. A substitute would not be offered. He is the Lamb. The Lamb God provided for Himself, as the great Gerhardt hymn sings:
This Lamb is Christ, the soul’s great friend,
The Lamb of God our Savor,
Whom God the Father chose to send
To gain for us His favor.
“Go forth, My Son,” the Father said,
“And free My children from their dread
Of guilt and condemnation.
The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,
But by Your passion they will share
The fruit of Your salvation.” (LSB 438:2)
Hear me, all of you, and understand. From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. We are all of us Isaacs, deserving of slaughter and death. No angel could stay the blade of justice that would mean to run us through.
Yet in mercy and in love the true Son of the Father became your Substitute. He was caught in the thicket of His crown and sacrificed upon the altar of the cross for you. Taking your place, His blood, covers you. From without He transforms your wicked heart, washing you up in Holy Baptism before you come to eat at His Table. In Him you are no longer defiled. In Him you are a child of Abraham and a son of your Father in heaven. For on the Mount of Golgotha, the Lord provided Himself the Lamb.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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