Genesis 22:11-19
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” 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.” 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. 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.”
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
Most people know that motive, means, and opportunity are the three criteria for identifying a criminal suspect. But we probably don’t think to extend such to define virtually every work of man, bad or good.
Abraham’s act of bringing his beloved son to Mount Moriah to be sacrificed clearly falls into the category of a good act. It was a magnificent act, really. Even the angel of the Lord commended him, taking note of Abraham’s good motive, “You fear God.” Abraham also had the means, again acknowledged by the angel of the Lord, “You have not withheld your son, your only son.” And certainly Abraham had opportunity. The Lord’s angel called to him, “Abraham, do not lay your hand on the boy.”
Before a jury of his peers, there was enough evidence to send down a finding of approval for a good deed which concurs with the decree of the Judge of all the earth.
There is nothing to criticize here insofar as regards Abraham’s motive, means, and opportunity. But, for argument’s sake, let’s imagine for a moment the Lord not intervening. The blood sacrifice is made. The knife and fire are employed.
To carry through with the sacrifice at the expense of Issac’s life would not make Abraham’s deed any less good. The motive, means, and opportunity would not have changed.
Abraham bowed to the command of God, unquestionably surrendered his most precious gift, his son, and did so precisely in accord with God's instructions. So, whether Abraham proceeded or was restrained by God, his action was obedient.
The fact that God, at the last moment, stepped in to restrain the hand of Abraham always struck me as a child, as God saying something like this, “Abraham, I’m not actually going to make you sacrifice your son. You don’t have to do it, but I am going to give you credit as if you had. I know you would have done it, so I’m going to bless you because you would have done it.” Sort of like saying, “Consider it done.”
Here is a very poor comparison, but I’ve thought of it as something like a “gimme” in golf. You get the ball right up there near the hole. You’ve done the tough part getting up and down. That’s fair enough. We’ll just consider the last stroke good. It’s a “gimme.”
But I am convinced that is really a misinterpretation … or at least a misapplication.
Here is the deeper issue. Let’s do say Abraham had used that knife in a final stroke upon his son and had used that fire to ignite the wood brought for the sacrifice. Let’s say his deed was not considered “good as done,” but actually done. Same motive, same means, same opportunity, same verdict — a good deed!— because it was a worthy deed of obedience.
But what would it have gained? What would the sacrifice of Issac have accomplished? There was no reciprocity or atonement in the flesh of Issac. Issac’s blood was not holy hemoglobin. A sacrifice of ten sons could not make Abraham sinless or free before God no matter how “good” the act may have been in itself. St. Paul writes of the insufficiency of any sacrifice we might make. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels … if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries … if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains … if I give away all I have … if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Cor. 13)
Issac’s blood was no more holy than the blood of that ram subsequently caught in the thicket and then offered to God as a burnt offering.
What I’m trying to say, and probably not very well, is that Abraham’s act, simply as an act in itself, no matter how good, is not the center of this narrative. Any “good” act by any of us, no matter how superior the motive, positive the means, or expedient the opportunity, only has value if it flows from Christian faith.
Abraham’s faith commenced with the Word of God. It was God who spoke authoritatively and clearly to Abraham. It was God who motivated him by the divine Word. It was God who gave him the means (Issac was God's gift to Abraham). And it was the Word of God which unfolded this opportunity to trust God and act in obedience.
The “sacrifice” of Issac was not an exercise in doing a magnificently difficult work. It was an exercise of Abraham’s faith in our magnificently merciful God. For as we all know, it wasn't by the act of sacrificing Issac that Abraham stands righteous before God. It was by the act of God who sacrificed His beloved son, Jesus, the One promised by the Word in which Abraham believed.
His blood, Jesus’ blood, is holy. His blood, the blood of the crucified Christ, atones for sin. Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise and the ground of Abraham’s confession, “The Lord will provide.”
Abraham believed this while walking up the mountain, even if it meant to become bereft of his dear son, that “the Lord will provide.” When Issac asked his father, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham had said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
The Lord would provide the motive, means, and opportunity. Exactly how, when, and where, Abraham didn’t know, but he knew this, “The Lord will provide.” Even if Issac dies, “The Lord will provide. Even if I am stripped of that which is dearest to my heart, “The Lord will provide.” Even if every fiber of my being cries out with incomprehension, “The Lord will provide.”
And the Lord did provide. With His own motive of merciful love and grace through His Son Jesus Christ, God provided all that is needed to atone for sin. His means of expressing that mercy was through Calvary’s cross and the sacrifice of Jesus. And the opportunity of revealing and delivering Christ to us continues in every Word of the Gospel, every baptism, every pronouncement of absolution, and every Eucharist. Through these means, Abraham’s God comes yet to us—to you and me!
By that same pure Word, God favors us now and forever. “The Lord will provide.”
