The God Who Sees

3rd Sunday after Pentecost, A

June 29, 2014

Genesis 22:1-18

Introduction

Our Old Testament reading for today is known as the testing of Abraham among Christians or the binding of Isaac among Jews (Hebrew, Akeidat Yitschak, or simply Akeidah). This is the well-known story of how God tested the faith of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only and beloved son, Isaac.

The illustration above was painted by the great 17th century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It was said that when Rembrandt was researching on how to depict the sacrifice of Abraham, he went to the marketplace to see how Jews slaughtered animals. He observed how a sholchet--a kosher butcher--would slit the neck of a chicken in order to drain its blood according to Jewish Law (see Leviticus 17:13). So he painted Abraham not as about to stab of Isaac but as about to slit his throat.

I. God tests our faith. (Genesis 22:1-2)

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham..." (v. 1). In the Bible, the word for 'to test' is the same word as the word for 'to tempt'. In Hebrew, the word used here is נִסָּה nisah, which both means 'to test' or 'to tempt'; while the Greek word used in the New Testament is πειράζω peirazo, which also means 'to test' or 'to tempt'. (The word used here in the Septuagint is επειραζεν, epeirezen, which is the intensive of the word πειράζω peirazo.)

But in English, 'to test' has a positive connotation while 'to tempt' has a negative connotation. For example, in that famous passage in the Epistle of St. James, πειράζω peirazo is translated as 'trial', as in the New International Version:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials (πειρασμός, peirasmos) of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2-3)

and also later in verse 12:

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial (πειρασμός, peirasmos), because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. (NIV)

But in the very next verses, πειράζω peirazo is translated as 'to tempt':

When tempted (πειραζομενος, peirasomenos), no one should say, "God is tempting (πειραζομαι, peirazomai) me." For God cannot be tempted (απειραστος, apeirastos) by evil, nor does he tempt (πειραζει, peirazei) anyone; but each one is tempted (πειραζεται, peirazetai) when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has been conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15, NIV)

Regarding the word "temptation", W. E. Vine says,

[I]n a good sense, [peirazo is] said of Christ and of believers. Heb, 2:18, where the context shows that the temptation was the cause of suffering to Him, not a drawing away to sin.... [S]o in a similar passage in 4:15; in all temptations which Christ endured, there was nothing within him which answered to sin. There was no sinful infirmity in him.... [I]n Heb. 11:37, of the testing of O[ld] T[estament] saints, in I Cor. 10:13, where the meaning has a wide scope, the verb is used of testing as permitted by God, and of the believer as one who should be in the realization of his own helplessness and his dependence upon God.... (W.E. Vine's Concise Dictionary of Bible Words, Article: "Tempt")

Sa Tagalog, ang salitang 'pagsubok' ay may positibong kahulugan ngunit ang 'tukso' ay may negatibong kahulugan. Tungkol sa salitang 'pagsubok', ayon sa Tagalog Topical Study Bible,

Samantalang pinipilit ni Satanas na pahinain ang ating pananampalataya at tuksuhin tayo upang magkasala, sinusubok naman ng Diyos ang ating pananampalataya upang palakasin ito. Maari at madalas na ang dulot ng pagsubok ay sakit at paghihirap ngunit nais ng Diyos na lumapit tayo sa kanya at magtiwala na ang kanyang ginagawa ay para sa ating kabutihan.

Tungkol naman sa salitang 'tukso',

Ang tukso ay hindi dapat ipagkamali sa pagsubok ng Diyos sa ating pananampalataya bilang paraan ng pagpapalakas, sapagkat hindi tayo tutuksuhin ng Diyos upang magkasala sa kanya.

God uses trial and testing (the foregoing expression used here as a hendiadys) in order to prove our faith. In his trial of Abraham, he asked him to sacrifice his own son,

Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains I will tell thee of. (Genesis 22:2, emphasis added)

God often asks us to take what we value most and asks us to sacrifice it to him. "Take now your (fill in the blank), who/which you love...and offer it as an offering." For example, can we sacrifice God a little time for prayer and Bible reading? God often tests our obedience by asking us to sacrifice the thing that is most dear to us.

II. Abraham is an example of obedience. (Genesis 22:3-10)

When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, we do not read that of Abraham resisting or hesitating. He was prepared to obey God until the end. He traveled to Mount Moriah (future site of the Temple in Jerusalem) on donkey and took with him Isaac and the wood upon which his son would be sacrificed.

The (attempted) offering of Isaac can be seen as a prefiguring of the offering of Jesus Christ. Both Isaac and Jesus were only and beloved sons (cf. Matthew 3:17). When Abraham placed the wood of the burnt offering on the back of Isaac (v. 6), it reminds us of when Jesus bore on his back the wood of the Cross (cf. John 19:17). Just as Isaac was bound and placed upon the wood (v. 9), Jesus was also placed upon the wood of the Cross in order to be sacrificed. It may also be interesting to add that rabbinical teaching says the Isaac did in fact die of shock as Abraham was about to slay him, but the voice of the Angel of the LORD brought him back to life. If so, this is an interesting parallel with Jesus Christ, we literally died on the Cross and rose again from the dead on the third day. Even our Christian New Testament carries the idea that Isaac figuratively died and rose again:

By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son: Of whom it had been said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able even to raise him from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure (παραβολη, parabolē). (Hebrews 11:17-19)

III. God blesses obedience (Genesis 22:11-18)

As Abraham "stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son" (v. 10), the Angel of the LORD called out to him and ordered him to stop the sacrifice.

God recognized the obedience of Abraham:

"Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." (v. 12)

God also blessed the obedience of Abraham by renewing his promise to him:

By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (vv. 16-18)

God is a God who recognizes obedience and blesses it!

Conclusion: Adonai Yireh, the God Who Sees/Provides

When the Angel of the LORD stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, he also provided a ram that would be sacrificed in lieu of Isaac. Once more, this is a picture of the substitutionary death of Jesus on the Cross. He is both the sacrificed Son and the ram of offering. Thus, Abraham called the name of the place יְהוָה יֵרָאֶה Adonai Yireh, 'The LORD will see'.

This name is sometimes rendered as "Jehovah-Jireh" in English and translated as "The LORD Will Provide", the interpretation of which was popularized in Don Moen's praise song "Jehovah-Jireh". The word "Yireh" means 'will see' (third person imperfect aspect), which comes from the root word ראה raah, 'he sees' (third person perfect aspect). But also "yireh" is used in other places in the Hebrew Bible as 'will provide' (see v. 8: "The LORD will provide [yireh] himself a lamb for a burnt offering...").

There is no real contradiction between the translation "God will provide" and "God will see". God saw the obedience of Abraham so he provided a ram which was offered in place of Isaac. God sees the need of his people, and thus he will provide their needs. Amen.