“Doug's Discussion - Jesus and Issac”

Sunday, June 16, 2019

I remember a teacher in college telling the class about his encounter with a foreign exchange student. The student had walked up to Dr. Keller (the teacher) and told him that he didn’t think his God was worth believing in. Why is that? The student had just read Genesis 22: the account of Abraham being tested and asked to sacrifice Isaac. “Take your son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Genesis 22:2). So the student confronts Dr. Keller: “no God worth believing in would ask Abraham to do that.” The teacher confessed to the class that at the time he didn’t have a very good answer, and sort of struggled through a reply. We grew up with these Bible stories and have become comfortable with them. It’s interesting to see what people think when they have no previous knowledge of the Bible and then read something like Abraham obeying the command to sacrifice his son, even to the point when the knife was only a couple of feet away! Looking at this from an outsider’s perspective I can see how this would be shocking. Why would the Creator of all life want one of His chief servants to take the life of his boy? Here is Dr. Keller’s current belief, which he shared with us: “I think God wanted Abraham to feel what the Lord God would one day feel about His Son.” Unlike the exchange student we know, and Abraham knew, that whatever happened the Lord would make it right. What Abraham didn’t know was many, many years later the Lord would be giving up His Son to be sacrificed on the cross. We can admire Abraham’s courage. I suspect there aren’t many who would be willing to give God everything – even the thing they love the most. Abraham had waited many years for the miraculous birth of Isaac so I’m sure he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of giving this gift back. But he was willing and God blesses him richly. Perhaps God’s powerful words of blessing partially come from God being so glad that now there is someone who understands what He will go through, something He knew would be necessary since the beginning of time. Indeed, this is outrageous love.

Who could love us enough that they would be willing to give their son, whom they love? It’s shocking, but that is the love of God. God took his Son Jesus, whom He loved, and placed Him on a cross for us.

- Doug Wells

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