Follow – learn from the best
Series: Follow me | Bible text: Genesis 22:1–19
With a little distance, it is sometimes easier to say what the decisive factors in a person’s life were. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews does just this by looking back at Abraham, the model of faith. Abraham knew that his home was not this world and he trusted in the power of the resurrection. This way of thinking was the prerequisite for his obedience and true worship of God – and it still is today for following Christ.
Abraham and Sarah had the promise that the whole world would be blessed through them and their descendants. However, for a whole 25 years, having children did not work in their marriage. As reproductive medicine was not yet available, they helped God solve the problem by Abraham sleeping with the maid Hagar. Although this was common practice at the time, it was not God’s plan. Wife Sarah is supposed to be the mother. And indeed, at the age of 90 or 100, their son Isaac was born. The joy was immense – but did not last very long.
After a few years came the great disillusionment: God demanded that Abraham offer Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. At that time, human sacrifices were customary in the surrounding nations. The firstborn belonged to the respective deity. The test for Abraham was not to sacrifice his son, but to give up the long-awaited promise. What follows is neither a long discussion nor a lament, but: «Abraham got up early the next morning. He saddled his donkey and took his son Isaac and two of his servants with him. He then split wood for the burnt offering and set off for the place God had named to him» (Genesis 22:3 NLB).
The story ends with him leaving his companions behind for the last stretch of the journey so that he can be alone with Isaac in his final hour. And then, when Abraham already had the knife in his hand, comes the stop signal. «At that moment, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: «Abraham! Abraham!» «Yes,» he replied. «I am listening. «Let it be,» said the angel. «Do nothing to the child. For now I know that you have reverence for God. You would even have sacrificed your only son at my command.» (Genesis 22:11f NLB).
Abraham – despite a few rough patches in his life – is regarded as the great role model for a living faith. Why was he even prepared to subordinate his long-awaited son to obedience to God?
Abraham’s way of thinking
2000 years later, the author of the letter to the Hebrews looks back on the legacy of Abraham. From a retrospective perspective, two points are particularly important to him and decisive for Abraham being a role model for all followers of Christ:
- He knew that his home was not in this world: «Abraham was able to act in this way because he was waiting for a city with a firm foundation, whose builder and creator is God himself» (Hebrews 11:10 NLB).
- He trusted in the power of resurrection: «Abraham assumed that God could bring Isaac back to life when he had died. And in a sense, Abraham did indeed get his son back from the dead» (Hebrews 11:19 NLB).
Waiting and hoping for the coming city is crucial for succession. When we travel with the mindset that this world must satisfy our deepest longings, we are chasing after wind and setting the wrong priorities. Unfortunately, we often take time more seriously than eternity. But it’s best to dedicate your life to something that will outlast it. C.S. Lewis expresses quite a bit of truth in the following two quotes: «Aim for the next world and you will get this world. But if you only aim for this world, you won’t get either of them.» And: «Precisely because we love something else more than this world, we love this world more than those who know nothing else.» The perspective of Abraham leads to a huge freedom from the things of this world. It is the prerequisite for courageously and obediently following Jesus.
Death is the enemy’s last bastion on this earth. This fortress was stormed through the resurrection of Christ. There is nothing that is impossible for God. God works with exactly the same power in his church and in the followers of Jesus (Ephesians 1:19+20). It is crucial for a follower of Jesus to know what his identity is and what he is entitled to.
Abraham’s obedience
Abraham knew two things: God can do everything and HE is good. On this basis, he was able to put all his trust in God and be obedient to Him in everything. Donald Trump’s vision is: America first. The basic idea of succession is: Jesus first. Succession requires clear prioritisation. In front of a large crowd, Jesus says: «Anyone who wants to follow me must love me more than father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, more than his life. Otherwise he cannot be my disciple» (Luke 14:26 NLB). Abraham showed us exactly what this means.
To the ears of an individualistic and hedonistic (= increase pleasure, prevent pain) society, such sentences sound almost heretical and hardly realisable. Can we put our personal wishes and «favourite children» on the back burner like this? «Favourite children» can be things like money, hobbies, jobs, plans, relationships, behaviours, passions, social media, church, family, etc.
For example, would we be prepared to change our place of residence if God spoke in this direction? Or do we perhaps not even give God the opportunity to reach us with his will because we ourselves know exactly how we want to live? Succession requires a willingness to leave one’s own safety and comfort zone. In my professional career, it has happened time and again that I have had to subordinate my own plans to God’s will. This was also the case when it came to taking up the position at Chrischona Seon. My plan was different and, in my opinion, much more appealing. In discipleship, it is necessary to get off your «high horse» and prioritise God in the many small everyday decisions.
Is such discipleship, in which we submit everything else to God, not too dangerous? Could this not be to our disadvantage? Abraham actually seemed to lose everything: his son and his long-awaited promise. At least in the case of Abraham, the result is impressive: he became the father of three world religions, is regarded as a role model for hundreds of generations and left behind a descendant population like sand on the sea. We too can only win if we lose everything for Jesus (Luke 9:24; 17:33; John 12:24)!
Abraham’s worship
Abraham was travelling to Mount Moriah, where his son was to be sacrificed. Centuries later, Solomon would build the first temple on this very mountain. Heaven and earth meet in the temple, God dwells with mankind. This is exactly what discipleship is all about: the heavenly is to come to earth now and thus point to the new creation. Every single follower is described in the Bible «Temple of the Holy Spirit» (1 Corinthians 3:16). The divine touches the earthly and awakens it to new life.
The temple is also a place of worship. «On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his servants: Stay here with the donkey. But I and the boy will go there and worship and return to you» (Genesis 22:4,5 ELB). Abraham calls the sacrifice of his son worship. It is the very first place in the Bible where this word appears. This has deep meaning and is no coincidence. For Abraham, active obedience to God is worship, even when he himself is going through very difficult times. Ultimately, we always worship that which sits on the throne of our lives. Worship has to do with the holy God. It’s not primarily about nice feelings or fervour. Worship is not a programme that we reel off in the Sunday morning service, but answers the question of whether we are prepared to sacrifice what we love to God, and whether He is at the top of our list of priorities.
An important message of this story is: God does not want human sacrifice! Throughout the Bible we find a development in the matter of sacrifice. The primeval human sacrifices that we still encounter with Abraham and Isaac are gradually overcome by God; they had to give way to animal, smoke and burnt offerings, until finally the Psalm says: «You are not satisfied with sacrifices, or I would have brought them to you, nor would you accept burnt offerings. The sacrifice that pleases you is a broken spirit. A contrite, repentant heart you will not reject, O God.» (Psalm 51:18–19 NLB). God does not want a material sacrifice, but a broken spirit, a contrite and repentant heart. This does not mean an inferior person, but a person who humbly finds his place with God. Paul brings discipleship and sacrifice together when he says: «Because God is so merciful, I now call on you, dear brothers, to dedicate your whole lives to God. Let it be a living and holy sacrifice – a sacrifice in which God delights. This is a divine service as it should be» (Romans 12:1 NLB). When we wholeheartedly follow Jesus, we bring a sacrifice that God is pleased with. God is not looking for religion, but a real relationship, like the one Abraham lived.
We can still hear the conversation between Isaac and Abraham: «[…] As the two climbed the mountain together, Isaac asked, «Father?» «Yes, my son,» Abraham replied. «We have wood and fire,» said the boy, «but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?» «God will provide a lamb, my son,» replied Abraham. So they walked on together» (Genesis 22:6–8 NLB). At that time it was a ram that had got its horns caught in a bush. This story is a prophetic foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Golgotha, since «God did not even spare his own Son, but gave him for us all» (Romans 8:32 NLB). This story points to the divine mystery of substitution – the Lamb of God who bears the guilt of the whole world. Thank God that this time there is no voice shouting «stop». Jesus dies and thus creates the way to God for us. He is the beloved Son of God and the sacrificial lamb in one person. And yes, He rose from the dead. And that means new life for us – the basis of all following Christ.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Genesis 22:1–19
- According to Hebrews, which points were part of Abraham’s way of thinking? What impact could these have on our discipleship?
- What do you think about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son?
- What are your topics that tend to take priority over Jesus? What might be holding you back from the motto Jesus first?
- Do you think that trusting Jesus completely and being fully obedient to Him could be a disadvantage? What are your concerns and experiences? What was the outcome for Abraham?
