The Akedah: Surrendering to the Father’s Will

Years ago at a diner in New Jersey I read a humorous saying on a packet of sugar: “experience is a valuable thing; it helps you recognize a mistake when you make it again.” You know, they say the mind is the first thing to go. I disagree. What is the first thing to go? Well, anyway, I disagree.

You know, there’s forgetfulness that’s just a natural part of aging, but there’s another kind of forgetfulness, and it’s far more dangerous; failing to remember or appreciate those who’ve gone before us, and what’s been done for us. Pharaoh forgot Joseph and what he had done to save the people of Egypt, and it was all downhill from there. Uzziah, who had been one of Judah’s greatest kings, forgot the requirements of Leviticus and the holiness of Adonai, and walked into the Holy Place to offer incense, though he wasn’t a Kohayn (priest). God struck him with leprosy and he had to spend the rest of his days in complete isolation.

This kind of forgetfulness, or disregard, is a symptom of the Fall – that tragic and real historical (not archetypal) event in which Adam and Eve, two very real people, rebelled against the very real God in the Garden of Eden, a very real place. When they defied Him and ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, human nature was altered in a terrible way – broken spiritually and, it seemed, irremediably. Mankind was suddenly alienated from our Creator; and alienated from one another.

From that moment on, human beings have come into this world spiritually stillborn. Right out of the box we have a factory defect. No sooner is this computer fired up than a generational virus kicks in and wreaks havoc on our system.

One of the symptoms of this spiritual sickness which the Bible calls sin is that either through neglect we forget, or in arrogance we disregard what has gone before. God knows our propensity to take things for granted, to forget our true condition, and in His mercy gave us occasions such as these High Holidays to stop everything and take spiritual inventory. If we don’t take time to remember, we will fall into malaise and even become arrogant.

So, let’s take a few minutes this morning to read and remember and learn from what is the most pivotal event in the life of our father Abraham. Look with me at Genesis chapter 22, which retells the event of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac.

I. The Perfect Faith of Abraham (he trusted his Father)

The late Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Joseph Hertz, argued that the purpose of the Akedah was to show God’s contempt for human sacrifice. Of course, God abhorred the Canaanite practice of child sacrifice, as should we (though, in a bizarre twist of irony, there is widespread Jewish acceptance of abortion), but that is a dismal interpretation of the Akedah. In fact, we’re told right here in the words of Scripture why God commanded it: He was testing the depth of Abraham’s commitment to Him. Let’s examine the Akedah this morning and see what faith looks like ‘in real time’.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only 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.”

In Abraham we see a consistent pattern of obedience. When he was 75 years of age, Abraham was summoned by God to leave the land of his ancestry, to leave his father’s house, his culture, his friends, everything that was familiar – and to set out for parts unknown.

All he had was the promise that God would guide him. But that was enough. It’s crucial to understand that it was Abraham’s faith, not his obedience, that made him righteous. When God invited him outside for an evening stroll and promised that his descendants would be countless as the stars of Heaven, this elderly, still childless man Abraham took God at His word, and it was that complete trust that was the basis for God declaring him righteous. And, of course, God made good on His promise, and 100 year-old Abraham and 90 year-old Sarah’s beloved son Isaac was born!

But now his faith would be put to the ultimate test. Isaac, Yitzchak, whose name means laughter, whose birth itself was a miracle, was to be offered to God as a sacrifice. Could anyone blame Abraham if he had said, “You’re kidding me, right? This is the son You Yourself promised me; the one through whom You said You would continue my lineage and Your Covenant!” I don’t doubt that Abraham’s heart was awestruck and terrified by this command; yet he didn’t question, he didn’t second-guess, and he didn’t hesitate. Look at verse three.

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

He didn’t waste any time. He saddled up and they left early the next morning. It’s curious that instead of having one of his servants split the wood, Abraham did it himself. We’re not told why, but it is common knowledge that splitting wood was a servant’s task. Maybe Abraham felt that if his beloved son Isaac was really to be sacrificed, he himself, as his father, would take full responsibility.

Abraham was living in Beersheva at the time, and the journey to Moriah (which would later be the Temple mount in Jerusalem[1]) would have been about 46 miles. That’s two and a half days’ journey on foot – plenty of time to think about and agonize over what he had to do; yet we’re told nothing about Abraham’s internal conflict. It’s a deafening silence. It’s left to our imagination. And, when I’ve tried, as a father, to imagine what he must have felt, it is overwhelming. Let’s continue (vs. 4-5):

On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham’s anguish, which had to have been increasing, now escalated as he saw the place from a distance. They stopped and presumably set up camp. He told the young servants to remain there. All this time none of them had any idea what Abraham’s purpose was, or what God had commanded him. They may have guessed from the wood that there would be an offering, but they had taken no sacrificial animal with them. Odd, but by this time his household probably was accustomed to the patriarch doing things differently, guided by the unseen God he surely told them about.

He told the servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” The verbs translated “worship” and “come back” are both in 1st person plural form: “We will worship” and “We will come back”. How could he say this, knowing what God had instructed him? Was He lying to them? No. If anything, he was prophesying.

I believe, as have others for thousands of years, that Abraham trusted God to perform yet another miracle. Isaac’s birth had been miraculous, and God had already promised to continue His covenant through Isaac. Abraham was firmly convinced of God’s unchanging faithfulness, so by logical deduction he concluded that God would either provide a substitute or else literally raise Isaac from the dead. After all, you can’t continue covenant promises of land and generations and blessings to someone who isn’t around.

Verses 6-8

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

Wood, fire and a knife – something is going to die! Try to imagine with me the silent, intimate minutes father and son shared as they walked alone up that hill together. Was Abraham’s heart still in turmoil, or had he come to the place of surrender and acceptance of God’s will? Again, we’re purposely left to imagine for ourselves Abraham’s interior dialogue. Remember that all this time you and I have been let in on what God is purposing; so we know more than Abraham knew at the time, and certainly more than Isaac could have imagined. But I want you to take special note that Isaac himself carried the wood on which he was to be offered to God.

And now he questions his father about having everything but the very thing they needed for the burnt offering, the lamb. And Abraham answers him with words so profound in their implication that they echo across the corridors of time: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

Once again, we are left to wonder: was Abraham lying, or was he supremely trusting in God? I and many others firmly believe it was the latter. As I see it, in that moment two men trusted their fathers to the utmost. Abraham and Isaac resumed their walk.

II. The Perfect Obedience of Isaac (he trusted his father)

Verse 9

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

How long did it take for Abraham to gather enough stones to build an altar? Did Isaac help him, or did he watch, perhaps puzzled to see his father go through all the motions of a sacrifice, yet having no animal with them? But the answer came soon enough. Abraham summoned Isaac, proceeded to tie his hands and feet, and lay him on the altar. In all of this, Isaac didn’t say a word. Just as Abraham didn’t question God, with Isaac there is no questioning, no second-guessing and no hesitation. Isaac offered no resistance, but allowed himself to be bound and placed on the altar. He doesn’t know why it has to be this way, but he trusts his father completely, even knowing it will mean his own death.

Verses 10-12

Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called out to him from Heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”

Abraham was prepared to follow through on God’s command to the end; and as we see, he is actually credited with having offered Isaac up. But he was stopped by the angel of the Lord. Talk about a welcome interruption! What relief must have flooded Abraham’s heart! And his reverence for and trust in God was proven through this “trial by fire” as it were. But in the end God did not require Isaac’s life. He had something else in mind.

It’s fascinating, how the the angel of the Lord switches from speaking about God in third-person to speaking in the first-person, as God. Somehow this angel of the Lord has authority to speak as God Himself. Much could be said about this, but that’s for another sermon some other time. For now, let’s return to the narrative:

Verses 13-18

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord Will Provide’. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from Heaven a second time and said, “I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.”

Just as Abraham prophesied, God did provide. Not a lamb (that was yet to come), but a ram was provided in place of Isaac. And since the ram’s horn is used to make a shofar, this is one of the reasons that we read Genesis 22 each year at Yom T’ruah, the Holiday of Trumpets. The other reason is Abraham’s great faith serving as a model for us. Not even his love for his beloved son would come before his obedience to God!

God not only provided, but went on to pronounce a magnificent blessing on Abraham and his descendants, culminating with this promise: “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me”. The blessing of Abraham will extend to the nations of the world through his descendants, and especially one of them. We now know who that particular descendant is. It is Messiah! Whether or not you believe Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth is the One, you need to understand that this passage foreshadows the death and resurrection of Yeshua. In fact, all of Scripture points us to Messiah. You’ll find Him on every page – if you ‘have eyes to see’.

There are five very powerful passages in the Scripture that speak of Messiah being put to death, in which He is described as being pierced. Before we conclude this morning’s message on the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, I want to remind us of those five passages. The first three predated Yeshua by 1,000 years, 740 years, and 520 years respectively.

Psalm 22:16 (written c. 1,000 BC)

Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.

Isaiah 53:5 (written c. 740 BC)

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Zechariah 12:10 (written c. 520 BC)

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”

John 19:34, 36-37

One of the soldiers pierced Yeshua’s side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Revelation 1:7

Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.

The Righteous One willingly went to His death for us – the unrighteous. Yeshua was pierced in His hands, His feet, and His side, and endured the humiliation of the cross for the joy of seeing us redeemed and reconciled to the Father for all eternity.

Messiah died for sin.

We, His people, need to die to sin.

Let me conclude this morning’s message by sharing with you why I believe Isaac was a type of Messiah, and the Akedah a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection.

Imagine if you will, the dread Abraham must have felt seeing the place at a distance and knowing his son’s death was at hand. And then remember with me the agonizing dread Yeshua felt as he prayed and ultimately surrendered to God, saying “Your will be done” not very far from the very same hill on which Isaac had been offered up!

III. The Perfect Portrait of Messiah (He trusted His Father)

In the person of Abraham we see a father called upon to offer up the son whom he dearly loves. In the person of Isaac we see a son who yields in perfect obedience to his father, even to the point of being made a sacrificial offering.

Consider this: both Yitzchak and Yeshua were born through miraculous circumstances. Both were uniquely loved by their respective fathers. Each was in the prime of his life. Neither made any protest, but willingly allowed themselves to be bound. Each carried the very wood on which they were to be sacrificed. And in the sense that through God’s provision Isaac was able to be brought down alive from that altar, both Isaac and Yeshua were received back from the dead.

Yes, even the resurrection was anticipated through the Akedah! I am not alone in this view. The author of the ancient letter to the Messianic Jews (Hebrews) mentions the Akedah.

Hebrews 11:17-19

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Why do we read the Akedah every year at this time in synagogues all around the world? The rabbis have their ideas, but I think God had an even greater purpose in it. It was so that our Jewish people might see a picture of Messiah’s death and resurrection.

But there is something else we need to take away from our study of Genesis 22. Abraham was called upon to give up what was most precious to him. If we are to be like Abraham; if we are to be truly Yehudim – Jews, those who give thanks and praise to God, then nothing, absolutely nothing, must be allowed to stand in the way of our complete obedience to God. Not our possessions, not our affections, not the approval of our peers, not even the approval of our family. Anything short of being completely sold out; anything about which we might say, “No – that I am not willing to give up!” is less than the faith of Abraham. May God increase our faith so that we don’t fall short.

There’s just too much at stake.

[1] cf. 2 Chron. 3:1