One of my favorite books is 101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth W. Osbeck. In it, Osbeck shares the inspiring stories behind many of
the hymns we know and cherish. What strikes me about many of these
inspirational accounts is that many hymns were written out of defining moments
in the life of their authors.
Take for instance the hymn It is Well With My Soul.
Haratio Spafford wrote this great hymn after he lost his four children in an
accident at sea. Frances Havergal wrote many of her hymns out of defining
moments in her life. Havergal’s hymn I Gave My Life for Thee was written
after she saw a picture that had been painted by an artist named Sternberg. The
painting was a picture of Christ wearing a crown of thorns before Pilate and
the Jewish religious leaders. Beneath the painting read the words, “This I have
done for thee, what hast thou done for me?” Frances Havergal was so moved by
the picture that she swiftly wrote a poem, but when she got home she was not
pleased with the words, so she threw them into the fire. The paper did not make
it into the fire. It is said to
have floated out onto the floor, her father later picked it up and encouraged
her to put music to it, which she did.[1]
Defining moments are everywhere we look. We have defining
moments in history, one such moment being the cross of Jesus Christ. We have
defining moments in the history of the church, the great Reformation being one.
We have defining moments in the world of sports. I must admit that I cried when
Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys broke Walter Payton’s all-time rushing
record. As we look at Genesis 22 we come to another defining moment, a defining
moment in the life of Abraham.
Those who have any knowledge of the life of Abraham most
likely know what took place in Genesis 22. It is by far a defining moment for
Abraham and ultimately the high point of his journey of faith.
When we see and experience defining moments in the life of
faith, we notice that these moments come in different forms such as trials,
tests, and tasks. Defining moments in the life of faith are moments that God
uses in the life of his people for a purpose; often that purpose is to mature
us.
In our study of Abraham we have seen many defining moments
in his life. The first came from his initial call to the life of faith back in
Genesis 11 and 12. Another defining moment came when Abraham was faced with a
famine in the land that God had promised him. Then there was the promise of a
child and the patience needed to wait on God to act. What is interesting about
the defining moments in the life of Abraham is that they consist both of
failures and victories. The Lord has a way of turning even our low points into
defining moments.
The defining moment in Genesis 22 is definitely a high
point in the life of Abraham, but only because Abraham faced the challenge and
responded to it in a manner that was pleasing to the Lord. And just as Abraham
was faced with many defining moments in his journey of faith, so are we who
have started on our own journey of faith.
Defining moments usually challenge our faith, our trust,
and our obedience to the Lord. All God’s people will face these tests. When we
face those defining moments in our journey of faith, we need to remember that
these moments are divine.
Defining Moments in the
Life of Faith are Divine
I want you to imagine for a minute where
Abraham was in his spiritual journey up to this point. Abraham had been walking
with the Lord more than twenty-five years. He had seen the Lord do many great
things. He has seen the Lord faithfully protect him even when Abraham’s faith
faltered. Most importantly, he had seen the Lord provide for him something that
he thought he would never have, a son. Abraham and Sarah were able to have a
child in their old age. This child would fulfill a promise of God to Abraham
and become heir to the promises of God given to Abraham. Abraham was quite
comfortable at this time in his life. He lived peacefully in the region with
king Abimelech, worshipping and witnessing for his God.
It is almost as if Abraham had arrived in his journey of
faith. God had blessed him with land and with son. But what we will notice is
that the journey of faith has a final destination and that destination is not
experienced this side of heaven. As long as we make our pilgrimage, challenges
will come our way, challenges that are our defining moments in our journey on
this side of heaven.
We become aware of this truth in Genesis 22:1. “Now it
came about after these things….” This points us back to the previous chapters
in Genesis to remind us of what has taken place up to this point. It also
points us forward to another defining moment in the life of Abraham and reminds
us that Abraham is still on his pilgrimage and that the Lord is still
developing him as a man of faith. The defining moment about to take place in
Abraham’s life comes as a divine test in the form of a divine task and is a
test of Abraham’s faith in the Lord.
The Divine Test
Here’s more of verse 1, “Now it came about
after these things, that God tested Abraham.” The author, who was under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit as he wrote, indicates to the readers that what
is taking place in these verses is a test that comes from the very hand of God.
The Lord put this truth here for our benefit because if we did not know that
this was a divine test of Abraham’s faith we might misunderstand what the Lord
asked of Abraham. The Lord wants us to know that this is a test, but Abraham
does not have a clue. His unawareness makes this a monumental moment in
Abraham’s journey of faith.
But the Lord lets us know immediately that what took place
was orchestrated by the very hand of God. The Hebrew word “nasah” is best
translated as our English word “test.” Some Bible translations use the word
“tempt,” but the Hebrew word “nasah” has a different meaning than our English
word “tempt.” The word “tempt” has the connotation of “enticing one to do
wrong,” whereas the Hebrew word “nasah” has the idea of testing something or
someone for the purpose of proving the quality of that someone or something. In
this context “nasah” has the meaning of God testing Abraham for a purpose, to
refine Abraham’s character so that he may enjoy even closer fellowship with the
Lord.[2]
It is very important that we differentiate between test
and tempt. One person has rightly summarized the difference when he said,
“Satan tempts to destroy, but God tests to strengthen us.”[3]
Some defining moments in the life of faith come on account of the failure of
our faith. Others God never intended for us to experience, but because of our
faltering faith God uses our failures to define us. This is not one of those
moments in the life of Abraham.
Divine tests that come from the hand of God come in
different forms, but for the most part they come in the form of troubles,
trials, and tribulations. The New Testament equivalent that helps us understand
these divine tests is found in the epistle of James. “Consider it all joy, my
brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your
faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that
you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). Defining
moments in the life of faith are divine moments that the Lord has us experience
for the purpose of growth. That is exactly what took place with Abraham; God
tested Abraham through a divine task.
The Divine Task
The final part of Genesis 22:1 says that the
Lord called out to Abraham and he responded, “Here I am.” The Lord then gave
Abraham the divine task, his divine test. The Lord said to Abraham in verse 2,
“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of
Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which
I will tell you.” As you can see, this divine test of Abraham’s faith was also
a disturbing task.
Had the Lord not told us from the start that this was a
test of Abraham’s faith then we might misunderstand what God asked of Abraham.
When we realize the implications of what the Lord asked Abraham, we realize
that this divine task is, from our human perception, contradictory and
illogical. What makes this task contradictory is that the Lord asked Abraham to
do something that seems contradictory to the Lord’s character. The Lord abhors
human sacrifice in pagan religions elsewhere in the Scriptures; why would he demand
it here? We must remember that this is only a test of Abraham’s faith, of which
Abraham is not aware at this time.
This task that the Lord asks of Abraham also seems
illogical from the standpoint of God’s promises to Abraham. Two great promises
were given to Abraham, the promise of a son and the promise of a land, both of
which helped fulfill God’s promise to Abraham becoming a great nation. The more
important of the two was the promise of son because through Abraham’s
descendants would come the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Seemingly, God
was now jeopardizing his own plan of redemption with this task. All of God’s
plans for Abraham and his descendants are now about to be sacrificed on the
altar to God. This seems illogical.
The divine task is a test in the sense that the Lord asked
Abraham to do something illogical. But even more telling about the type of test
is found in who the Lord was asking Abraham to sacrifice, “Take now your son,
your only son, whom you love, Isaac.” You will notice that the Lord emphasizes
Abraham’s son, “your son, your only son.” This is a test of commitment and love
to the Lord. Abraham could not weasel out of this command by offering up his
servant or even offering up his other son Ishmael. He had to offer up the son
he had waited twenty-five years to be born. He had to give up the son that his
precious wife was able to conceive and give birth to through supernatural
means. Even more telling of the type of test is the phrase “whom you love.”
This reveals that Abraham’s defining moment was a divine test concerning his
affections and who had first place in his heart.
The defining moment for Abraham was a divine test of
whether he loved the blessings more than the one who blesses. Whether he loved
the gift more than the giver. The defining moment for Abraham was whether he
was willing to give up the blessings of God for God himself. Whether he was
willing to follow the Lord when all that was in it for him was the Lord
himself.[4]
Defining moments in the life of faith are moments when God
pushes us out of our comfort zone to see if our affections are for the blessing
rather than for the one who blesses. Our Lord Jesus Christ never hesitated to
have those who wanted to follow him count the cost of discipleship. When the
rich young ruler asked Jesus how he could have eternal life, Jesus did not
hesitate to tell him that he had to sell all he had and give it to the poor and
follow him. Jesus, hypothetically speaking, spoke about hating one’s own family
to be able to be his disciple. Jesus did not mean that we must literally hate
our families, but what he did mean is that he must have the preeminent place in
our affections. We must be willing to sacrifice and surrender all to follow
him.
We need to be careful to limit these divine moments to the
spectacular. That is, we should not think of these divine moments only as
consisting of a call to the mission field or full-time ministry. Everyday
occurrences that come our way, when God calls us to move outside of our comfort
zone, can be divine moments. This can come in the form of making a phone call
to someone who needs to know Christ and telling him or her how Christ has made
a difference in your life. Your divine moment could be a call to teach a Sunday
school class or help your church in their visitation program or some other
ministry in your church. Our own perceptions and comforts are usually at stake
with these divine moments.
In 2002, I experienced one of the roughest years for me in
the ministry. What I came to learn was that this was a divine moment in my
life. The Lord was testing my affections and seeing where they were placed. For
several months I contemplated leaving the ministry. I wanted to get out because
I did not want to deal with all the heartache that can come from being a pastor.
It was during this time that the Lord was saying to me, “Patrick, I know you
love to pastor and preach and you love the enjoyment that can come from your
calling, but will you serve me only when there is joy? Will you serve me only
when things are going well? Or will you serve me when things are discouraging?
Will you serve me when the only thing in it for you is me?”
Is there a defining moment you are being challenged with?
Remember that these defining moments are divine moments orchestrated by the hand
of God to mature you in your faith. Defining moments in the life of faith are
also deciding moments.
Defining Moments in the
Life of Faith Are Deciding Moments
As the Lord dealt with me in my divine moment
of testing in 2002, I had to come to a decision. Was I willing to follow the
Lord and do as he commanded and called me to do, or was I willing to forsake
the Lord so that I could enjoy his blessings but not he who blesses? Defining
moments in the life of faith are deciding moments, a time when a decision must
be made. And as we will see with Abraham he made a decision to obey the command
of God.
Decision to Obey the Command of God
Unmistakably, God shows us Abraham’s obedience
in Genesis 22:3. “So Abraham arose early in the morning and saddled his donkey,
and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for
the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
What amazes me in this verse is the absence of any
discussion on the part of Abraham. All we see is swift and certain obedience.
This is a great contrast when we compare other occasions in the Bible where God
called men to a specific task. Take for instance the story of Moses. God called
him to serve, and Moses made every excuse as to why God should not use him.
Gideon’s behavior also contrasts Abraham’s obedience. When the Lord called
Gideon to fight, Gideon did not immediately obey; instead, he insisted twice
that God send him a sign.
Abraham of all people knew how to “help God out” in
situations such as this. When famine came to the land he helped God out by
going to Egypt. When Sarah grew tired of waiting on the promised son, Abraham
helped God out by sleeping with Hagar. When Abraham found himself in trouble
with Pharaoh and Abimelech he helped the Lord out by deceiving the two kings.
In those instances, Abraham was not helping, but disobeying the commands of
God. But that is not the case this time. God gave him a command and Abraham did
not question, discuss, or offer suggestions. He made no attempt to “help God
out,” but he submitted in total obedience to the command of God. By Abraham not
trying to rationalize his way out of this divine moment, he showed his total
affection for the Lord.
How would you respond to such a request? I imagine many of
us, myself included, would have rationalized our way out of this divine moment.
How many times does God ask us to do minimal things compared to what he asked
of Abraham, and we fail to obey. You see, divine moments are deciding moments,
moments where we as God’s people have to decide whether to obey the command of
God.
I was once asked by a colleague in ministry, “If God
reveals something to you in the Scriptures are you willing to obey it?” Another
way to ask that question would be, “When God sends a divine moment of testing
in your life through means of a divine task, are you willing to obey the
command of God no matter the cost?” Abraham revealed his willingness to obey
the command of God. Abraham’s decision to obey the command was founded in his decision
to trust the character of God.
Decision to Trust the Character of God
Getting back to Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac
arrived at the place where the Lord commanded them to go. They left behind the
servants that went with them and they made their way to the place of sacrifice.
On their way, Isaac asked his father an obvious question. “Isaac spoke to his
father Abraham and said, ‘My father!’ and he said ‘Here I am, my son.’ Behold,
the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ ” (Genesis
22:7). Isaac carefully observed that his father made sure that everything else
was taken care of, but he wondered about the sacrificial animal.
In Abraham’s response to Isaac’s question we see the
foundation for Abraham’s obedience to the command of God. “Abraham said, ‘God
will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son’ ” (Genesis
22:8). Here we witness Abraham’s trust in the character of God. Now, this verse
does not do justice to what Abraham is trusting in when he makes this statement.
But thanks to progressive revelation we learn exactly what he was thinking
about from a New Testament writer who revealed that Abraham, “considered that
God is able to raise people from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham knew God’s
character and that God was faithful to his word. Therefore, even if the Lord
had him sacrifice his son, he believed that the Lord could raise him from the
dead. Abraham trusted in the character of God and that was the foundation for
his obedience.
Abraham might have thought that the command was
contradictory, irrational, and just outrageous, but he made a decision to love
the Lord even when all he got out of it was the Lord. He made a decision to
obey the Lord, knowing that he could trust in the character of a good and gracious
God. Defining moments are deciding moments for the life of faith, and when
God’s people obey the commands of God and trust in his character, they find
that these defining moments are decisive moments in the life of faith.
Defining Moments in the
Life of Faith Are Decisive Moments
The obedience and trust of Abraham to this
divine moment unfolds in verses 9 through 10. “Then they came to the place of
which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the
wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” All of
Abraham’s hopes and dreams are about to be slain on the altar, but what happens
next reveals that this divine moment was a decisive one. This moment was
decisive in three different ways.
Decisive in What It Accomplished
First, it was decisive in what this divine
moment accomplished. In verse 11 we are told that the angel of the Lord called
out from heaven to Abraham and he responded, “Here I am.” In verse 12 the angel
said to Abraham, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing
to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son,
your only son, from me.”
God tested Abraham, who passed the test with flying
colors. At the heart of this divine moment was the matter of whether Abraham
feared the Lord. At the heart of this divine moment was the fact that Abraham
loved God more than he loved his son. This is a significant moment in the life
of faith, that moment when God says, “Do you love me even when there is nothing
in it for you?” When those moments come in your life, will they accomplish what
the Lord desires?
Decisive in What Was Learned
Second, this divine moment was decisive in what
was learned. Notice what took place in verse 13 after the Lord stopped Abraham
from sacrificing Isaac. “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold,
behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took
the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to
this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’ ”
The Lord substituted a ram in the place of Isaac, and
Abraham responded to the Lord’s faithfulness by naming the place “The LORD Will
Provide.” In Hebrew it reads “Jehovah Jireh.” Abraham had learned the
faithfulness of God throughout the years, but never to the degree he
experienced in this divine moment after he made the decision to obey the
command of God and trust in his character.
Decisive in What God Did
Third, this divine moment was decisive in what
God did for Abraham after he provided the ram. In verse 15 we read, “Then 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 thing and
have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and
I will greatly multiply your seed.’ ”
Do you see the result of Abraham’s willingness to give up
the blessing of God for God? God blessed him. This should dispel the notion
that God is our enemy. The life of total surrender to the Lord is a life that
God blesses. When we put God before his blessings he blesses. The greatest blessings
are found in the life of surrender and sacrifice.
I shared with you earlier how defining moments in the
lives of many of our great hymn writers were the sources of their inspiration.
Frances Havergal, who wrote the hymn I Gave My Life for Thee is probably
more known for another hymn that she wrote, Take My Life and Let It Be.
Havergal was known as the “consecration poet.” These two hymns deal with our
total sacrifice and surrender to the Lord. When she wrote the words to Take
My Life and Let it Be, Havergal did so after a divine moment in her life.
She was led by the Lord to visit a house that was occupied by five people; some
of those people were unbelievers and others were believers who had strayed from
the Lord. She spent five days with these people praying for them and pleading
with them to come to Christ. By the end of her visit, the Lord was faithful to
bring those who did not know Christ to him and those who did know Christ back
to him. After leaving the house and reflecting upon the faithfulness of God in
that situation, she penned these words as a prayer of consecration unto the
Lord, “Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my hands,
and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.”[5]
God’s people are faced with defining moments every day. We
are faced daily with decisions about whether to give our best to the Lord or to
save it for ourselves. We are faced every day with the decision to love God
more than we love ourselves.
I would be remiss if I did not show you how this chapter
of the book of Genesis is a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ on the
cross of Calvary. For it was at Calvary that our heavenly Father would not
spare his own Son, but would sacrifice him on the cross in our place so that we
could have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, through his Son’s blood.
Christians, after all that God has done for us, how can we
not surrender all and follow him, trusting him to take care of us? What divine
moment in your life demands a decision? Will you show your love to the Lord and
put him before yourself?
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