Abraham is God’s prototypical junior apprentice, a model of how all of us who have signed on as God’s collaborators are to engage with God. We’ve seen his life with God begin with obedience when he leaves his home in response to God’s promise-command (Gen 12) and we’ve seen his life closes with obedience as he risks losing his promised, beloved son at the strong bidding of the God he has come to trust (Gen 22). In between these two major events, Abraham’s life is much like our own, marked by trust and doubt, good moves and bad, conversations with God and conflicts with God, ups and downs. Amidst these real-life struggles, Abraham, for the most part, remains true to God, which is just what we are called to do. We are invited to “walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had” (Romans 4:12).

Can God Entrust His Project to Abraham?

Gen 22 presents a strange story, no doubt. But its rationale makes a little more sense when we interpret it in the larger context of Abraham’s critical role as the primary agent of blessing in the world. This is where the insights of Ellen Davis (above) are indispensible. God has summoned Abraham to a huge task. Is he really up for it? He had committed a big blunder when he imperiled the integrity of his wife in order to save his own skin (Gen 12:10-16). Fortunately God worked that one out. Unfortunately, Abraham failed to learn the lesson and became a repeat offender of the same crime (Gen 20:1-18). At this point in the story God has to wonder, “Can I trust this guy? Or do I need to look elsewhere?”

Parable of a Father and his Precious Daughter

Imagine a father who has but one daughter, 17-years-old, and living at home. The two have grown very close over the years. A special bond of affection has developed between them. Would he entrust his precious daughter to just any hormone-laden suitor? To care for his daughter, to protect her, to cherish her, to value her, to help her flourish--this is huge role, a special assignment. Who is fit for such an assignment?

In this parable, God is played by the father. Who does the daughter represent? The daughter represents the nations God loves, the people he is eager to bless. He wants what is best for his world and is seeking a man who shares his heart and his interests. The suitor in the story then is Abraham. Can he be entrusted with the Lord’s world, his "daughter"? He can only be entrusted with the big things is he is found faithful in other matters. After Abraham has failed to adequately care for Sarah, God has to wonder, “Is this the right guy? Can I really trust him?”

This is where the extreme test of Gen 22 comes in. This is the opportunity for Abraham to prove his stuff. This is the opportunity for God to discover if Abraham is really his man.

Finding the Right Person for the Task

Finding the one who will serve as the primary agent of restoring blessing to the world is a key moment in the unfolding drama of God’s dealing with his beloved but wayward world. But there are other major turning points in the story, points that bear some resemblance of the first couple, who themselves underwent a test, provided by the forbidden fruit. Think of the selection of the king of ancient Israel. Though the nation's desire for a human king was a misdirected venture, God concedes and accommodates this sub-optimal situation within his ever-malleable plans. (For more on God's "flexible tactics," see the essay from Greenslade near the bottom of our Staring Points section). God will let ancient Israel have a king, but it must be the right man, a man whose heart beats with God’s, a man who will govern the people as God himself would govern the people, a man who will bear God’s image.

God chooses Saul (1 Sam 10:24). Given what God knew at the time of Saul, this was a wise choice. Saul starts off very well. But a strong start is no guarantee of a good finish. (On the ever-present dangers of falling away, see our lecture on Hebrews 6 or the parable of the four soils, Luke 8:4-15). Things can change, unpredictably, even for God, who as we discussed, chooses to relate to us in a genuine fashion from within the timeline, from which position the future actions of free agents (that is, us) are not yet there to be known. What seems like a sage investment can turn sour (you investors know this painfully well). And Saul does just that. He turns sour. How did God respond to this?

·       Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command” (1 Sam 15:10-11).

·       …the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel (1 Sam 15:35).

Looks like God reacts in a similar way to how we would react. God was grieved, saddened, full of regret. Though God’s decision to appoint Saul as king seemed sensible at the time, Saul’s pattern of decision-making led him in the wrong direction. God was disappointed and regretted the choice he made. So God finds himself another man (1 Sam 13:13-14).

Refashioning our Notions of God

Many of us have been schooled on conceptions of God that are half biblical and half classical, that is, derived from the pagan thought-world of classical Greek. To unlearn some of these misconceptions, it’s best to let Scripture reshape our views of God. This is part of why we call ourselves the explorers. We are exploring new ways of understanding God, which leads to new ways of relating to him. See the comments in Starting Points by Professor Fretheim on the kind of God we meet in the OT.

Because God voluntarily relates to us within the constraints of the timeline, he can’t be absolutely sure how we’ll respond in each and every circumstance we encounter. Within the constraints, these future variables don't yet exist to be known. But because he knows us better than we know ourselves, I imagine his predictions are pretty accurate!

Even in this story of Gen 22 God isn’t absolutely sure going into it how Abraham will respond to this strange command. It seems to bring God great relief when Abraham proves himself faithful. Listen again to what God learns about Abraham.

“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

“Now I know.” God says in essence, “I wasn’t sure before, but I now I know for sure.” God learns about who we really are by the decisions we make. Now that he knows Abraham, despite his blunders, is really on board, God can move forward with his plan, keeping Abraham at the center of it. Unlike with Saul, God doesn’t have to regret his choice of Abraham, nor does he need to find a replacement. Abraham will do just fine. The project to bless the nations can move forward as planned. No need at this point for major adjustments. Phew!

Something similar occurs in the life of Esther. She is uniquely positioned as the Queen of Persia to effect liberation for her own people Israel. Will she take the risky course to save her people or will she opt out? Moving along the timeline of the unfolding drama, the choice she will make is unclear; the immediate future is uncertain. In the long haul God will see to his people's deliverance, but how he will effect his plans has yet to be determined. If Esther doesn't step up to the plate, God will find himself another means. He is brilliant and infinitely resourceful. Listen to how Esther's uncle states it:

Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14).

Coming to understand God in this fresh way really effects how we respond when plans that we thought God endorsed go south. Was he midleading us, we wonder. This story from Pastor Greg Boyd explains it well. This real-life illustration is taken from his book, God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of God (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000). Excerpt: Boyd. Did God Mislead Me.pdf

Testing and Shaping our Character

Testing is common for those God would entrust with big projects. When Jesus was inaugurating his career as the true and faithful King, he too had to be tested. This is what the 40 days in the wilderness is all about. Likewise, with Peter in John 21, as Professor Davis explains. The leaders of first-century Israel were entrusted with caring for the people, but they proved to be unfaithful shepherds of the flock, unfaithful stewards of the vineyard (read Matt 21:33-46 with this concept in mind, which explains why Jesus replaced the false shepherds of Israel with his faithful disciples). Key players at critical moments in the story are tested to see if they’re fit for the task. This helps us understand what is going on with Abraham.

But we too undergo tests, everyday--tests of our loyalty, tests of our faith. Think of the forks in the road we face. Here’s a neighbor who needs to talk. Will I choose to give away my time or will I blow them off? Here’s an open half-hour open in my day. Will I use it to connect with God through Scripture and prayer or will I watch another TV show? Here’s a person in small group who could use a friend. Will I arrange the coffee date or will I forfeit another golden opportunity to participate in her life? Here’s a family member who is bugging me. Will I respond with anger-that-damages and words I’ll regret or will I hold my tongue and seek for constructive and creative alternatives? Here’s an acquaintance with a radically different lifestyle, religion, and political view than my own. Will I look for ways to connect and care or will I stereotype, pigeon-hole, and discard?

Each of these little daily decisions not only displays where our passions lie, but also shapes us into the people we are becoming. This is what apprenticeship with Jesus is all about. This is discipleship at its most basic level. Start attending to others and over time you’ll become an attentive person. Start sharing with others and over time you’ll become a generous person. Start listening to the explanations of others and over time you’ll become an open-minded, empathetic person. Start exploring your Bible and over time you’ll become a Scripturally-minded person. Start conversing with God and over time you’ll become a praying person. Start blessing others and over time you’ll become a child of Abraham (see the fascinating story of Luke 19:1-10 where a former hoarder-turned-generous becomes “a true son of Abraham”). The many tests of life not only reveal who we are, they also form who we are becoming.

Making Some Sense of God's Strange Command

How might Abraham have made sense of this strange command that on the surface seemed so contradictory to the character and purposes of God? Perhaps Abraham knew that God would provide a way out, as is suggested by Gen 22:8. And perhaps if that wasn’t the case, and Isaac really died, then God would have to bring him back to life. After all, God had promised that Isaac would be his means of building the family that would bless the world. A dead man cannot father children. This is what the writer of the sermon we call Hebrews tells us:

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead (Heb 11:17-19).

“Can I trust you?” This is one of the questions that we have had in mind since it was first asked by Adam and Eve. “Are you good? Do you have our best interests in mind? Are you wise? Do you know what you’re doing? Are you able? Can you pull off a victory for justice and peace in the end?”

But the question also goes the other way. God asks, “Can I trust you?” Let’s show him by the decisions we make that he needn’t regret having chosen us for the team. Better still, let's avail ourselves of his wisdom to lead us, his grace to forgive us, his power to enable us, his people to encourage us, his Scripture to light our path, and his Spirit to join with ours in growing us into the likeness of his Son.

“Lord, we trust you, most of the time. Show us more of yourself here in Scripture that we can learn to trust you better. Strengthen us with your Spirit, and sharpen our minds and soften our hearts, that we may learn to be more trustworthy. We want to be faithful in the little things so you can feel comfortable entrusting us with bigger things, so we can help advance the project you started with Abraham, blessing us so we can help you bless the world.”