There is a picture that was taken recently upon my son’s first
Christmas in Texas with our extended family. Because we do not get to go down
to San Antonio often, I wanted to snag a picture of the four generations of
Dickson boys that are alive today in our family. Pictures really do say 1000
words and perhaps many more, for in this picture are represented the lives of
four different personalities that are each ripe with their own examples of
faithfulness in the midst of a host of differing situations and circumstances.
Today’s passage is no different. However, instead o f a photograph, we are
given a word picture in Hebrews 11:17-22. In this short group of verses four
generations of one family are represented that each teach something different
about faithfulness to God. As the preacher closes the exhibit celebrating
Abraham in the Hall of Faith, he makes reference to his son, grandson, and
great grandson in an effort to draw attention to the lives each of these men
lived and how each of them followed the Lord under unusual duress or difficulties.
As I prepared for this message, I couldn’t help but pray that God would bless
the generations after my family with the same kind of testimony of faithfulness
that is witnessed here. That said, let us look at these four examples of faith
and be inspired to take on the characteristics represented in this passage so
that those who come behind us find us faithful and are inspired toward faithful
living.
Abraham Passes a
Test-11:17-19
As we conclude our journey through the installation in the
hall of faith that showcases Abraham and his family, four examples of
faithfulness are witnessed. The first is perhaps the most famous story
attributed to Abraham—His willing sacrifice of Isaac—“By faith, Abraham, when
he was tested, offered up Isaac” (11:17a). Let’s read the original account of
how this test was administered by God in Genesis 22:1-2.
Genesis 22:1-2-“Now it came about after these things,
that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I
am.’ He said, ‘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 of which I will tell you.’”
Every Jew that had read this story knew what this test
entailed and how difficult the dilemma was for Abraham at this point in his
life. After obeying God by leaving everything he knew on a promise of things to
come, after waiting and waiting for a son (even trying at one point to take
things into his own hands to speed things up), and finally after receiving the
child for which he hoped for years, God is asking him to offer him up as a
sacrifice! Such a command ran contrary to the natural love a parent has for a
child, let alone an only child, let alone a special child given at a late stage
of life!
Having always respected the dilemma of this passage from
afar in years past, I never truly apprehended the gravity of what is being
asked here until I had children myself. Granted, I have two children, not the
one, and didn’t have to wait especially long to receive them. Regardless, there
is nothing in the world that I believe would be more difficult than what is
being asked here.
However, what makes this even more
outrageous/difficult/unprecedented etc. is the incredible contradiction between
these two opposing ideas: the promises of God which were to be fulfilled
through Isaac, and the command to sacrifice him as an offering, “and he who
received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he whom it
was said, ‘In Isaac your descendants shall be called’…”(11:17b-18). It would
seem from this verse that Isaac was Abraham’s last and greatest chance for the
nation God had promised. And yet now God was telling Abraham to kill him! Seems
a bit counterproductive and even illogical.
The acuity of this dilemma makes it one of the greatest
examples of faith in all of Scripture. Against even emotional inclination and
perceived logical correspondence pertaining the promises of God, Abraham was
thrust into a radical posture of trusting the Lord. Following God to a foreign
land was one thing, waiting on a son past the prime of life was another, but
killing that son of promise as a sacrifice was something else entirely!
Somehow, Abraham was able to do exactly what God asked of
him. In fact, the original account of this story in Genesis 12:3ff suggests
that Abraham obeyed without hesitation. How? Why? Is this man faithful or just
plain crazy?
The answer is found in Hebrews 11:19, “he considered that
God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him
back as a type.” What the author of Hebrews reveals about Abraham’s thought
process is something that was not offered in the Genesis account. However,
thanks to progressive revelation, New Testament readers are able to understand
what took place all those years ago. Abraham believed that if God was calling
him to offer his son as a sacrifice, he could and would raise this boy from the
dead—after all, it was promised Abraham that Isaac would inherit the coming
nation. If God was a good God, He would have to make good on His
promises—anything less would make Him less than good.
Therefore, Abraham’s resolve to obey God in faith, even to
this extent came from a place that believed God could reverse this sacrifice by
bringing Isaac back from the dead. However, consider how radical this faith
was. God had never brought anyone back from the dead at this point nor had God
made explicit that a resurrection was going to happen for Isaac. Though Abraham
may be reaching here, he does so because of his faith in the promises of God
for him and his son, demonstrating that faith worthy of the Hall of Faith
believes God no matter what!
Make no mistake, there is an explicit connection being made
here between Isaac and Jesus Christ by the preacher. Phrases like “only
begotten son” (11:17) and “God is able to raise people even from the dead, from
which he also received him back as a type,…” (11:19) point to God’s only
begotten Son who was sacrificed as an offering for sin, only to be raised from
the dead shortly thereafter. Even here in this early story of faith, the
Passion and resurrection are witnessed. The only difference is, God did what he
didn’t make Abraham do—He followed through in sacrificing Jesus Christ for the
world. However, even God knew that He would bring Him back from the dead. This
renders God’s sacrifice perhaps the only act of faith that is greater than what
we witness in Abraham’s story here.
Isaac Blesses his
Sons-11:20-“by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to
come,…”
The second example of faith involves Isaac and his two sons
Jacob and Esau, “by faith” we are told, “Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even
regarding things to come” (11:20). By now in the Genesis account, Abraham had
died and Isaac was an old man. Even still, the promise of a great nation, just
as it was for his father, resonated within Isaac and his faith kept allowed him
to persevere. There on what he believed to be his deathbed, Isaac passed along
a blessing to his son Jacob, and then to Esau that is recorded in Genesis.
Genesis 27: 28-29-“May God give to you—from the dew
of the sky and from the richness of the land—an abundance of grain and new
wine. May peoples serve you. Be master over your brothers; may your mother’s
son bow down to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless
you will be blessed.”
Though this blessing was intended to go to Esau (the older
of the two), Jacob lived up to his name, deceived his father Isaac, and stole
this blessing from under the nose of his brother. Listen to what happens next.
Genesis 27:38-40-“Esau said to his father, ‘Do you
only have one blessing, my father? Bless me—me too my father!’ And Esau wept
loudly. Then his father Isaac answered him: Look, your dwelling place will be
away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above. You
will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you rebel,
you will break his yoke from your neck.’”
Though this does not have the same ring to it that Jacob’s
blessing did, Isaac does his best to give Esau the leftovers and even in these
relatively flat phrases promise a future for his son (albeit not nearly as
glorious as Jacob’s).
If in Abraham’s example we learned that faith obeys no
matter what, in the saga of Jacob and Esau, we learn that faith triumphs even
over deception and strife. Though Jacob received his blessing in a deceitful
way, Esau had proved time and time again that he was not to inherit the
blessings of God. He was a man driven by impulses and appetites. At one point
it is even said that Esau and his wife “made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah”
(Gen. 26:35). On the other hand, Jacob had highly valued the covenant blessing
and had sought it eagerly, even though his methods were deceptive. God blessed
him in spite of his sin, not because of it. The key actor in this story was
God, not Jacob, Isaac or Esau. God was forging ahead with his redemptive plan.
Since he was accomplishing his goals through real humans, his perfect plan was
worked through sinful and error-ridden people. The long line of imperfect
agents in God’s redemptive plan forms a stark contrast to the single and
perfect consummation of that plan—Jesus Christ (Tyndale Concise Commentary).
Jacob Blesses his
Grandsons-11:21
Moving now to Abraham’s grandson, the preacher in Hebrews 11
demonstrates how the legacy of faith moved to the third generation saying, “by
faith, Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph” (11:21a). The
blessing is recorded in Genesis 48:14-16.
Genesis 48:14-16-“ Then Israel stretched out his
right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the
younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for
Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and
said: ‘God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has
fed me all my life long to this day, The Angel who has redeemed me from all
evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my
fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth.’”
As in Abraham and Isaac’s experience, Jacob, nearing the end
of his life, relied entirely on God to see His promises fulfilled and here
confers the blessing he received to those who would come after him.
This conference of a blessing was an act of worship to God
inasmuch as it expressed faith in Him to continue what He started with Abraham—Jacob’s
grandfather. The text makes this case when it continues and says, “and
worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff” (11:21b). In other words even when
the promise was yet to be fulfilled following HIS lifetime, Jacob, requiring
the support of a cane, continued the pattern of worship and faith that was
modeled for him by his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. So far we’ve
learned that faith obeys no matter what and triumphs over obstacles. Here we
learn that faith leaves a legacy for those one leaves behind.
Joseph Makes a
Prediction-11:22
Finally, as we near the end of Abraham’s exhibit in the Hall
of Faith, the reader is brought face-to-face with Joseph. At the end of his
life, Joseph, “when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of
Israel” (11:22a). To be sure, Joseph’s
life was filled with faithfulness. His faith trusted God from the bottom of a
well, while he was sold into slavery, in a jail cell (after being falsely
accused), and as a leader in Egypt. However, the example of faithfulness the
author of Hebrews is most concerned about here involves his prediction for the
sons of Israel –a prediction made from his deathbed in Genesis 50:24
Genesis 50:24-“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am
about to die, but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from
this land to the land He promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’”
At this point, the Israelites were being enslaved in a
powerful nation—not occupying their own powerful nation. Everything seemed to
point away from the promise that God had given Joseph’s great-grandfather. So
much time had passed and so many obstacles had been put into place. The
perception from the outside looking in was grim. However, the same promise that
was passed down from Abraham to Isaac, from Isaac to Jacob, and from Jacob to
Joseph, was now been passed down in faith to the people of God.
So convinced was Joseph that God was going to come through
for His people to fulfill what had long been anticipated that he even gives
instructions about how to handle his remains when things turn around –he “gave
orders concerning his bones.”
Genesis 50:25-“So Joseph made the Israelites take an
oath: ‘When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.’”
Notice Joseph says “when” not “if” God comes to your aid. So
convinced of the promises of God, in spite of the patience it demanded and in
spite of the plight of his people, Joseph says, “move my bones to where God
leads you WHEN He leads to the Promised Land!” Another thing worth mentioning
here is that this is now the fourth generation. It is not as though Joseph
heard God’s promise himself. He heard it instead from the primary sources’
grandson!
Ultimately, in this final example of faith, we learn that
faith believes even when things seem to be heading in the opposite direction.
This was true for Joseph who as he died witnessed his people being more and
more oppressed and less and less in control of their destiny. “Never mind,”
Joseph says, “God will come through in a big way!”
So What?
The word picture painted of this incredible family has
yielded several important lessons that continue to speak to this day, much as
they did the original audience to which this was given. In it, we learn the
following about persevering faith: it obeys no matter what, triumphs over
obstacles, leaves a legacy for those one leaves behind, and believes even when
things seem to be heading in the opposite direction. These are the hallmarks of
the house of Abraham. Are they hallmarks in your family’s life or my family’s
life? To be sure, each of us might struggle in different areas or are weakest
in one particular issue. However, this is no cause for concern or forfeit.
Abraham was impatient and tried to move around God’s will by impregnating Hagar.
Isaac showed favoritism that led to a divided home. Jacob did the same,
creating a hateful group of brothers bent against Joseph. Joseph made it
exceedingly easy for his brother to sell him into slavery by coming across as a
braggart. All of these were ordinary people (riddled with imperfections) with
faith in an extraordinary God. Truly, God made up the difference in each one of
these cases: He made it right in Abraham’s situation, mended a broken household
in Isaac’s, came through and provided for Jacob’s family in the midst of a
famine, and even awarded Joseph a seat of power in Egypt. This same God comes
through for you and me in our weaknesses in order to do the incredible—that is,
if we place our faith in Him. That’s what Abraham’s family’s story is all about
and it is my prayer that a similar story would be seen in each of our lives and
in our families’ lives today
No comments:
Post a Comment