Nine Lessons #2: Genesis 22

Photo credit: Myriams-Fotos | Pixabay

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.”

Genesis 22:15-18

The events described in today's reading occur just after Abraham has been tested by God and found to be worthy - not because of his moral fibre or good works, but because he trusted in God - trusting him even with the life of his one and only son, through whom he had been promised an inheritance.  And so, not for the first time, God restates his promise to Abraham - to make him a great nation with descendants as numerous as stars in the sky, and a blessing to all nations on Earth through his offspring.  The reason for its inclusion in this Christmas set is clear: it points towards Jesus, the offspring promised to Abraham.  Paul talks about this promise coming to life when he writes to the fledgling churches of the New Testament (see Galatians 3:16, Romans 4:13).  

Why did God not just send Jesus?  Why build an entire family and take thousands of years?  I am sure many scholars and thinkers have posed many answers that try to scratch the surface, but ultimately the wisdom of God is unfathomable to us.   However, when we look at our world with similar questions - why not just make everything right? - we can take inspiration from Abraham, the proclaimed father of faith (Romans 4:16), who had a certain hope in a promise of events that were still a long way off.  We see Abraham's promise from the other side of history - the promised 'seed' a documented fact in his life, death and resurrection, and the presence of a worldwide church that is testament to his Holy Spirit.  Nonetheless, we still 'see through a glass darkly' and await Jesus' final return which, like the promises to Abraham, may very well not happen in our lifetime.   Abraham's hope and faith were justified, and ours will be too.

And what a blessing was promised.   God's interaction with Abraham on that hillside all those thousands of years ago did not just concern the narrow world of Abraham and his earthly children (even though the latter were eventually 12 great nations).  God's promise to Abraham concerned all nations.  There is no corner of the Earth our God is not concerned with, no nation or territory or street or house to which he does not lay claim. Indeed, we look forward to the time when we see a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9).