Title: God Will Prepare (Genesis 22:1-19)
Contents
It is said that after World War II, the Allies gathered starving and homeless children to live together in a large camp. There they had a place to sleep, a place to eat, and a place to be cared for. Strangely, however, these children seemed to have trouble sleeping at night, were anxious, and were always full of worries. So while looking for a solution from various angles, a psychologist found the solution. After the children went to bed, I put a loaf of bread in each hand. It was not meant to be eaten, but to be held and put to sleep. However, it is said that this has had surprising results. Since then, the children are said to have fallen into a deep sleep. The children who slept with bread in their hands subconsciously gave them a sense of security that they had something to eat tomorrow. That relief made them sleep peacefully and deeply.
In fact, the reason a person feels anxious in that life is because there is no guarantee for tomorrow. If there is a sure guarantee for tomorrow, we can not be anxious. You don't have to live like that, and you don't want to possess it by lying, doing tricks, and committing sins like that. All the reasons for putting money in a bank account, buying a house, and purchasing land are all because of worries for tomorrow. If you have a guarantee for tomorrow, you won't have to put so much effort into saving. Almost all human crimes are due to the greed for possession, but the greed for possession is because of anxiety about the future. With this complete guarantee for tomorrow, possessiveness would be eliminated, and crime would be much reduced.
People do not know the joy and happiness of today when they are not sure about tomorrow. A good example is the story of the women who went to the tomb of the Lord. The tomb had already been opened and the Lord was resurrected, and the women, as they climbed the mountain with useless worries, “Who will roll a stone from the door of the tomb for us?” I couldn't see it, and the beautiful flowers blooming on the roadside did not sound like the timidity of the fresh trees or the joyful song of the birds, and I climbed the mountain with worry and anxiety, only worrying about rolling the stone door of the tomb.
The incident recorded in today's text was like an army of thousands to Abraham. It was to offer up as a sacrifice his only son, Isaac, who had been born at the age of 100. He unwittingly hears tremendous demands from God. The command to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering to Abraham, who was not only overflowing with the joy of a hopeful life in a childless family, but also filled with the foreshadowing of the fulfillment of God's greater promise through him, was astonishing. It was not a command from God, but a command from God Himself, who had promised to give him the very son and fulfill his plan through him.
So Abraham carried out the command without any protest or question. He got up early this morning, saddled his donkey, took his son with his two servants, and cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out on the road. After traveling for three days, he arrived in the land of Moriah, and the two servants stayed at the foot of the mountain with the donkey, and he put the sheaf of wood on Isaac, and he went up the mountain with fire and fire in his hand. On the way up the mountain, when the innocent little one asked, "There is fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Father suffered indescribable agony. But Abraham said in a calm tone, "Son, God himself will provide for himself a lamb for a burnt offering."
Now the two have arrived at the place God has directed them to. Abraham built an altar there, and placed all the propaganda that Isaac had carried on the altar. It was impossible with a human heart to capture the only son he had at the age of 100 and set him on fire. But there was nothing he could do, because it was the command of God who had made him and gave him his son. Abraham grabbed Isaac and bound him, then raised the sword in his hand. At this moment, he heard a voice from heaven calling out his name, "Abraham! Abraham!" It was the voice of an angel of God calling to him. When Abraham answered, "Here I am," the angel of God said to him, "Do not lay your hand on the child, and do nothing to him; for you have not withheld me, even your son, your only son. I know that you fear him." He praised Abraham's great devotion.
When Abraham opened his eyes and looked in all directions, there was a ram that unexpectedly passed by and got caught in the bushes and was unable to move. Abraham slaughtered the ram, offered a burnt offering to God in Isaac's place, and called the name of the land "Jehovahreh." This means that Jehovah will provide. So even in later times, the Israelites called the land "Jehovahreh". After this, an angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him of the blessings he would bring to his descendants. This became the basis of Christian doctrine, which promised that the Messiah would come in the latter days through the descendants of Isaac. Our Christianity today is the religion of Jehovah-jireh, which started from the faith of this Abraham here.
Jehovah Iareh! This means that God is preparing. It can be said that the Lord's preparation is the basic philosophy of faith and life that all the saints believe and confess together. When he first heard that God would give birth to Isaac, it was impossible for a human to think, but he was sure that God would make it happen. This was his faith. To think that God can do it even though humans cannot do it, and believe that I cannot but God can do it. That is the faith of Abraham and the faith of Christianity.
This faith in Jehovah-jireh is the unchanging attitude that Abraham believed in and lived his whole life for 100 years. When he left Ur of the Chaldeans, he must have been utterly lonely. But he believed and obeyed only God's commands.
As a result, he received greater blessings both physically and mentally. Not only that, but also with his nephew Lot and I, he gave up the priority he had of course and told his nephew Lot to take possession of the land first, but that turned out to be a great benefit.
Abraham firmly believed that God never harms those who live by faith. Right now, it is extremely painful and heartbreaking to slaughter a son and offer it as a burnt offering, but he believed that God, who had loved him so much and had benefited him so far, would never do any harm to him, and went one step further. I was convinced that God would surely give me greater and more blessings through these trials.
Ultimately, faith is believing in what Jehovah has prepared. The word IAREH is the future form of the verb "RAAH". "God will provide", "God will provide the sacrifice." That's what Abraham said as he took Isaac to the mountain. When he said these words, he did not expect that God would prepare it for him, but God had a sheep in store for his faithful servant Abraham. Paul wrote about Abraham's faith like this in the New Testament, "He thought that God was able to raise him from the dead" (Hebrews 11:19). Indeed, Abraham believed so.
Lamb prepared by God! It was the symbol of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who appeared in the New Testament. He believed in the Messiah to come through the distant descendants of Isaac. The religion of Jehovah-jireh is the belief that an eternal home is prepared for us. Jesus also said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled...In my Father's house there are many dwelling places...I am going to prepare a place for you (John 14:1-2)." It is the Christian faith to believe in the reality of the kingdom of God as in "Rev 12:6". God has prepared an eternal place for us. This is the greatest hope that all Christians believe in. It is joy, and all the sufferings and trials of reality are overcome because of this fact. Even if death comes to us at this time, the saints can live because of this hope.
Jehovah-jireh's faith is that God provides all the good things we need even in this world. “The Lord prepares rain for the earth” (Psalm 147:8), “God prepares perfect wisdom for the upright man” (Proverbs 2:7), “For those who are faithful to the Lord, the crown of righteousness” (Psalm 147:8) This is the assurance that this is prepared (2 Timothy 4:8) and that “God has prepared all things for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
The Bible explains that “God is our shepherd” that God thoroughly guarantees and takes responsibility for tomorrow. It is also said to be a shepherd who lacks lack. The Lord Himself called Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. Because God is our shepherd, it is said that we lack nothing. All about tomorrow, God is in charge. So he tells me not to worry about tomorrow.
“The Lord is my shepherd,” he said. This is a word that has a profound meaning. Considering the thorough preparation of the shepherd to shepherd the sheep, you can guess. The shepherd prepares everything for the sheep. He prepares his house, pastures for rest, and quiet streams, and leads them there. The sheep simply have to follow the shepherd's lead. The sheep themselves do not have to worry about a house, food, or water to drink. Because the shepherd prepares everything. To say that God is our shepherd means just that.
We must heed the words, “The Lord is my shepherd.” The shepherd knows well that the sheep cannot find the green pastures on their own, nor the quiet streams on their own. So I personally lead you to green pastures and calm waters. Knowing that they cannot prepare food for themselves, the shepherd prepares the food. Knowing that he cannot prepare for the winter by himself, the shepherd makes a cage and makes a shelter from the wind and rain and snow. The sheep know they can't do it themselves, so they've got everything ready before they're worried or feel. In that sense, the Bible says that God is our shepherd. Because we know that we cannot prepare for tomorrow on our own, God has already prepared our tomorrow. God already prepares for our needs before we even feel the need. God has stockpiles of oil, coal and gas to keep us warm before we feel the cold.
Are there people who are in trouble? Are there people who are struggling with failure and disease? It's not because God doesn't care for you. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am your God.” May Jehovah be your shepherd, love, obey, and follow. Soon God will lay you down in green pastures