Reflections on "Standing By" Genesis 24: 10-17

As i began to work on Sunday's sermon in earnest, I realized I had not post last week's sermon.

I do not believe I have ever preached this text, so it was fun to dig at it for the first time.  one thought that never made the sermon (I ran across it too late to include) was Rebekah as the next generation's Abraham because she gave up her homeland and left to follow God's call.  or maybe Rebekah is the precursor to Ruth.  A whole sermon could have been on Rebekah's decision to go.  her act of faithfulness could also have been played off against her brother's negotiating.  Sort of he goes for money, she follows God!  That sermon will have to wait to be preached.

I had decided I needed a little humor in this sermon since I felt like I'd not had much humor in recent sermons, which sometimes means I am taking myself a bit too seriously.  Thus, the story near the end.  i don't think I forced it into the flow. After the service, someone noted that my example of the watering hole being a good place to find a woman sounds like why guys still go to watering holes today.  If I had thought of that, it would have been a humorous comment I could have added to the sermon as well.

The conclusion in this sermon as written below is not the conclusion I used, but I can't remember what I did do.  I was in the flow of conversation and when it felt like ending, I did.

The sermon worked for me, but sometimes that's not a good sign!

Genesis 24:  10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the girl to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

15 Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, 23 and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.”

“Standing By” July 23, 2017; Genesis 24: 1-19; SAPC, Denton

Move 1:  Abraham entrusts his servant with an important task.

a.  Handshake/swearing scene - hand underneath thing; some kind of Three Stooges scene

1. Kind of silly, but it reflects the importance of what is about to take place — finding a spouse for Isaac.

2.  In part, it reflects Abraham’s trust in God to continue to act to fulfill the promise God made to Abraham — “you go to this new land; I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars.

3.  needless to say, if Isaac never marries and has children, the promise goes unfulfilled.

3. We might also note that Abraham still feels the need to help God along in keeping the promise.

b.  as the father of three daughters, part of me likes the idea of sending someone to find the spouse for each of them.

1.  I could come up with some pretty good criteria criteria:  Good job; treat my daughters well. respect their father; be a  Presbyterian.

2. Really, would three arranged marriages be that bad?

3.  OK, not really.  and don’t mention it to my daughters.

4. Abraham’s criteria is a little different.

5. Wants his daughter-in-law to be one of his tribe, not one of those different people that he now lives among.

c. servant recognizes the importance of this task and the challenge of it.

1.  He asks for clarification.

2. what if the woman does not want to come back.

3. at some point, do I take Isaac back, or do I keep Isaac here in the new land?

4.  the servant recognizes that Abraham has entrusted him in an important task.

d. God entrusts us with important tasks.

1.  We have seen this with Abraham - God calls him into relationship and then God has things for him to do.

2.  The servant swears himself to Abraham’s service, and then Abraham sends him off with an important job.

3.  when you said, “i believe,” and committed yourself to being a follower of Christ, those were not the final two words of your faith journey.

4. they were the beginning of your following the one who entrusts you with important tasks.

 

Move 2:  Servant tests the process to see what God might be doing and then acts.

a.  Watering hole is like a truck stop.

1.  Everyone traveling through that area stops with their camels for waters; everyone who lives in the area and needs water for the household sends a woman to get the water; lots of comings and goings.

2.  Lots of options.

2.  If you were looking for a woman, this is the right place.

b.  Servant is taking it in, watching the women come and go.

1. But how is he going to find the woman who is to be Isaac’s wife?

2.  He comes up with a plan:  “I’m standing here God. So how about this.  I ask women for water.  the one who gives me water and offers to get water for the camels as well is the one?”

2.  The servant being proactive about communicating with God to try and figure out what God has planned.

3. Sure enough, here comes Rebekah.  she gives him water and then offers to water the camels.

c. What does the servant do then?  He gazes at her.

1.  Even after Rebekah does what she is supposed to do as a sign, the servant gazes at here.

2. is she really the one?

3. Maybe she is just a nice woman who is extending hospitality?

4. God has done what the servant has asked, but Is the servant willing to bank on it?

3.  he steps forward to act on what he believes to be true to what God is doing in the moment.

d.  What does it take for you to act.

1.  The servant did more than just plan.

2. the servant did more than just test God to make sure of the validity of the plan.

3. the servant stepped forward and acted in faith.

4.  Challenge of being  a disciple - you can plan, you can ask God for clarification, you can even believe God has provided sufficient guidance — but none of that matters, unless you step forward.

Move 3:  Maturing faith that sees God at work.

a. God does not explicitly act in this story.

1. Abraham assumes God will act — in fact, he tells is servant that God will show him who will be Isaac’s wife.

2.  But, we never hear the voice of God confirming Abraham’s belief.

3.  This Abraham is far different than the Abraham who doubted God would protect him so he lied and had his wife lie. 

4.  Abraham has grown and matured in his faith.

b.  In the servant we see someone who has the faith to trust that God is at work.

1.  when the servant gives thanks to God in vs. 26, he notes that he has been “led” by God to find Rebekah.  eh repeats that phrase in vs. 48 when he tells Rebekah’s family his story.

1.  Nowhere else in Genesis is this word “led” used. 

2.  the Hebrew word has a rich history, of course, in being associated with the description provided in Psalm 23 of our Lord who as our shepherd, “leads” (same root word) -  “us beside still waters.”

3.  Abraham and the servant believe God is in their midst revealing Rebekah to them, and God is true to their faithfulness.

4.  Again and again, God has been faithful to Abraham.

6.  Now Abraham expects God to be faithful to him in the present moment.

7. a maturing of his faith.

8. an example for all of us.

Perhaps you have heard the story of the elderly lady who was well-known for her faith and for her boldness  n talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout PRAISE THE LORD!

Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, "There ain't no Lord!!"
Hard times set in on the elderly lady and she prayed for GOD to send her some assistance.. She stood on her porch and shouted
 

"PRAISE THE LORD....GOD I NEED FOOD!! I
 AM HAVING A HARD TIME. PLEASE LORD SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!"

 The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, "Praise the Lord."
 The neighbor jumped from behind a bush and said, "Ha..Ha. I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries. God didn't."

The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and saying, "Praise the Lord, The Lord not only sent me groceries but made the devil pay for them. Praise the Lord!" 

conclusion:  Abraham entrusts his servant with an important task.  Are you ready for the important tasks God entrust with you?

The servant steps forward in faith.  Will you?

Abraham and the servant expect God to be present and at work in their midst.  Do you? 

Reflections on "Here I Am?" Genesis 22: 1-9

While working on my Doctor of Ministry years ago, I discovered Kierkegaard's work "Fear and Trembling."  

Although I did (do) not engage Kierkegaard's work in a deep, philosophical way, it gave (gives) me a way to approach the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac that I greatly needed.  After becoming a parent, the story repulsed me.  In some ways, the sermon avoids that issue, but it is my way of trying to make sense out of this challenging story.  In the "Time with Young Disciples," I told them that even when we do not understand the stories or are working through our own hard to imagine stories, two things are true: God is with us, and God calls us to follow in the midst of our stories.  I hope this sermon reveals both those truths.

(Genesis 22:1-19)

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill[a] his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”;[b] as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”[c]

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, 18 and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham lived at Beer-sheba.

“Here I Am?” July 16, 2017; Genesis 22: 1-19; Hebrews 11: 8-19; SAPC, Denton

Move 1:  this is a test.  At least we the readers know it is a test.  God knows it is a test.  

But Abraham does not know it is a test.  

Sarah does not know it is a test.  

Isaac does not know it is a test.

God has come to Abraham and urged him to take Isaac, Abraham’s son, Abraham’s son who was the one who confirms God’s promise for descendants.  

In the Hebrew text the urgency of God’s demand is very unusual.  God often commands, but seldom is this type of exhortation used.  Apparently, a lot is at stake in what is to take palce.

Abraham  knows something important is unfolding.  

Important to his family because his son’s life is at stake. 

Important to his family’s future because Ishmael, Abraham’s son with Hagar, has been sent packing along with his mother.  

God’s covenant with Abraham for generations to come now rests on Isaac, so what happens to Isaac is of paramount importance to Abraham’s future.

What unfolds is important to Abraham’s relationship with God. Since God called Abraham him into a special, covenantal relationship, Abraham has been struggling to figure out how to be a faithful person in relationship with a gracious God. One stop forward.  One step backward.  

But the biggest step yet awaits - sacrificing his son.

As Abraham prepares to take this step, he understands the sacrificial system.  

An animal is killed and offered as a sacrifice on the altar, a sacrifice given to God in the hope of God giving back a new lease on life.

God has named the sacrifice — Isaac.  Now Abraham can only hope and wonder what a new lease on life will look like in this context.

“Here I am” - not an easy response to live out.

Move 2: off they go.  Abraham begins the three and a half day journey to sacrifice Isaac.  

Soren Kierkegaard, in his writing, “Fear and Trembling” describes Abraham as taking this journey with “sorrow before him and Isaac beside him” (Kierkegaard, 9).  The question on Abraham’s mind - how will God be gracious when all that seems to await is pain.

How will God be gracious?  the question we often ask as we struggle to answer God’s call.

Sarah watches from the tent fold as Abraham and Isaac ride off. 

She silently endures as they disappear from sight.  

She recalls the day when God told her she would bear a child and she laughed at God.  

Today no laughter escapes her; only tears streaming down her face.

Sarah discovers the vulnerability of being married to one who must prove his faithfulness by sacrificing their son Isaac. 

Isaac, whom she nursed as a baby and cared for as a child.  

Isaac, whose presence was the sign of God’s covenant for generations to come.  As numerous as the stars would be their descendants, or so God said.  

Now, Isaac’s life is up for grabs.  The covenant is up for grabs.

Sarah waits silently, unable to voice her defiance and pain in a patriarchal world that condemned her for barrenness and now threatens to take away her son.

the vulnerability of following God exposed.

Move 3:  abraham rides on, mustering what courage and faith he can. 

When God called him, Abraham immediately responded, “here I am.”  

Abraham, ready to do whatever the Lord asks.  

Abraham, who has discovered time and again that God rewards his faithfulness. 

Abraham, willing to respond to God’s call, even when it is hard to hear.

Are you willing to answer God’s call?

Abraham and Isaac leave the servants behind.  

Abraham reveals his hopefulness as he tells them, we will come back together.” 

With no clear answer as to how, Abraham still wants to believe that God will work it out.

Abraham and Isaac reach the place of reckoning.  

into the silence, Isaac calls out, Father.”  

A lump in Abraham’s throat as he answers back, “Here I am.”  

the same words he spoke to God now slip form his lips.  

How differently they sound today.  

Once, so full of hope and promise; now full of dread as he contemplates how caring for his son can fit with God’s call to sacrifice.

Isaac asks the question that hangs in the air: “We have the fire and wood, but where is the lamb?”  

How does a father answer a son in those circumstances?  

In that moment, Abraham returns to his hope:  “God will provide.”

“God will provide” echoes in Abraham’s head as he makes preparations for the sacrifice.  The repetition of the words provides strength to do the unimaginable.  “God will provide…God will provide”  

Can Abraham believe it.  

Can you believe it?

Since the call to leave his homeland, God had in fact provided.  

Even when Abraham was unfaithful, God had provided.  

Now as Abraham strives to be faithful to God’s command, his only hope is in the God who had continually provided.

this story has to do with vision.  

The verb translated as “provide” is the same word used in vs. 4 when we are told that Abraham see the far off place, and then again in vs. 13 when he sees the ram caught in the thicket.  

God providing is literally God showing.  Abraham trusts that God will provide by showing him what to do.

IN the beginning of the climb up the mountain, all Abraham could see was what God demanded of him.  

Now Abraham can only see the altar. Each carefully placed piece of wood brings the dreaded task closer.  

the altar is completed and Abraham gently binds Isaac and lays him on the altar.  

Abraham lifts the knife, desperately wanting to find a way out, but committed to doing what God had commanded.  he closes his eyes…and a voice pierces the moment: “Abraham! Abraham!” the voice of God.

“Here I am” Abraham replies.  

“do not lay your hand on this boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”  

And in that moment, Abraham’s eyes open and he sees more clearly.  

A ram is caught in the thicket. 

a ram, waiting to be sacrificed on the altar where Isaac lay.

Abraham sees more clearly.  

He sees the graciousness of God.  

He cannot know it that day, but the world will learn that the God who does not require the sacrifice of Abraham’s only son will later sacrifice his only son on the cross.  

All Abraham sees in the moment is his hope become reality as God once again provides in Abraham’s time of need.

to live out “Here I am” demands the vision to see the God who is.

Move 4:  The journey home is a quiet one. Isaac and Abraham caught up in their own thoughts.  

Isaac, glad to be alive, but still struggling to make sense of what has taken place.  

the feel of the ropes still tingle against his skin. 

he still does not understand exactly what has taken place, but the saving voice of God is seared into his memory forever. 

And he wonders what it will be like to say, “here I am” and follow this mysterious, life-giving God.

Abraham returns relieved and renewed, strengthened by the experience.  

Joyful and grateful to be returning with Isaac. 

Full of faith in his God who has provided for him once again.  

To turn Kierkegaard’s phrase, Abraham returns with “hope before him and Isaac beside him.”

Sarah sees them coming in the distance.  

She strains her eyes forward and rejoices at the sight. 

Abraham and Isaac.  Returning. together.  

her prayers have been answered.  

In truth, she has gone to her own mountaintop the past few days. 

Searching to find God in her life.  

Seeking a glimpse of what it mean to be faithful through the trauma of her waiting.

Just as she silently watched the depart, she silently waits for them to return. 

But her silent has changed.  the silence of unspoken fear has turned to the silence of unspoken joy.  

Joy at Isaac’s return.  

Joy at God’s graciousness.  Joy that she has grown in her relationship with God.  

Abraham. Isaac. Sarah.  all changed by the words, “here I am.”

God is calling you.  how do you answer?