The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 11: The Sacrifice of Isaac (2023)

Episode Date: January 11, 2023

Fr. Mike explains the significance behind sacrifice of Isaac, and why God chose to test Abraham as he reads Genesis 22-23, Job 11-12, and Proverbs 2:9-15. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, I'm Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's Word and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. This is day 11, So let's get started. Let's keep on moving. We're not started. We're cruising right now. Day 11. We're going to be reading from Genesis chapter 22 and 23. Very famous story, but so, so powerful and so important for us

as Christians. Genesis 22 and 23. We're also going to continue our walk with our friend Job chapter 11 and 12. And we'll also be reading from Proverbs chapter 2 verses 9 and 15. As always, I am reading from the revised standard version, Catholic edition of the Bible. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. And the reading plan that we're using is accessible to you if you want. You can go to ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. Again, that's ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also subscribe to

this podcast by clicking subscribe, and you can also sign up for our email list by texting the word catholicbible to the number 33777. Again, that's catholicbible to 33777. As I said, today we're kicking off by looking at this and journeying with Abraham in his greatest test of his life. He's been tested so many times in his life, called by God to be faithful. And today we have one of the greatest tests and one of the most iconic tests that is gonna echo not just in his life, but is gonna echo down the generations

even to our lives today. So we begin Genesis chapter 22 and 23. After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham. And he said, here am I. He said, take your son, your only begotten son, Isaac, whom you love and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning, settled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.

Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey. I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son and took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham,

My father. And he said, Here am I, my son. He said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham said, and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I.

He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only begotten son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day, on the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.

And the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven and said, By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only begotten son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Now after these things, it was told Abraham, Behold, Milcah also has born children to your

brother Nahor. Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Kased, Hadzo, Pildash, Jidlaf, and Bethuel. Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reuma, bore Teba, Geham, Tahash, and Maaka. Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died, Ekeriat Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

And Abraham went into the morn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, I am a stranger and a sojourner among you. Give me property among you for a burying place that I may bury my dead out of my sight. The Hittites answered Abraham, Hear us, my lord, you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our sepulchers. None of us will withhold from you this sepulcher or hinder you from burying your dead. Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. And he said to them, if you are willing that I should

bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron, the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, which is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying place. Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people, I give it to you. Bury your dead. Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land, and he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people in the land, But if you will, hear me.

I will give the price of the field. Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there. Ephron answered Abraham, My lord, listen to me. A piece of land worth 400 shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead. Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, 400 shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. So in the field of Ephron, in Machpelah, which is to the east of Mamre, the field with a cave, which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field throughout its whole area was made over to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites before all who went in at the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of

the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as a possession for a burying place by the Hittites. Job chapter 11 and 12. My doctrine is pure and I am clean in God's eyes. But oh, that God would speak and open his lip to you and that he would tell you of the secrets of wisdom. For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven.

What can you do? Deeper than Sheol. What can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. If he passes through and imprisons and calls to judgment, who can hinder him? For he knows worthless men. When he sees iniquity, will he not consider it? But a stupid man will get understanding when a wild donkey's colt is born a man.

If you set your heart aright, you will stretch out your hands towards him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away and let not wickedness dwell in your tents. Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish. You will be secure and will not fear. You will forget your misery. You'll remember it is as waters that have passed away and your life will be brighter than noonday.

Its darkness will be like the morning and you will have confidence because there is hope. You will be protected and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, and none will make you afraid. Many will entreat your favor, but the eyes of the wicked will fail. All way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last. Then Job answered, no doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you. But I have understanding as well as you. I'm not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? I'm a laughingstock to my friends. I who called upon God and he answered me,

a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. In the thought of one who is at ease, there is contempt for misfortune. It is ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of the robbers are at peace. Those who provoke God are secure, who bring their God in their hand. But ask the beasts and they will teach you, the birds of the air and they will tell you, or the plants of the earth and they will teach you, and birds of the air and they will tell you, or the plants of the earth and they will teach you, and the fish of the sea will declare to you,

who among all does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear try words as the palate tastes food? Wisdom is with the aged and understanding in length of days. With God are wisdom and might. He has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild. If he shuts a man in, none can open.

If he withholds the waters, they dry up. If he sends them out, they overwhelm the land with him, our strength and wisdom, the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds the waistcloth on their loins. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and looses the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great and he destroys them. He enlarges nations and he leads them away. He takes away understanding from

the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a pathless waste. They grope in the darkness without light and he makes them stagger like a drunken man. Proverbs chapter 2 verses 9 through 15. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. For wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil. Men whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Father in heaven, we glorify you and we praise your name.

We thank you so much for your word. We ask that you please enlighten our minds with your truth and enliven our hearts with your love. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Okay, wow. So that reading from Genesis is pretty phenomenal, but in so many ways we can hear this reading and like so many other readings of scripture where we might not get it on the

surface. We don't get like, what is God trying to reveal to us? We think that this is just crazy. I hope God never asks me of that. I hope God never asks me to give him the thing I love the most. Because sometimes we look at this as some arbitrary story. Remember this. Abraham is well over 100 years old at this point. So Abraham has been walking with the Lord for so, so long. This is not God springs on Abraham, this offering of a sacrifice. In fact, at the heart of everything in this reading is the fact that we talked about this yesterday, that Abraham is the father of faith. And here is the

moment where he not just demonstrates, I would say he reveals, he reveals the depth of his faith. It is a profound trust in God. Abraham is not under the impression that God is going to take away his son, Isaac, that this story will end with Isaac's destruction. How do we know this? We know this in so many ways. One is the very text itself. What happens is they have the two young men who accompany Abraham and Isaac. And Abraham says to the two young men, we're going to go up to that mountain and we're going to both come back to you. I mean, he says it. He says, we're both coming back to you.

Abraham says in the letter to the Hebrews, he knew that even if he were to sacrifice his son, that God had the power, God who has the power of life and death to bring back even from the grave, his own son. This is Abraham's deep and profound trust in the father. And yet we ask the question, why would God do this though? What, what's the whole point of this story? Cause this, this point of the story is not, I don't think it's just simply for Abraham and for Isaac.

I think that point of the story is it sets up the context for everything about the spiritual life. That's how deep and profound this story is. It sets up the context for virtually everything in the spiritual life. Because this is not merely a story about the father who's willing to sacrifice his son. This is the story of a father and a son team. This is so important for us. Art will sometimes depict this image, the image of the story of a father and a son team. This is so important for us. You know, art will sometimes depict this image, you know, the image of the sacrifice of Isaac or the binding of Isaac. And it has Abraham, the old man who has bound up his son, Isaac, who is like struggling and who is like a child.

And yet this is Abraham and Isaac working together. How do we know this? Because we know that Isaac is not a child. We know he's a child compared to the hundred plus year old Abraham, but Isaac is not a child who was overpowered by his father. In fact, if anything, Isaac is the one who's stronger in this story. Why? Well, they go up the mountain, they go up the hill, right? Al-Murayya. And it says that Abraham laid the wood for the altar, the wood for the sacrifice on the back of his son.

Now, if his son is like a seven-year-old kid, he could not possibly carry enough firewood that would actually be able to be a holocaust, right? A burnt offering of an entire human being up the mountain. Isaac is in his, in fact, the tradition is that Isaac is in his 30s, maybe even 33 years old. Think about that for a second. Isaac is stronger than his father Abraham in this time in their lives. And so Isaac carrying up the wood demonstrates that he could overpower his father,

that he submitted to his father binding him and he laid down willingly. And this is, what is this teaching us? This is setting the stage for the eternal father with his only beloved, only begotten son, whom he loves. And that sacrifice of the son and of the father on Calvary.

This is unmistakably a preparation for Christ's sacrifice. I mean, even think, what do the words say? Take your only son, your only begotten son, whom you love. What does John chapter 3 verse 16 say? For God so loved the world that he gave his only beloved son. This story of Abraham and Isaac is not just about Abraham and Isaac. It is a revelation of how the father in heaven and the son of God cooperate with each other in bringing about salvation, this deep and profound trust all the way to the point of death. Here is Abraham or

Isaac, the son walking up with the wood of the sacrifice on his back of Mount Moriah, which is right outside of Jerusalem. You have Jesus, the son, walking up with the wood of the cross on his back up on Mount Moriah, right outside of Jerusalem. Calvary and Moriah are part of the same mountain range right outside of the city of Jerusalem. What you have here is this deep and profound cooperation. And this is what we cannot miss. This is why this story of Abraham and Isaac is about us. Not because God is going to ask you to sacrifice everyone and everything you love. That's not the point.

The point is trust. That is the number one word. Abraham is the father in faith. Why? Because when it came down to it, he was willing to trust God. But it wasn't just him alone. It was the father in faith. Why? Because when it came down to it, he was willing to trust God. But it wasn't just him alone. It was the father and the son, Isaac, trusting each other. And this is why this is so important for us to get this into our hearts. God is not your enemy.

This is what Job was wrestling with. Is God my enemy? Does God care? But the deep and profound expression of our faith as Christians, we realize, we know that this is true, that even the only begotten son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord, on the night before he was to be crucified, he had said, Father, let this cup pass for me, yet not my will, but yours be done. He was able to call out to his father and say, I don't want this to happen.

And at the same time, in the same breath, he was able to say, but I trust you and I will be done. And that's what we're called to do. Man, today, gosh, you guys, we're just started. We just started this journey through the Bible and it has been a trip so far. Oh my gosh. I hope that this is a blessing to you. I know it has been a blessing

to me walking with you these days. And also I want you to know that I have been praying for you these days and please keep me in your prayers. Keep each other in your prayers. This is a large community of people who are walking through the scriptures with each other. So please keep each other with your prayers. If you have any prayer intentions, just lift those up and know that the people who are listening with you also have prayer intentions. We struggle to trust the Lord. We struggle to walk with him. We struggle when we're in the position of our friend Job. And we also struggle when we're being asked to cooperate and trust the Father

in the midst of what looks like the end, but we know cannot be the end because he is too good to let the end be simply destruction. He's too good. That's why this is not the end of the book. This is the beginning of the book. My name is Father Mike Schmitz, and I am so honored to be able to walk with you through the scriptures.

And I cannot wait to walk with you some more. I'll keep praying for you today, and we'll walk further into scripture tomorrow. God bless.