This Sunday we continued our series, Abraham: Journey of Faith with what might be the most famous story in Abraham’s entire life. In the ultimate test of faith, God called Abraham to offer up his son, Isaac in Genesis 22. At this point Ishmael had been cast out. After 25 years of waiting, God finally brought the promise of offspring to fulfillment in Sarah bearing Isaac. That one boy carried the fullness of God’s promises to Abraham – that his name would be great, that his offspring would outnumber the stars in the sky, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Now the same God who made those promises was demanding that Isaac be given as an offering. 

This story is gripping and powerful. It presents a devastating ethical conundrum. As we read through and study the text, we will work to enter into the tension and anguish of the story. It’s only when we are able to experience the tension and anguish of questioning God’s goodness in the midst of His justice, that we can experience the explosiveness of His grace.