THE GOD WHO PROVIDES FOR SACRIFICES

Music: “Choose Life” by Big Tent Revival

Sacrifice is one of those words that are central to most religions. The central theme of most religions is that man and God(s) have some issues that need settling between them. This necessitates the involvement of intercession. The intercessor must make sacrifices to effect re-union. This done, man enjoys the fellowship and blessings of God, and God enjoys the worship of man.

According to the Encarta dictionary, sacrifice is “a giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance.” The bible reveals that God has always judged man by how much man is prepared to give up for Him. In the garden of Eden it was a choice between continuous fellowship with God by choosing the path of obedience and life or an opportunity to become like God, managing our own lives by ourselves. Man choose the latter. Cain and Abel were rejected and accepted respectively based on the value of their sacrifices and the condition of their hearts when they offered them. The fate of the very first four humans were determined by the value of their sacrifices in relation to God.

Lets move up a bit to the time of Abraham. This man made some splendid discoveries about God and sacrifices. His experiences will be our focus for today. Don’t let me bore us with a story we know so well. Abraham received a promise at the age of 75 years. The promise was fulfilled when he turned 100 years. The old man had a son. It was his first and only son by his wife, Sarah. God had promised that through that son, his promises will be reckoned (regarded).
When the boy came of age, God instructed Abraham;
“Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him”. Gen. 22:2 NIV

What could have gone through Abraham’s mind when he heard these instructions? We are not told, but his next actions speak volumes:
‘Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’
Gen 22:3 NIV

Abraham did not take a decision making holiday. He set out to obey the next morning. He did not rationalize the word “sacrifice” he knew it meant a burned offering and prepared to offer nothing less. He did not rationalize the word “son” nor dare offer God a replacement by sacrificing one of his servants. He approached the sacrificial ground with only one visible lamb- his Son. Thankfully, God does not test us this way nowadays but Abraham’s obedience remains unrivaled, not only in the weight of the sacrifice but also in the promptness of obedience. Abraham knew something that most of us don’t know or don’t remember in our moments of crisis. The words which were documented for our sakes and which should be written on the marble of our hearts are contained in the following discuss between the would-be priest and his would-be sacrifice;
“Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
Gen. 22:7-8 NIV

Abraham knew his son very well. He was the boy’s mentor. Perhaps he knew the time will come when he will pop the question, as any inquisitive young man would. So, maybe Abraham had a well rehearsed, diplomatic answer thought up overnight. The answer silenced the boy. But God himself was to expound that answer through His actions, for our benefit.

Abraham’s answer reveals that God will not ask us to sacrifice anything that He has not provided. Isaac was God’s provision, if God was requesting that Isaac be sacrificed, Abraham was just grateful for the joy of having been a father. God provides for test sacrifices. Indeed if God did nothing else on that mountain, God had already provided the sacrifice. He always does. The freedom he demanded of Adam and Eve was a gift from Him in the first place- a luxury that His angels cannot afford. Cain’s crops and Abel’s flock were not really their making, it was God who created those plants and gave them increase as they labored. When God asks us to give up sin or its pleasures, that is not a test of faith meant to bring about our promotion, rather, it is an opportunity for us to make amends so that we may be spared from judgment. God does not need or accept the sacrifice of resources acquired outside His will to provide for us. Our self sufficient God will not ask us to sacrifice unto Him anything that His will has not provided in the first place. Ishmael was not requested for sacrifice. The offspring of spiritual illegality cannot gain legitimacy through sacrifice – King Saul learnt that lesson at the cost of his kingship. Sacrifice is one of the processes through which God commits what He has given us to death, thereby sowing it to yield more unto us. A seed that is not of God will not be cultivated by God. If we are gaining promotion through the offering of ungodly resources, we need to check the god that is accepting our sacrifices.

God’s provision of a ram caught in a thicket took Abraham’s answer to another level. Not only does God provide a lamb for the test before we are tested, He also provides for real sacrifices. There is a day to day grace that accompanies our walk so that we will always have provisions to sacrifice unto God.

The third dimension of Abraham’s answer is understood when we look at Hebrews 11:19:
“Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”
As Abraham laid the knife on Isaac’s neck, something happened. He saw a new horizon of faith. His faith survived death, it was lifted up to a higher level of fulfillment. At a point, Abraham had fixated his faith in God’s word on Eliezer of Damascus, who was his servant(Gen. 15:2-3). God lifted up his faith by telling him his heir will come from his body. Abraham’s hope shifted to the likes of Ishmael- a son from his body but not from his wife’s body. After the deed was done, Ishmael had to leave home, a reject. When God suggested a son from Sarah, Abraham pleaded that God would just work with Ishmael, but God was far from done! By the end of the day, Abraham’s faith was now fixated on a son from his marriage. But Isaac too was spared or is it rejected as the perfect offering for sacrifice. God wanted to do something through Abraham’s son, Eliezer was not good enough, Ishmael was sidetracked and Isaac was spared.
Abraham believed that God could actually give him a son that will survive death. He believed that even if he killed Isaac, it does not nullify God’s promise, God could raise Isaac up and fulfill His words. There must have been rejoicing in heaven that day! A mortal man believed that what God wanted to achieve on earth was possible, God gained the legal authority to pierce through and effect his purpose of redemption through his eternal son, Jesus. What was Abraham’s reward? Co-fatherhood. The son which will finally be an acceptable sacrifice unto God would be the offspring of Abraham’s faith. Ultimately, God provides himself for our sacrifice by faith. When the sacrifice is beyond what we’ve had, what we have and can have, it can never be beyond what He has provided in Himself. In Christ, the priest, the lamb and the deity become one.
Let no man ever say that there is nothing to spare for sacrifice, because the one and true God has provided, is providing and will provide for test sacrifices, real sacrifices and faith sacrifices. This is the foundation of the Christian priesthood.

Music: “Jesus is the Lamb” by Carman

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This article has been contributed by ‘Yemi Ogunjimi.

To find out more about him please follow this link

http://blogtheword.wordpress.com/about/

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