As we have worked out way through the various “Go” passages during this summer series, I have noticed that several the the commands to go have resulted from an interaction with The Angel of the Lord, including this week with Gideon. Pastor Jeff reminded us that a reference to The Angel of the Lord is referring to the presence of Jesus prior to the incarnation. Throughout the Old Testament, specifically in very critical moments, it is Jesus that meets personally with Abraham, Moses, Joshua and now Gideon. This week, during 10 Minutes with God, I want to continue to explore the theme of the Sufficiency of Christ through various passages in the Old Testament where there is an interaction with The Angel of the Lord.
Begin this morning, by reading the interaction between Abraham and the Angel of the Lord at the very moment when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
Genesis 22: 9-12
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham finds himself in his darkest moment. God has asked from Abraham the one thing that he desires to hold onto the most, his own son. Now Abraham has laid Isaac on the alter in obedience to God and in that moment, The Angel of the Lord intervenes and stops Abraham. I have often thought about this moment for Abraham and the type of faith that he must have possessed in order to be willing to lose that which was of most importance to him (which if of course why God asked for this sacrifice from Abraham to begin with). I have not however consider the presence of Christ in this passage and the implications of that presence in my own faith.
In my own experience, it is in the moments when my faith is facing the greatest challenge that I can easily become convinced that I am on my own. God seems distant and removed and I feel as though I have been left to navigate the moments that I need Him the most, on my own. I imagine that Abraham must have been feeling this way only exponentially more and yet it is at this very point where the presence of Christ is revealed. Jesus intercedes on behalf of Abraham, stops the sacrifice, affirms his demonstration of faith and provides the substitutionary sacrifice. This is the very thing that Jesus has been doing for us since his own sacrifice on the cross and continues to do each and every day. He meets us in our worst moment, that place where our faith is most vulnerable or at greatest risk and intercedes on our behalf. Just the very presence of Jesus as the Angel of the Lord in the passage speaks volumes regarding the sufficiency of Christ. Jesus is the present one, the one who never leaves us, who sees us at our weakest and sustains us. Generally, in the midst of these moments, I am completely unaware of His presence. Often times, it is not until much later that I am able to look back and perceive his presence, to know that I was never really alone and to thank Him for being the one who was sufficient when I was not.
Jesus was sufficient for Abraham in his worst moment. He is sufficient for us in ours as well.
Pastor Sterling Moore
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