Yahweh-Yireh. On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. The plainly obvious lesson in Abraham’s dedicated proof that he loved the Lord beyond everything else is easy to grasp. He’s on some elevated point in the region of Moriah with a son bound by cords or ropes laying on a pile of wood. He wields a knife, holding it high above his head seemingly willing to plunge it into the chest of his only son from his marriage to Rachel, his true love. As sacrifices go, this one trumps them all. Human sacrifice seems a grisly path to atonement to most of us, let alone the idea that we’d kill one of our own children. Most of the people I know wouldn’t go to the grocery store to buy a carton of cottage cheese at the request of the voice of God. Leave the mountain climbing to to someone with a bit more faith and a keen God ear, I’ll stick to simple things like asking for a help with the water bill or a head-cold. Kill one of my children to show my faithful dedication? That’s a mountain I’m not willing to climb.
I have a budget that I manage for my employer. It’s a substantial budget. I need to use that money to benefit a large number of people. But the budget is not unlimited and it’s rarely enough to accomplish what “should” be done. I hear a lot of compelling arguments about how to use that money. Some of those arguments are better than others. Once in a while they’re convincing. Most of the time they’re shoot from the hip or knee jerk reactions that bear small considerations. So I wonder, what could God possibly say to me that would compel me to plunge a knife into the chest of Amanda, Sarah, Matthew, or Michael? Those words don’t exist. If they do, I don’t want to ever hear them.
Why a mountain? Why carry a bunch of wood up a mountain? That’s work, I’ll tell you. I’ve climbed small mountains in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. It’s not easy even without the bundle of wood. My guess is that Abraham carefully thought through each and every heavy step on the way to his son’s death. Is there a heavier burden that we could possibly carry than to know that with each passing foot print upon the sand of an uphill battle we’re gradually moving closer to the inevitable death of one of our children? That’s not a mountain I’m willing to climb. I’d rather lay low that mountain one spade shovel at a time than step one foot upon it’s face.
And yet, God’s provision wasn’t found at the bottom of Mt. Moriah. It was found somewhere further up upon it’s side. Somewhere in the crags and crevasses of dirt, stone, brush, rocks and sand Abraham’s blessed relief was given. God met Abraham at his ultimate knife-point of need. Relief and deliverance was administered only when Abraham reached his heavy sighed moment of complete dedicated-to-God despair. They joy must have been immeasurable. Certainly he couldn’t help dancing while he unbound his sacrificial lamb of a son. Would anyone even be able to decipher a word he spoke through the tear soaked laughter and giddy giggles of a man who found such a marvelous gift?
So, what of us? Where will we find such joy? In our back yard? On the smooth sidewalk in front of the house? Or rather, will we need to climb a mountain? More importantly, when we find ourselves at the foot of the hillside are we willing to raise our foot and take the first step.
Song idea. . .
Intro
Yahweh-Yireh
Yahweh-Yireh
Yahweh-Yireh
Chorus
On the mountain of the Lord it will be given
On the mountain of the Lord it will be seen
On the mountain of the Lord it will be given
On the mountain of the Lord it will be seen
Verse
Abraham left the city
at the Lord's command
He took his young son with him
A blessed but sacrificial lamb
Angels came to help him
At the sharpened point of need
To stop his bleakest hour
*Before his dream would bleed*
Bridge
Obedience comes with an awesome price
It's sometimes hard to pay
It holds no currency in whim
There's no credit in going halfway
When you need to climb the mountain
But you can't see what's ahead
Take the time to truly listen
And you'll never be mislead
Dreams are often given
with a future paved in *doubt *
The doubting mind won't see it
like the one that's bound in Him
