V’yeira
He appeared
“A Faith that Works”
Genesis 18:1-22:24
2 Kings 4:1-37 (A); 4:1-23 (S)
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume I
Some extremely important words are witnessed in our Torah reading for this week:
“The LORD’s angel called to Abraham a second time out of the sky, and said, ‘“I have sworn by myself,” says the LORD, “because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice”’” (Genesis 22:15-18, WMB).
The Torah portion V’yeira continues to explain some of the challenges which have been recorded about the life of faith exhibited by Abraham, the father of faith. The Jewish Sages have determined that during his lifetime, Abraham was given ten extremely difficult tests (m.Avot 5:3).[1] But no test could ever be more difficult than the one which brings this Torah reading to a close. Here we discover that Abraham had been commanded by God to actually offer up his son as a sacrifice:
“After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of’” (Genesis 22:1-2, WMB).
No parent could ever imagine a greater test than being commanded to offer up his or her own child—or for that matter, any child—as a burnt offering. Just the thought of human sacrifice is abhorrent for many of us to consider! And yet, we are told in this parashah that Abraham reacted to this command with almost immediate compliance. The very next day, early in the morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. With his son Isaac in tow, he departed for the place where God had commanded him to make his offering:
“He said, ‘Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.’ Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey; and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:2-3, WMB).
As you read this account, you have to ask yourself what it was about Abraham which would have had him respond so positively to God’s request. After all, was not Isaac the promised child of his old age (Genesis 17:19)? Was not Isaac the child considered to be a part of the promised seed, through whom all of the nations would be blessed (cf. Genesis 22:17)?
By the time of the binding, often referred to in Jewish circles as the aqedah,[2] Abraham had already been through the great trials of his life. His first son, Ishmael, the premature product of his fleshly relations with the Egyptian handmaiden Hagar,[3] had already been sent away from the family compound. Even though Abraham was somewhat concerned about the harsh treatment of his son, he followed the demand from Sarah to banish Hagar and Ishmael, especially when God reiterated the request with further details:
“The thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight on account of his son. God said to Abraham, ‘Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your servant. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be named through Isaac. I will also make a nation of the son of the servant, because he is your child.’ Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a container of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba” (Genesis 21:11-14, WMB).
A number of years later, when the command would usher forth from the Lord to take his only remaining son, Isaac, and offer him up as a burnt offering (Heb. olah), you can imagine how perplexed Abraham could have been. And yet, Abraham complied without hesitation.
What had happened over the years to make Abraham such a compliant and obedient follower of the Living God? I would suggest that it is only through the blessing of progressive revelation, that we discover some insight into why Abraham was willing to faithfully obey without even questioning the wisdom of the Almighty. The author of Hebrews amplifies our understanding of Abraham’s motives when the request came forth:
“By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his only born son, to whom it was said, ‘Your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac [Genesis 21:12],’ concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead” (Hebrews 11:17-19, WMB).
Here it is asserted that Abraham believed how God was able to raise people from the dead, in order for Him to accomplish His promise to him. We need to remember that, by the time Abraham was asked to offer up Isaac, God had already told him that through him all of the nations of the world would be blessed. Isaac was the son born of promise:
“God said, ‘No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him’” (Genesis 17:19, WMB).
By the time of the request to offer up Isaac, Abraham had seen the Holy One perform His promises without any deviation. Abraham obeyed the command to circumcise himself and his household (Genesis 17). Abraham had been contacted by messengers of God who had forewarned him about the judgment coming to Sodom and Gomorrah. He had debated with them in order to try and save any righteous (Genesis 18:20-33), and had been instrumental in helping his nephew Lot avoid the devastation of fire and brimstone (Genesis 19:1-29).
As the author of Hebrews again clarifies, Abraham had for many years, throughout his tests, been convinced that the Creator in whom he placed his faith could not possibly lie:
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you [Gensis 22:7].’ Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:13-18, WMB).
We are reminded in these verses, from our parashah this week, how God could swear by no greater power than Himself:
“The LORD’s angel called to Abraham a second time out of the sky, and said, ‘“I have sworn by myself,” says the LORD, “because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice”’” (Genesis 22:16-18, WMB).
This should remind us of the event years earlier when God made a unilateral covenant with Abram, before Ishmael was born, and promised Abram the Land of Canaan for his descendants. At that time, all Abram could do was offer up the animals for sacrifice. Because Abram was a mere mortal, God Himself executed the covenant, in the image of a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, by Him alone passing between the animal parts:
“‘In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.’ It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites” (Genesis 15:16-21, WMB).
Apparently, Abram/Abraham had so many personal encounters with the Lord which he had witnessed, he instinctively knew that He was entirely capable of honoring His promises. Abraham was absolutely convinced that the incredible test to offer up Isaac was another opportunity to exercise his faith in the Creator. After all the previous years of testing, Abraham was able to be an example to all people who would come after him, emulating him by his obedient works.
James the Just, attempting to encourage a First Century audience about the relationship between faith and works, used the instance of Abraham’s offering up of Isaac as a prime example of how various works reflect true faith:
“Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness [Genesis 15:6],’ and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:17-23, WMB).
James had already been witnessing how different people in his generation were exercising their purported faith. Apparently, some were claiming a belief in Yeshua without exercising any appropriate works. He reminded them that even the demons believed God is one, so belief in God alone is not sufficient. He said a faith without works was really not evidence of a faith which reckons one righteousness in covenant relationship with God, and ultimately saves one from judgment. As he concluded his exhortation, he made a direct connection between faith and works:
“You see then that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:24-26, WMB).
The ultimate summation is very concise: faith without works is dead. Spiritual giants like Rahab, and the others listed in Hebrews 11, had a faith which brought life. But sadly, many throughout history have declared a faith which has not been attended by appropriate works. Such a “faith” without works is as dead as a body without spirit.
As we reflect on the faithful works of Abraham this week, we might ask ourselves if we indeed have a faith that works. Are we obeying the words of the Lord which we have received by faith? None of us will ever be asked to offer up one of our children as a burnt offering. But on the other hand, have we not each been asked to offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice? The Apostle Paul wrote the Romans,
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2, WMB).
When we read these words, do we understand what Paul was urging his readers? Was he not saying that Messiah followers should offer themselves up on the altar as a living and holy sacrifice which would be acceptable to God? Would not such an offering be our spiritual service of worship, accomplishing God’s Kingdom work here on Earth? This certainly sounds like an opportunity to work as unto the Lord. After all, Paul further stated that Messiah followers should not be allowing themselves to be conformed to this world, but rather, allow their minds to be transformed by the perfect will of God! A mind empowered by God is able to fulfill His Divine tasks.
If you think about it, if we can each be doing this, then our faithful works will be clearly evident—not only in our own hearts, but perhaps also in those with whom we interact and impact every day. Perhaps then, at the end of your life, you also could be considered a friend of God just like Abraham (James 2:23), all because you exercised your faith through works. This is certainly not a bad result of following in the footsteps of Abraham, who definitely had a faith which worked! He did things which are surely worthy of our emulation.
NOTES
[1] Cf. Nosson Scherman, ed., et al., The ArtScroll Chumash, Stone Edition, 5th ed. (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2000), pp 100-101.
[2] Cf. Marcus Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature (New York: Judaica Treasury, 2004), 1105.
[3] Genesis 16.
