5.) December 3, 2020 Isaac Gen 22: 2-8
Then God said: Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you. Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac, and after cutting the wood for the burnt offering, set out for the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place from a distance. Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.”
So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Here I am,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together.
(Isaac is a forerunner of Jesus—an only son carrying wood to be put to death)
I was carrying a heavy burden: sticks of wood for the sacrifice. I struggled trying to keep up with the lighted torch held high by my father. Yet I wanted to carry it. My father had asked me to do it. I loved and trusted my father. Who asked us to carry our sticks? What sacrifice requires these sticks? Is our burden a labor of love or just a labor? Are our burdens necessary, or have we forgotten why we even took them on in the first place?
Thought: Can I let go of unnecessary burdens and trust that all will turn out right in the end?