Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day 13
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
Continuing our journey into weirdness, we have ninety-year-old Sarah becoming pregnant, just as God had promised, and giving birth to one hundred-year-old Abraham’s son. The son was named “Isaac,” which means “laughter,” or “he laughs.” Sarah (who had laughed at the thought of this) now laughed with joy! “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” (Gen. 21: 6) There is a big difference in someone laughing “with” you and someone laughing “at” you.
Skipping ahead a few years… Isaac is a young man – an adolescent. God calls to Abraham one day and tells him to do something weird. “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Gen. 22: 2) Whhaaaatttt?
OK, we don’t read this in the Scriptures, but I can only imagine that Abraham had something like this going on in his head: “God! Are you crazy or something? You started all of this by promising me that I would become a great nation, and Isaac was the son that you promised. And I had to wait until I was 100 years old before Isaac was born! And now, you are asking me to sacrifice him as a burnt offering? I can’t see how this is going to work out!” Like I said, I’m only imagining that Abraham had this going on in his head.
What actually happened was that Abraham got up early the next morning, and took two of his servants and his son Isaac, and set out for Moriah. When they got there, Abraham told 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: 5) The “we” in v. 5 is very important. It gives us a glimpse of Abraham’s faith. “We will come back to you.”
“Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Isaac asks along the way. This tugs at my heart, being a father myself. Abraham answers the only way he knows how to answer. “God himself will provide the lamb.” Those words are heavy with faith, and heavy with foreshadowing of what would happen on another mountain…Calvary.
The truth is, Abraham didn’t know HOW, but he believed THAT God would provide. He didn’t see the ram caught in the thicket until after he was willing to offer his only son. Faith, according to Hebrews 11: 1, is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Reflection: Recall a time when you had to trust God to provide.
Action: Take a leap of faith!
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
- Merriam Webster
Continuing our journey into weirdness, we have ninety-year-old Sarah becoming pregnant, just as God had promised, and giving birth to one hundred-year-old Abraham’s son. The son was named “Isaac,” which means “laughter,” or “he laughs.” Sarah (who had laughed at the thought of this) now laughed with joy! “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” (Gen. 21: 6) There is a big difference in someone laughing “with” you and someone laughing “at” you.
Skipping ahead a few years… Isaac is a young man – an adolescent. God calls to Abraham one day and tells him to do something weird. “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Gen. 22: 2) Whhaaaatttt?
OK, we don’t read this in the Scriptures, but I can only imagine that Abraham had something like this going on in his head: “God! Are you crazy or something? You started all of this by promising me that I would become a great nation, and Isaac was the son that you promised. And I had to wait until I was 100 years old before Isaac was born! And now, you are asking me to sacrifice him as a burnt offering? I can’t see how this is going to work out!” Like I said, I’m only imagining that Abraham had this going on in his head.
What actually happened was that Abraham got up early the next morning, and took two of his servants and his son Isaac, and set out for Moriah. When they got there, Abraham told 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: 5) The “we” in v. 5 is very important. It gives us a glimpse of Abraham’s faith. “We will come back to you.”
“Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Isaac asks along the way. This tugs at my heart, being a father myself. Abraham answers the only way he knows how to answer. “God himself will provide the lamb.” Those words are heavy with faith, and heavy with foreshadowing of what would happen on another mountain…Calvary.
The truth is, Abraham didn’t know HOW, but he believed THAT God would provide. He didn’t see the ram caught in the thicket until after he was willing to offer his only son. Faith, according to Hebrews 11: 1, is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Reflection: Recall a time when you had to trust God to provide.
Action: Take a leap of faith!
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Lenten DevotionalsWeird is the New Normal: Day OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisDay 5: Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in GenesisWeird is the New Normal: Day SixWeird is the New Normal: Day SevenWeird is the New Normal: Day EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis Day NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis: Day TenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day ElevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day Twelve
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Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day 13Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day FourteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis-Day FifteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day 16Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day SeventeenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis, Day EighteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day NineteenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day TwentyWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-TwoWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-TwoWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis-Twenty-FourWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-FiveWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-SixWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Twenty-SevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Twenty-EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Twenty-NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day ThirtyWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-OneWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty TwoWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty-ThreeWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty-FourWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-FiveWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-SixWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-SevenWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty EightWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis- Day Thirty-NineWeird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Forty
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