CHOW Outline for 7/09/08

(note: this is the one I was really looking forward to teaching. I took a bare bones approach to the outline because I like the way the message tells the story and needed room on the page. I like to throw a little Hebrew at them early on to establish my credibility. As such I'm going to ask several questions and throw in some background that I didn't bother to print on the handout. I thought i'd throw the Hitchens quote at them in order to rile up the room a bit. I'm also going to spend some time going into how this story is viewed differently in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. I was able to pull a lot of good quotes from all three from the book: Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, by Bruce Feiler.)
The Akedah

Genesis 22:1-19 (MSG)
1 After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, "Abraham!""Yes?" answered Abraham. "I'm listening." 2 He said, "Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I'll point out to you." 3-5 Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants and his son Isaac. He had split wood for the burnt offering. He set out for the place God had directed him. On the third day he looked up and saw the place in the distance. Abraham told his two young servants, "Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there to worship; then we'll come back to you." 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. He carried the flint and the knife. The two of them went off together. 7 Isaac said to Abraham his father, "Father?" "Yes, my son." "We have flint and wood, but where's the sheep for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham said, "Son, God will see to it that there's a sheep for the burnt offering." And they kept on walking together.
9-10 They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son.
11 Just then an angel of God called to him out of Heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes, I'm listening." 12 "Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me." 13 Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham named that place God-Yireh (God-Sees-to-It). That's where we get the saying, "On the mountain of God, he sees to it." 15-18 The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: "I swear—God's sure word!— because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, I'll bless you—oh, how I'll bless you! And I'll make sure that your children flourish—like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me." 19 Then Abraham went back to his young servants. They got things together and returned to Beersheba. Abraham settled down in Beersheba.

· What is your first response to reading this story?
· Consider the following quotes:
· “"It is the strongest illustration of faith, undoubtedly, which has ever been evinced in our world."-Albert Barnes
· “… celebrating a father who puts a knife to his son’s throat because that’s how much he loves the dictator. I find that wicked.” -Christopher Hitchens
· I think all of us in this room would agree with the first quote, but on first reading the story, does Hitchens have a point or has he missed the point of the story?
· All three monotheistic religions share this story, but with different emphasis.

Read Hebrews 11: 17-22 (NIV)
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned”. 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. 20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
· Does this passage change your initial view of Abraham’s ordeal?
· How about Isaac’s?
Read Romans 4:13-25
· If you had to sum up the meaning of this story in one sentence what would it be?

I forgot to include a question about similarities between Isaac and Jesus, but will hit that point when I actually do the lesson.