The Law: Servant of Joy
Read Genesis 22:1-12
I introduced our Advent devotions series yesterday by reminding us of the fact that all of scripture points us to Jesus. One of the primary ways the Old Testament does this is through the patriarchs (i.e. Abraham, Moses, Isaac, etc.). So let's begin our series with an easy one.
When the angels visited the shepherds at night in Luke 2, they exhorted them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (v. 10). In this narrative we have a foretaste of the joy with which Christ has redeemed us. The infinite sacrifices made with joy by the Father and Son ultimately remove all excuses of our joylessness. This story, written to prepare the Old Testament people of God for the kind of Messiah they were to look for, shows us why. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament confirm that Jesus was delighted to come to earth and do his Father’s will (Ps. 40:6, 7; He. 10:7).
Christ was joyful because his Father was joyful. For anyone who knows well the vicissitudes of Abraham’s obedience so far, the first striking characteristic of this story is his immediate obedience. Even though this was the most difficult command he had received—indeed the most difficult anyone could receive—Moses says that Abraham responded without a word of protest “early the next morning.” In Moses’ narratives, “early the next morning” denotes urgency (cf. 19:27; 20:8; 21:14; also 28:18; 32:1; Ex. 24:4). This is the same kind of prompt obedience observed when God gives Abraham instructions regarding Ishmael (21:14).[1] Apparently Isaac learned the same kind of obedience from his father. Having watched his father do servants’ work like saddling the donkey and splitting the wood, Isaac takes the wood on his shoulders and agrees to go worship with his dad without complaint.
Isaac’s joyful obedience to Abraham is meant to prepare us for the Son who would joyfully obey his Father’s command to rescue a people from eternal destruction.
Abraham answered the test obediently and his son followed joyfully in imitation of his father’s example. Quoting Ps. 40:6 and 7, Hebrews 10:7 records an expression made by Christ as he was coming into the world. Apparently throughout redemptive history, the Son expressed to his Father his joy in anticipating the sacrificial work he would come to do on our behalf in order to make us children of God. By the Spirit’s inspiration, the psalmist recorded that expression in Psalm 40 where Christ said it was his “desire” or “delight” to do his Father’s will.” In his role as Son he was reflecting what he had observed in his Father—joy in the anticipation of our rescue. Do you believe that God the Father is joyful? You must be convinced of it especially at Christmas. The angels who announced “good news of great joy” were only relaying what they had seen and heard from the Father in heaven.
When relating what kind of message he came to bring, Paul records that the good news of Christ’s death is the “gospel of a happy God” (1 Ti. 1:11). God did not begrudgingly save us; Isaiah makes a startling statement about his disposition: “It was his pleasure to bruise his Son for us” (53:10). So when the Son came with joy to redeem us from our bondage to hell, he was only reflecting the Father’s joy to save us.
Isaac’s joyful obedience to Abraham is meant to prepare us for the Son who would joyfully obey his Father’s command to rescue a people from eternal destruction. Isaac’s obedience involved no sacrifice other than walking a long way with a load of wood, but Jesus’ obedience required an ultimate cost—temporary separation from his Father’s pleasure while he endured hell’s torments. His sacrificial obedience to the Father can only be explained by unspeakable love for his Father and for us. Therefore, whatever obedience he calls for from us by comparison is no sacrifice. It may involve a long journey with a heavy load, but it is of no comparison to the infinite distance the Savior traveled from heaven to hell for us. And the burden in no way compares to that of all our sin, which he took to the grave. Is it any real sacrifice to give up a practice that he forbids because it is not good for us? Is it any real trouble to serve an enemy given that he loved us while we were still his? Is it any real cost to curb our material appetites to make it possible for more to know the good news of a happy God like we do? Is it really impossible to hold on to hope for a change that will not come until death given that eternal pleasures will follow? Let your obedience flow from a heart of gratitude which reflects on the joy with which God the Father and the Son saved you.
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NOTES:
[1] Mathews, K. A. (2007). Vol. 1B: Genesis 11:27-50:26 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (291). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.