COLUMN RIGHT

#1 · October 11, 2004, 9:55 am

Quote from Forum Archives on October 11, 2004, 9:55 am
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

COLUMN RIGHT
October 10, 2004

Text: Genesis 22:1-19

In my college sophomore year, I was invited to apply for a two year Navy
Reserve Officer Training Corps, NROTC, scholarship. I did, and I was
accepted for the program. As a two year scholarship recipient, though, I
was two years behind in the required Naval Science classes that four year
scholarship students had already taken. To make up that difference, two
year program recipients spend a summer at the Naval Science Institute,
NSI, at Newport, Rhode Island. Naval Science Institute. Sounds sort of
impressive. Im spending the summer at the Naval Science Institute.
Yes, we had the Naval Science classes which taught topics like military
bearing and requirements - how to wear the uniform and how to salute and
who to salute. We had some courses on basic shipboard engineering and
handling and weapons systems. We had some courses on what responsibility
as a Naval officer means. But most of what we had was basic training
courtesy of real, live drill instructors known as Marine Corps Gunnery
Sergeants - affectionately known as Gunnies in traditional shorthand.
For the summer we spent in Newport, the Gunnies ruled our lives and
dutifully taught us poor, dumb officer candidates what we really needed
to know about life in the Navy and Marine Corps. Ah, yes, it was quite a
relationship.

During our time there, we officer candidates rotated through the duty of
commanding our respective companies. As company commander, we would
receive the orders from the Gunny or other officers over us and ensure
that our company reported to the proper place at the proper time. Since
we went places as marching units, the company commander was responsible
for giving the marching orders, literally, to the company. All of this
was nerve-wracking to most of us because it was new to us, we were always
on the spot, and we had to keep thinking about the right orders to give
at the right time.

I had my turn as company commander. Everything was going well the first
morning. After reveille, breakfast, and barracks clean up, we were
gathered on the parade ground for morning colors. While waiting for that,
I carefully reviewed the sequence of events I would have to go through to
get my company from the parade ground to the building where our first
training event would take place. I remember it well even today. Left
face! Then, when the unit in front of us began moving, forward, march!
When we got to the road we needed to take, I would issue the order,
column left! I had it all measured it out in my mind, because I had to
give the turning orders on the correct foot so that everything stayed on
cadence. I had to get it correct so that the company was marching on the
road surface, not off in the grass someplace. This was all important
stuff! Didnt want to mess up.

So before everything got started, our Gunny comes up and tells me that
the trainer we are supposed to go to is not working. My new orders are to
return to our barracks. Uh-oh! New plan. Instead of a column left, I will
now need to issue a column right! I readjust my thinking, get my new
timing down, and hope I get things done right. After morning colors are
done, I face my company. Left face! Everyone makes the proper move and
is facing the correct direction. The units in front of us begin moving
out. Forward, march! We take off. So far, so good. Im counting my
steps, I reach the point where I issue my next command, and call out,
Column right, march! In an instant, everything dissolved into chaos as
some members of my front executed a smart column right while other
members executed an equally smart column left. Immediately, no one behind
them knew which way to go or what to do. And just as immediately, our
Gunny was all over us with a few choice opinions about our ability to do
anything correctly, ordered us off to the side out of everyones way, and
let us display our calisthenics skills as the other companies marched by.

I learned afterwards from those on the front row how everything became so
chaotic. Knowing where we were supposed to be going that morning, those
who turned left instead of right figured I had made a nervous mistake and
were trying to help me out by going the right way. What they didnt
know, however, was the change in plans which made my order to turn right
the correct order at the correct time. Instead of trusting my ability to
lead them, some of them second-guessed me, even though they thought they
were doing me a favor, and it messed everything up. We managed to survive
the rest of the morning, but it would have been a lot less stressful had
my instructions been obeyed.

That little episode in my life comes to mind a lot whenever I encounter
portions of the Bible in which the only response to God is one of
absolute obedience in absolute faith. Genesis 22, the account of Abraham
taking Isaac to be sacrificed, is one of those places. The command given
to Abraham is stark and unexplained: 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. As far as
Biblical revelation is concerned, Gods command to Abraham comes out of
nowhere. It is completely unexpected. There is nothing in Scripture prior
to this that would give any hint of Gods command for Abraham to
sacrifice Isaac.

By the same token, Abrahams response is just as stark and unexplained.
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took
with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough
wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him
about. In fact, some aspects of Abrahams life to date indicate that he
would have responded to God with argument or refusal. Even though God had
promised that the lineage of His people would be through Abraham, there
were no children born to Abraham and Sarah for years. Eventually, Abraham
had a son through Hagar, Sarahs servant, but that was not through whom
Gods promise would be fulfilled. Yet, after being told to take Isaac as
an offering, Abraham complied without question or argument.

Verse 1 tells us that Some time later God tested Abraham. Specifically,
God tested Abrahams love for and devotion to God. Contemporary reality
shows on television have nothing on this Biblical drama. It was an
ultimate test, to be sure. Take your promised son, your only child, and
go sacrifice him.

Even though we are told that God is testing Abraham, it is still
puzzling. In eight other Old Testament passages where God is the
tester, Israel is tested six times (Exodus 15:22-26; 16:4; 20:18-20;
Deuteronomy 8:2, 16; Judges 2:21-22; 3:1-4). In 2 Chronicles 32:31, King
Hezekiah was tested and in Psalm 26:2, David appealed to God to test him.
In these testings, the issue is whether the heart of the people is
obedient to God. Walter C. Kaiser writes, Therefore, based on these
eight passages where God is the subject and author of the testing, we may
conclude that God wanted to test Abraham to know his heart and to see if
he would obey and fear the Lord who gave him the son he so dearly loved.
(Walter C. Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Old Testament, Intervarsity Press:
Downers Grove, Illinois, 1988, p. 50)

We can appropriately differentiate between what is meant when God tests
man and when man tests God. In Exodus 17:2, for instance, the Israelites
quarreled with Moses over not having water to drink. Moses replied, Why
do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test? When man
tests God in this manner, it flows from an attitude of doubt and a sinful
heart. That is why Jesus referred to Deuteronomy 6:16 as a response to
one of satans temptations. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at
Massah.

In contrast to mans intent when testing God, Gods intent is altogether
different. There is no connotation of doubt or desire to deceive the
person or nation being tested. Gods purpose for testing is only
concerned with obedience to God. No trickery or evil or temptation. In
testing, God does not incite a person to sinful behavior or evil deed. In
fact, God never tests the heathen, or unbeliever. Gods testing is
reserved only for those who follow Him and is meant to be an avenue of
spiritual growth. (Walter C. Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Old Testament,
Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois, 1988, p. 50) There is no
indication that God issued orders for Abraham to murder his son Isaac.
God had a plan which provided for the appropriate sacrifice.

The key is that Abraham did not know this. All Abraham knew is that he
was to take his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Abraham confessed that
he trusted and feared the Lord. Any of us know that we can say anything
we want; it is in the doing that the proof is made. God demanded proof.
Abraham complied. Concerning the testing of Abraham, Danish
theologian-philosopher Søren Kierkegaard writes, Why then did Abraham do
it? For Gods sake, and (in complete identity with this) for his own
sake. He did it for Gods sake because God required this proof of his
faith; for his own sake he did it in order that he might furnish the
proof. (from A Kierkegaard Anthology, Robert Bretall, ed., Princeton
University Press: Princeton, N.J., 1946, p. 133) The evidence for this is
found in verses 15-18. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from
heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself, declares the Lord,
that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, I will
surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in
the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take
possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all
nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me.

Even though I can come to this understanding through the reading of the
Bible and through Biblical studies, I still cannot comprehend it
completely. It remains out of my complete grasp. To issue such a test
still comes to me as a surprising shock. Therefore, it is places like
this in Scripture in which I tell myself that God has the whole picture;
I do not. Just as the members of my company did not have the new
information that I had which required me to change my orders from column
left to column right, so I do not possess all of the information and
knowledge that God does from which He issues His commands. In fact, in
faith, Christian believers are to accept that God is the only source of
complete knowledge.

Just like the members of my company, I have to make the choice when the
order is issued. Do I follow it, or do I disobey it? Disobedience can
even be two types here. First, I can disobey simply because I am resolved
not to follow God. I can purpose in my heart and mind that I will not do
what God commands me to do. Second, I can disobey because I think I know
better. This is the reason members of my company gave me for disobeying
my order. They thought they knew better than I what the correct command
was supposed to be. They didnt. They couldnt. I was told of the new
situation and there was no opportunity to pass it on to them. Even though
some of them thought they were doing me a favor, they were wrong. My
column right was right.

Regardless of which reason we might have for disobedience, the result is
the same. We fail to follow Gods command. Whether it is a test from God
or a response to a temptation from satan, we have a choice. Whether Gods
command makes sense or not, we have a choice. That choice is, as I have
already said, to obey or disobey.

We need to remember that the Bible teaches that God does not act
capriciously or with malice toward us. He loves us; He sent His only
begotten Son to suffer in our place. Of all the chances we take on this
earth, obeying God is the safest course we can pursue. If the men and
women in my company had obeyed orders that morning, we would have avoided
the wrath of our Gunny. But no matter how bad we thought our Gunny could
be, that is nothing compared to the wrath of God. God doesnt want to be
wrathful toward us; He simply wants to love us. He wants us to be
faithful; He wants us to be obedient. God says, I will surely bless
you. Let God bless you with His salvation mercies and His loving grace.

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

________________________________________________________________
Speed up your surfing with Juno SpeedBand.
Now includes pop-up blocker!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com/surf to sign up today!

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

COLUMN RIGHT
October 10, 2004

Text: Genesis 22:1-19

In my college sophomore year, I was invited to apply for a two year Navy
Reserve Officer Training Corps, NROTC, scholarship. I did, and I was
accepted for the program. As a two year scholarship recipient, though, I
was two years behind in the required Naval Science classes that four year
scholarship students had already taken. To make up that difference, two
year program recipients spend a summer at the Naval Science Institute,
NSI, at Newport, Rhode Island. Naval Science Institute. Sounds sort of
impressive. Im spending the summer at the Naval Science Institute.
Yes, we had the Naval Science classes which taught topics like military
bearing and requirements - how to wear the uniform and how to salute and
who to salute. We had some courses on basic shipboard engineering and
handling and weapons systems. We had some courses on what responsibility
as a Naval officer means. But most of what we had was basic training
courtesy of real, live drill instructors known as Marine Corps Gunnery
Sergeants - affectionately known as Gunnies in traditional shorthand.
For the summer we spent in Newport, the Gunnies ruled our lives and
dutifully taught us poor, dumb officer candidates what we really needed
to know about life in the Navy and Marine Corps. Ah, yes, it was quite a
relationship.

During our time there, we officer candidates rotated through the duty of
commanding our respective companies. As company commander, we would
receive the orders from the Gunny or other officers over us and ensure
that our company reported to the proper place at the proper time. Since
we went places as marching units, the company commander was responsible
for giving the marching orders, literally, to the company. All of this
was nerve-wracking to most of us because it was new to us, we were always
on the spot, and we had to keep thinking about the right orders to give
at the right time.

I had my turn as company commander. Everything was going well the first
morning. After reveille, breakfast, and barracks clean up, we were
gathered on the parade ground for morning colors. While waiting for that,
I carefully reviewed the sequence of events I would have to go through to
get my company from the parade ground to the building where our first
training event would take place. I remember it well even today. Left
face! Then, when the unit in front of us began moving, forward, march!
When we got to the road we needed to take, I would issue the order,
column left! I had it all measured it out in my mind, because I had to
give the turning orders on the correct foot so that everything stayed on
cadence. I had to get it correct so that the company was marching on the
road surface, not off in the grass someplace. This was all important
stuff! Didnt want to mess up.

So before everything got started, our Gunny comes up and tells me that
the trainer we are supposed to go to is not working. My new orders are to
return to our barracks. Uh-oh! New plan. Instead of a column left, I will
now need to issue a column right! I readjust my thinking, get my new
timing down, and hope I get things done right. After morning colors are
done, I face my company. Left face! Everyone makes the proper move and
is facing the correct direction. The units in front of us begin moving
out. Forward, march! We take off. So far, so good. Im counting my
steps, I reach the point where I issue my next command, and call out,
Column right, march! In an instant, everything dissolved into chaos as
some members of my front executed a smart column right while other
members executed an equally smart column left. Immediately, no one behind
them knew which way to go or what to do. And just as immediately, our
Gunny was all over us with a few choice opinions about our ability to do
anything correctly, ordered us off to the side out of everyones way, and
let us display our calisthenics skills as the other companies marched by.

I learned afterwards from those on the front row how everything became so
chaotic. Knowing where we were supposed to be going that morning, those
who turned left instead of right figured I had made a nervous mistake and
were trying to help me out by going the right way. What they didnt
know, however, was the change in plans which made my order to turn right
the correct order at the correct time. Instead of trusting my ability to
lead them, some of them second-guessed me, even though they thought they
were doing me a favor, and it messed everything up. We managed to survive
the rest of the morning, but it would have been a lot less stressful had
my instructions been obeyed.

That little episode in my life comes to mind a lot whenever I encounter
portions of the Bible in which the only response to God is one of
absolute obedience in absolute faith. Genesis 22, the account of Abraham
taking Isaac to be sacrificed, is one of those places. The command given
to Abraham is stark and unexplained: 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. As far as
Biblical revelation is concerned, Gods command to Abraham comes out of
nowhere. It is completely unexpected. There is nothing in Scripture prior
to this that would give any hint of Gods command for Abraham to
sacrifice Isaac.

By the same token, Abrahams response is just as stark and unexplained.
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took
with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough
wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him
about. In fact, some aspects of Abrahams life to date indicate that he
would have responded to God with argument or refusal. Even though God had
promised that the lineage of His people would be through Abraham, there
were no children born to Abraham and Sarah for years. Eventually, Abraham
had a son through Hagar, Sarahs servant, but that was not through whom
Gods promise would be fulfilled. Yet, after being told to take Isaac as
an offering, Abraham complied without question or argument.

Verse 1 tells us that Some time later God tested Abraham. Specifically,
God tested Abrahams love for and devotion to God. Contemporary reality
shows on television have nothing on this Biblical drama. It was an
ultimate test, to be sure. Take your promised son, your only child, and
go sacrifice him.

Even though we are told that God is testing Abraham, it is still
puzzling. In eight other Old Testament passages where God is the
tester, Israel is tested six times (Exodus 15:22-26; 16:4; 20:18-20;
Deuteronomy 8:2, 16; Judges 2:21-22; 3:1-4). In 2 Chronicles 32:31, King
Hezekiah was tested and in Psalm 26:2, David appealed to God to test him.
In these testings, the issue is whether the heart of the people is
obedient to God. Walter C. Kaiser writes, Therefore, based on these
eight passages where God is the subject and author of the testing, we may
conclude that God wanted to test Abraham to know his heart and to see if
he would obey and fear the Lord who gave him the son he so dearly loved.
(Walter C. Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Old Testament, Intervarsity Press:
Downers Grove, Illinois, 1988, p. 50)

We can appropriately differentiate between what is meant when God tests
man and when man tests God. In Exodus 17:2, for instance, the Israelites
quarreled with Moses over not having water to drink. Moses replied, Why
do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test? When man
tests God in this manner, it flows from an attitude of doubt and a sinful
heart. That is why Jesus referred to Deuteronomy 6:16 as a response to
one of satans temptations. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at
Massah.

In contrast to mans intent when testing God, Gods intent is altogether
different. There is no connotation of doubt or desire to deceive the
person or nation being tested. Gods purpose for testing is only
concerned with obedience to God. No trickery or evil or temptation. In
testing, God does not incite a person to sinful behavior or evil deed. In
fact, God never tests the heathen, or unbeliever. Gods testing is
reserved only for those who follow Him and is meant to be an avenue of
spiritual growth. (Walter C. Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Old Testament,
Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois, 1988, p. 50) There is no
indication that God issued orders for Abraham to murder his son Isaac.
God had a plan which provided for the appropriate sacrifice.

The key is that Abraham did not know this. All Abraham knew is that he
was to take his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Abraham confessed that
he trusted and feared the Lord. Any of us know that we can say anything
we want; it is in the doing that the proof is made. God demanded proof.
Abraham complied. Concerning the testing of Abraham, Danish
theologian-philosopher Søren Kierkegaard writes, Why then did Abraham do
it? For Gods sake, and (in complete identity with this) for his own
sake. He did it for Gods sake because God required this proof of his
faith; for his own sake he did it in order that he might furnish the
proof. (from A Kierkegaard Anthology, Robert Bretall, ed., Princeton
University Press: Princeton, N.J., 1946, p. 133) The evidence for this is
found in verses 15-18. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from
heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself, declares the Lord,
that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, I will
surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in
the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take
possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all
nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me.

Even though I can come to this understanding through the reading of the
Bible and through Biblical studies, I still cannot comprehend it
completely. It remains out of my complete grasp. To issue such a test
still comes to me as a surprising shock. Therefore, it is places like
this in Scripture in which I tell myself that God has the whole picture;
I do not. Just as the members of my company did not have the new
information that I had which required me to change my orders from column
left to column right, so I do not possess all of the information and
knowledge that God does from which He issues His commands. In fact, in
faith, Christian believers are to accept that God is the only source of
complete knowledge.

Just like the members of my company, I have to make the choice when the
order is issued. Do I follow it, or do I disobey it? Disobedience can
even be two types here. First, I can disobey simply because I am resolved
not to follow God. I can purpose in my heart and mind that I will not do
what God commands me to do. Second, I can disobey because I think I know
better. This is the reason members of my company gave me for disobeying
my order. They thought they knew better than I what the correct command
was supposed to be. They didnt. They couldnt. I was told of the new
situation and there was no opportunity to pass it on to them. Even though
some of them thought they were doing me a favor, they were wrong. My
column right was right.

Regardless of which reason we might have for disobedience, the result is
the same. We fail to follow Gods command. Whether it is a test from God
or a response to a temptation from satan, we have a choice. Whether Gods
command makes sense or not, we have a choice. That choice is, as I have
already said, to obey or disobey.

We need to remember that the Bible teaches that God does not act
capriciously or with malice toward us. He loves us; He sent His only
begotten Son to suffer in our place. Of all the chances we take on this
earth, obeying God is the safest course we can pursue. If the men and
women in my company had obeyed orders that morning, we would have avoided
the wrath of our Gunny. But no matter how bad we thought our Gunny could
be, that is nothing compared to the wrath of God. God doesnt want to be
wrathful toward us; He simply wants to love us. He wants us to be
faithful; He wants us to be obedient. God says, I will surely bless
you. Let God bless you with His salvation mercies and His loving grace.

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

________________________________________________________________
Speed up your surfing with Juno SpeedBand.
Now includes pop-up blocker!
Only $14.95/ month - visit http://www.juno.com/surf to sign up today!