The Akedah

It is Tradition, that the Story of Yitzchak (Isaac) is read during the 2 Days of Yom Teruah, which we are Celebrating Today and tomorrow. There are varying reasons why it is now observed over two days, rather than one day, as described within the Torah. The one common theme that I found was that, regardless of the reason, the two day observance began during or around the Babylonian Exile.

Therefore, like other 2 Day Observances within Judaism, this is due to alignment with Israel. Therefore, at the time that the New Moon is declared within Israel, this could be the middle of the afternoon, in other parts of the World. This is to allow all Jews around the World to remain in some type of unity, regardless of the Time Zone.

On the first day we read from Genesis 21, of Yitzchak's Birth, and on the second day, we read "The Akedah." The Akedah, or "The Binding of Yitzchak," which is found in Genesis 22, tells the story of God's call to Abraham to Sacrifice Yitzchak.

Although Traditionally, the Akedah is for tomorrow's reading, because we have gathered for Yom Teruah today, I will be sharing my thoughts on the Akedah during this Service.

Let's begin by reading of Genesis 22:

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him: 'Abraham'; and he said: 'Here am I.'
2 And He said: 'Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.'
3 And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men: 'Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come back to you.'
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said: 'My father.' And he said: 'Here am I, my son.' And he said: 'Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?'
8 And Abraham said: 'God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.' So they went both of them together. (Mark this verse - I'll refer back to it later)
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said: 'Abraham, Abraham.' And he said: 'Here am I.'
12 And he said: 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a God-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.'
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: 'In the mount where the LORD is seen.' (Could this be Jireh-Salem - Jerusalem? God Sees or Provides Peace?)
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven,
16 and said: 'By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, (Notice the language used here - ONLY SON)
17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice.'
19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. {P}

What is the significance of this story?

The Secular and the Religious World alike, refer to this Story as the foundation for the 3 Great Religions of the World Today. Religion? What does Religion have to do with this? I refer to this moment, in the Biblical time-line, as the antithesis of Religion.

Here is a man, who had no religion. He had no foundation, on which to determine whether or not, what he was hearing from the LORD was, in fact, of the LORD. By Faith, and Faith alone, he listened to the Voice of God, and he did obey. Again I ask, What does Religion have to do with this?

Religion is nothing more than a systematic approach to acknowledging God's Existence. It is simply man's attempt to provide a "Guide Book," if you will, on what God wants and how to please Him.

This story is not about Religion at all. The Akedah is simply laying down another layer to our Foundation of Faith.

Religion does not please God, only Faith does. Once again, let's read in Hebrews 11, What Faith is:

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: "He could not be found, because God had taken him away."[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,
18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."[c]
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Messiah as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[d]
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,
40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Religion attempts to mimic a form of Righteousness. It depicts itself as, that by doing the right thing, we behave Righteously, and therefore this is attributed to us as Righteousness.

Religions equate our Acts or Attempts at Righteousness, as Righteousness, when all along, our Righteousness is simply based on the fact that God will provide Himself the Righteousness for us. It is by accepting His Righteousness, by Faith, do we receive His Righteousness. This is not simply a "Christian," or "New Testament" notion. It was right there from the Beginning.

8 And Abraham said: 'God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.' So they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:8)

It is not Acts of Righteousness that Pleases God, as we learn in Isaiah 64, which compares our acts of Righteousness to Filthy Rags. In fact, Righteousness was the Gift of God due to Faith. Faith is simply Trusting that God was going to do, all that He says that He will do. All else is Patriotism, Self-Righteousness, Vanity, and Vexation of Spirit.

This is not to say that we have licence to Sin, and that we have no need of doing that which is Right. This is simply placing the equation into proper order, so that we understand better the actual value of our Works of Righteousness, and WHERE actual Righteousness comes from.

Placing the futility of Religion aside, let's look back to the Akedah, The Binding of Yitzchak, and see the story for what it truly is, "The Stumbling Block."

As you have heard me speak before about the Scriptures, and the Midrash, I use the word "Anomaly," a lot. I say, "When reading the Scriptures, look for the anomalies." What I am referring to is those statements or concepts of paradox, things that just don't seem to sit right, or fit right, on first reading.
I want you to understand that it is not Sin to question the Word of God. In fact, He has placed these "Anomalies" or "Stumbling Blocks," along the way to keep us attentive. In other words, He has placed them there for a reason.

Our job, in this Relationship with HaShem, is to search them out, and discover that which He has prepared for us, but not for them, as referred to in Matthew 13. Them, in this case, are those who want to adhere to Religion, but lack in developing a personal relationship with the Living God, YHVH.

Now, why do I refer to The Akedah as "A stumbling block?"

There are 2 reasons.

1) The Story runs contrary to our understanding of God and His Ways. Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice his own son? Had He ever asked anyone, within the context of Torah, to do this before this event, or ever again? In fact, the Torah teaches us against such things. Why would God tell us that this is wrong, in general, and yet ask Abraham to do this?

2) 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Messiah's Sacrifice: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Messiah the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

The very idea of a Messiah is Foolishness to "The Greek," (The Philosopher), because the Philosopher has not particularly embraced the Torah as Truth, and in as much, has not come to terms with the cause and effects of Sin, and therefore, the need for redemption seems futile and foolish from that understanding. If there is no Sin, and no Punishment, because the Truth is Subjective, and Relative, then why would I need to be redeemed? -- Foolishness!

To the Jew, it is a Stumbling Block, because although we trust in the promise of Messiah, if we do not understand the true purpose of Messiah, then all we trust in, is the promise itself, and not the purpose.
In Modern Judaism, it is taught that Messiah will be a Great Political Leader who will bring Peace on Earth. It is also taught that in the Messianic Age, everyone will know Who the LORD is. The very idea that Messiah will come covertly, as a suffering servant, and die for the sins of the World, is not even contemplated within "Jewish Thought." This is not the purpose of Messiah. It is taught that the Scriptures do not teach this Prophetic Theology.

However, for some reason, "Christians," and Messianic Jews alike, can find endless references within the Scriptures that proclaims this very thing. The response from Judaism is that you can read whatever you want into the Scripture, but this doesn't change the fact that this was not what the Scriptures meant.
This principle of, error in perception, is solidified in the theme that the Scriptures were given to the Jews, and therefore our Rabbis have the ultimate authority on what they really mean. Somehow, our collective intellect has surpassed that of the very authority of Scripture itself. Other than simply lacking in humility to the Divine inspiration of God's Word, I find this premise erroneous within the context of the very Scriptures.

Isaiah 55:8-9

8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

One of the Great Rabbis of Renown stated:

"If there are 1000 prophets, all of them of the stature of Elijah and Elisha, giving a certain interpretation, and 1001 Rabbis giving the opposite interpretation, you shall ‘incline after the majority’ and the law is according to the 1001 Rabbis, not according to the 1000 venerable prophets... God did not permit us to learn from the prophets, only from the Rabbis who are men of logic and reason." - Moses ben-Maimon (Rambam)

This is the opinion of Religion.

Members of our Community tend to be "Opinionated." We even joke about this by making the statement, "Where there are 2 Jews there are 3 opinions." I heard this statement made at The Messiah Conference, and someone in the crowd shouted out, "There are 5 opinions!" YOU SEE!

I become frustrated with the arrogance of Religion and Man's thoughts. Here's my point. If "a few Jews" (The Majority) cannot wrap their minds around Yeshua being "Messiah Ben Yosef," - "The Suffering Servant," then how does it make the opinion by Jews, that HE IS, "Not within Jewish Thought?" Isn't this at the very least, "Just another opinion" as a Jew?

Simple Logic is on my side within this form of "Reason," therefore the debate falls back into tossing things into the Category of Religion. "The Jewish Religion does not accept this premise." Meaning, if I embrace this vein of thought, I somehow lose my "Jewishness" and therefore must be deemed a "Christian." What are we 6? Is this a playground? When I was a Child, I thought as a Child. I reasoned as a Child. (1 Corinthians 13:11) - Childlike Foolishness. THIS is Rabbinical Wisdom? Bevakasha! (Please)

All the while, if one who is a Jew by Birth, proclaims to be an atheist, and has no regard for Torah, this one is still within the mindset of Jewish Thought. At one time, I became angry at this ridiculous process of so-called logic, but now, what's the point?

This is not Wisdom, nor logic. I call it grasping, at best. I equate this Wisdom to the argument of the Jewish People's interest in the Land of Israel. There is unquestionable evidence of endless Historical Documentation, yet for some reason, the Arab World, and the World in general, find a way to argue against Israel's claims. I roll my eyes, and say, "Well everyone has an opinion, amongst other things."

Here are the Principles that I live by, which I believe are Abrahamic in nature:

1) Have Faith in the God of Abraham and Trust in His Promises
2) Develop a Relationship with HaShem, just as Abraham did.
3) Rely on the Scripture for your Foundation
4) God's Word is our Authority and He has the Final say in our Halacha
5) Regardless of our Logic, God's provision of Righteousness, is the only Righteousness. (Righteousness of Messiah)

Although Abraham did not have the Scriptures, as we do today, we must use it appropriately. The Torah is one of the Blessings that God Promised to Abraham, and therefore we should embrace it with open arms, and give to it, its due honour.

In fact, the two topics for today, Yom Teruah and The Akedah, are celebrations given to us through Torah, and in both cases, they are ambiguous in nature -- Stumbling Blocks.

First of all, although we generally refer to this Holiday as Rosh Hashana, the New Year, this is a Babylonian Concept. This day is actually Yom Teruah, as originally prescribed in The Torah. However, the Rabbis say that it is ambiguous, because they are not sure of its Spiritual purpose. The Torah is not specific on this issue, not like the other Days of the Moedim. We know it to be called The Feast of Trumpets, or "Blasts," or "Screams," ("Shouts"), but there are no depictions within Torah of its actual or practical purpose. Perhaps, for this reason, the Rabbis had little trouble in associating this "Appointed Day" with another name, and connecting it with a pagan practise.

Perhaps, for this same reason, the Akedah is an ambiguous idea to Jewish Thought. Why would God ask Abraham to go to a place, that He would show him, and ask him to Sacrifice Isaac, his only son. Never before in Scripture was something like this asked, and never was it asked again, and in fact, the very idea is against the Foundational Principles of The Torah. If ever there was a Stumbling Block, this is it!
So why the ambiguity? Why a Stumbling Block? The Talmudim asked Him, "Why not speak plainly?" (Matthew 13) Messiah taught us that we are to Hunger and Thirst after His Righteousness. We are to seek, and if we do, we will find it. This is His Promise, and we can put our Faith in it.

A few weeks ago in our Torah Club, we were perplexed by a verse in D'varim 28:

63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest in to possess it. (Deuteronomy 28:63)

It was the second part of the verse that we stumbled over. "so the LORD will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you;" We stumbled, because these words were out of character of how we understood the LORD. Why would the LORD "Rejoice," over our destruction?

This was a Stumbling Block. We were forced to acknowledge it. We needed to Midrash. After our investigation, we concluded that it was our understanding of the word "Rejoice," that perhaps did not capture the original intent. Another translation used the word "Pleased." Now, within this context, it came down to a matter of "The LORD's Will be done." Meaning that if God proclaims a warning of Judgement, and we continue in the way that we are going, then we WILL be judged, and therefore, God's Truth will be carried out. This was His Warning. This was His Will. The LORD's Will be done.

Therefore it "Pleased" Him. This did not bring Him "Pleasure," as it implies within the context of its meaning within our language, but ultimately it "Pleased" Him, Where ("Pleased" - Meaning: "If you Will"). His Will was done.

The point being, is that this demonstrated how a Stumbling Block was meant to work. It provoked us, because as it stood, this did not fit within our understanding of God's Character. The fact that we noticed this, and took it to the LORD, demonstrated the importance of the Stumbling Blocks. It goes to show the importance of knowing the Heart of the LORD. If we did not know the Heart of the LORD, we would have simply interpreted that God drew pleasure from destroying His People, and lived within this premise, without investigation. We knew better, and therefore, it forced us to examine it closer, forcing us to draw closer to God's Word, and deeper within His Heart.

There are so many questions that arise as we look to the character of the LORD.

Does God ever say things that He doesn't really mean?

Well, He asked Abraham to Sacrifice his son, and then stopped him before he did it. Why ask in the first place? What was the LORD trying to reveal to us about Himself, within this Story?

We could simply go down the same road as every other Theologian studying this story, by looking at the story, in and of itself, without considering the thoughts and intents of the Author, or we could ask the Author, what He wanted us to understand from it.

The simple answer is that God was testing Abraham's Faith, but ultimately would not allow him to break a foundational premise of Torah. I speak of the foundational premise of Torah, because to Abraham, the Covenant of Torah was not yet given, and therefore could not be considered a breach of Covenant.

However, I'm referring to the everlasting foundational aspect of the Torah. If it would be wrong to do this today, then would it not have been wrong to do it before the Giving of the Torah, by the same Universal Principle? Of course.

Was this just a test of Abraham's Faith? Therefore, because of Abraham's behaviour, the Earth would be blessed? What about God's intent? Perhaps God was using Abraham to teach us a lesson, all of us, about Faith in general.

Could there be more to the story, if we dig deeper? Perhaps more questions?

Is it simply a part of God's nature to ask us to do things, with the intent to simply test us, and we never really have to go through with it?

Does God utter Warnings that He has no intention of carrying out, if we continue doing what He has warned us to stop?

We can only process what are minds are able to understand (At The Time).

Can we understand that which we do not understand? Of course not, but then what due diligence (investigation) is required on our part, to receive understanding?

Can we just claim ignorance to God's Will? Should we not seek for it? Should we not Hunger and Thirst for it, or should we just assume that we have it right without question? Can we just fall back on the premise of Grace? Unfortunately, a lot of us do, including myself.

But - We must keep something in mind:

"Grace was designed for our limitations, not our apathy."

As we mature, we see things differently. This is a part of Study. When we first heard this Story as a Child, or at least as Children in the LORD, we perceived it differently than we did the next time, and each time thereafter. We see it differently again, and again.

As we study, we look at the subject from various angles, trying to see something that we didn't see before. This is the very concept of "Study."

We may establish theories or doctrines about the subject, and allow these foundational premises to dictate what we understand next. Foundations built upon foundations.

The question is, what if we have misunderstood a foundational premise, right from the beginning, and all that we have learned is based upon one error? Then therefore, all that we build upon this foundation, is in error as well. Terrifying isn't it? Rav Sha'ul (Paul) refers to this in Philippians 3, where he equates his "foundations" as dung.

Oh, but we have Faith, and Faith overcomes our errors. Does it?

Can we go on living our lives in ignorance, with the justification that we cannot possibly know all the Truth that the Universe has to offer? Therefore, what's the point? Do we stop, and hold onto the pillars of our Faith, and declare, "The LORD has mercy?" Then, when our foundations are challenged, do we close our eyes, and cover our ears, declaring, "You are trying to shake my Faith!" Like so many Monkey figurines. "See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil."

Is this the example of a Teachable Heart? God has given us a mind, to consider. Yeshua taught us, "It is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of Him." (Matthew 15:11) This is to say, "It is not what we consider that defiles us, but what we do with that knowledge."

Do we simply receive it, and call it doctrine, or do we complete our due diligence and use the Word of God (The Heart of God) to judge the value of what we are receiving.

How do we know? We are just Children in the LORD? I asked this question too, as a younger man, brunting the tempest that some would call "The Winds of Doctrine." What did I stand on? How did I survive the storm, and not fall into false doctrine?

Faith! Faith is not Patriotism to a Doctrine. Faith is not Holding to your beliefs without sway. Faith is believing that God, is in control. Faith is submitting our destiny into His hands and Trusting that He will guide us, no matter what. He will teach us His Ways, and we will grow in Him. This means that being Patriotic to a Doctrine is very dangerous, as this limits our growth, and does not give room for the LORD to Teach us. It is not the Doctrine, but the Truth, that we should have Faith in. His Truth.

The Scriptures teach us that, "Your Rod and Your Staff, they Comfort me." (Psalm 23) It's kind of an ironic statement, don't you think? "Your Rod, and Your Staff." The very things used to strike us with, is that which comforts us? It is a comfort to us, because it is used to steer us away from false doctrine.

Sheep do not have wheels. They do not ride on tracks like a train, nor do they travel on the road like a car, living by the rules of the Highway. Sheep wonder about the Sheppard to and fro, looking for nice, sweet and tasty grass to eat. They thirst for fresh, cool water, and they wonder about hunting for such things, while the Sheppard keeps watch over them.

The Sheppard walks ahead leading his flock. As the Sheep learn to trust him, and know that when they do, they will always find the good grass and the good water, and as a result, they will always follow him. As the Sheep mature, they tend not to wonder off too far and too fro.

If the Sheppard is going to lead you to the green pastures and the still waters, then why would you spend so much time wondering around on your own getting lost? You would learn to stick close to the Sheppard. Trust Him. If your heart is truly seeking the LORD, and not the things of this world, then He will not fail you. He will guide you away from foolish doctrine, and teach you His Ways. This is the Promise to Abraham, and his descendants, both physical and spiritual.

As we learn to Trust in the LORD, we rest upon that Trust. We know that He will lead us on a good path, and so we choose to follow Him. This comes with maturity. Before we reach this maturity, we are affected by the Winds of Doctrine, as we wonder to and fro. However, as we mature, we become less fearful, less anxious, and become more trusting that He has it all under control.

Read Mark 4:35-41

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38 Yeshua was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

We must keep in mind that the Lessons of Faith increase, as it is with any Study that we pursue.
Therefore, as the Talmudim learned from the lesson of the calming of the storm, they moved onto greater tests that they would face, with each, becoming stronger in Faith, and having greater Trust in Adonai - Growing in Maturity.

As our Faith is tested, we learn greater levels of Sacrifice, up to and including that of our own lives. To allow yourself to be killed, for your beliefs is Heroic, but is it Faith? There have been many men and women of History, who have given their lives for what they believed in, but was this Faith? Giving up your life, though an incredible challenge, by God's Standard, it is not the Greatest Act of Faith, as we learn from The Akedah.

Although He teaches us that there is no greater LOVE than to lie down your life for your brother, He also teaches us that if we give ourselves to be burned, but have not LOVE, then it is worthless. (I Corinthians 13)

The Sacrifice of LOVE, is greater than the Sacrifice of Life. If we give of our lives, we move onto what is next. It is those who are left behind, that live on with whatever results come of that event.
Therefore, giving your life for your brother, in LOVE, is the Greatest Act of LOVE, but Giving up that which you LOVE, is the Greatest Sacrifice of all. This is where True Faith comes into play.

This is the Mystery behind the Akedah. Why would God ask Abraham to Sacrifice His Son, the only Son of Promise? The Son that he thought that he would never see, let alone hold, let alone witness to grow into a man, the son that was to carry on and fulfil God's Promise to him, to be his heir to the Promise?
This Story has perplexed our minds since it was first told.

I say, for us to understand this story, we must know and understand the Heart of God. If it is just a story - "A Hero of Faith," we have lost the whole point, and it is just a story like any other story of Antiquity and Myth. There is so much more here to build that Foundation of Faith, and to understanding the Heart of God.

I never knew fear until my first child was born. When I was first asked, "So how does it feel to be a Dad?" - My first response was, "Fear." Fear, like I had never felt it before. I had never loved like this before, nor was I responsible for a Life, other than my own.

I was raised as a Believer, with a Father, who spoke of Death as Victory, because we finally get to be with the LORD. I understood my life as a time, an opportunity, given to us to do whatever He has planned for us to do, and when we have completed our duties here on Earth, it was time to return to the LORD. It's one thing to accept this for yourself, but to accept this concept as a Father, this would become the Greatest test of my own Faith. I believe by Biblical Principle, this is the Greatest Test of Faith.

I believe that, because of this, this is why Paul advised for believers not to marry during the days of persecution. It would be one thing to give up your life for the LORD, but it is a completely different dynamic when it is your Wife, and especially your Child at stake.

The question that has perplexed the minds of readers of the Bible for thousands of years, is did God ask Abraham to do something that He never meant for Abraham to fulfil, and was the call to stop it, a reaction to his commitment to it, or was it planned all along, and Abraham knew this, by Faith, within his heart?

This Paradox, creates a circular conundrum that is not easily concluded without context. If we look at the context within the story itself, there is no rhyme nor reason. Why? We can gather the fact that what the story says, in and of itself, that this was a test of Faith, and since Abraham was willing to go through with it, it was counted to him as Righteousness. Simple!

The Paradox is that this places "Obedience to God," even when the command is outside what we would conceive to be God's Will. Confused? Good. This is supposed to be confusing. This is the Stumbling Block!

I'm talking about the contradiction within God's Command. In any other context of Torah, this would be viewed as Wrong, but within the context of the Akedah, this is permissible. Why? Is God above His own Word? This would be a contradiction. Then there must be more to the story than what we are seeing, while only looking at the Story itself.

The reality is that Abraham, knowing that God would not ask him to do something outside of His own Will, proceeded to the test, trusting that, even if God allowed him to follow through, that The LORD would raise Yitzchak back from the dead. This is considered Faith.

Therefore, instead of keeping within the context of this story alone, we must look at the Word of God, as a whole, and look into the heart of God. How often does God ask us to do something outside the jurisdiction of "The Norm," of His Will, something like the Akedah, which contradicts our very understanding of who God is, and what his Torah teaches us?

There are so many ways to look at this story, and reconcile this anomaly. Here's another approach. How often does God challenge us on things, that He has placed in front of us, to consider. Is He testing us to see if we will apply our knowledge of Him. Will we do, as He commands, because He has commanded it, or is He allowing us to take the matter back to Him, and question the premise?

Isn't this the very thing that Abraham did regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? Abraham questioned God's intent, by bargaining with the LORD over sparing the Righteous.

Again, when Moses was advised by God that He was going to wipe out Israel, and raise up a Nation unto Moses' seed, did God really want this, or was He testing Moses to do his job, and step up and be the Leader, which he was called to be? Moses was supposed to step up, and stand in the Gap, as a Leader of Israel was supposed to do. Moses did, and passed the test. The paradox question is, what if Moses did not? Would God have fulfilled His promise to Moses, and do just what He declared? Perhaps, but the Truth was that God wanted Moses to pass, and he did.

Perhaps this is why the LORD taught us to pray, as in the Avinu, "Do not test us, beyond what we are able."

This Leads me into my final point, that I want to leave with you today.

What is the point of Prayer?

As a "Thinker," there are somethings that I do without question, because I was taught to do this. However, in all things, there is a time where my mind reaches that point, and I ask, "Why am I doing this," or at least, "Why am I doing it this way?"

One of my Life-long meditations, stumbling blocks, has been on the Point of Prayer. If God, being God, knows all things, and that "His Will Be Done," then why would my conscious request or acknowledgement have any baring on the happenings of the Universe?

I guess the question comes down to, "Who is in control?" "Who is the Potter, and who is the Clay?" If He is the Master Builder, and we are the Material, how quickly we forget our place in this Relationship.
God is building our Faith. Our lives are the material that He is working with. Therefore, when He asks us to Pray, and to act and make important decisions, based upon our knowledge of Him, perhaps He is testing us to see, if we like a pot, are able to hold the water. Therefore, as we pray, and He is able to demonstrate to us, the Power of this relationship, it increases the strength of our Faith, as in the strength of the pot, which is able to fulfil its ultimate purpose.

Therefore, as we grow closer to the Heart of God and become more intimate with Him, I encourage you to look deeper into God's intent within His Word. Let us have the Faith of Abraham, which was based upon relationship with the LORD, rather than the cracked and decaying foundations of Religion.

Chavrim, the mystery of the Akedah and the entire foundation of our Faith is based upon God doing it for us. We just need to trust Him, because He first loved us.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:16-21)

Abraham did not have to Give His Only Son, because God was going to do exactly that. The Akedah was the Sign that we were looking for. Yeshua is the answer to our Mystery.

May the LORD bless you. L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu.

May Your Name be Scribed into the Lamb's Book of Life.

Blessings in Messiah.