15. A SHOW OF OBEDIENCE |
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How can you know if love is real? In a world where one out of two marriages ends in divorce, how can you know how strongly someone else trusts you? There is an old proverb that says, “The fierce fire reveals the true gold.” So many times in life it is only in situations of crisis that one can learn the strength of love. The love that endures through a moment of testing shines like true gold. Now read today’s powerful lesson entitled: The Test.
Yahya Kara stood up from the bench, straightened his army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through the Istanbul train station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he had never seen. The girl holding the rose.
His interest in her had begun over a year before in Marmara University library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and an insightful mind. As was the case before the computer age, in the front of the book, he discovered the previous users name, Ayşe Ender.
With time and effort Yahya located her address. She lived on the Asian side of Istanbul in Kadiköy. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and invited her to correspond. The next day he began his military service and was shipped to the east to fight against the PKK.
During the eighteen months of their correspondence the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Yahya requested a photograph but Miss Ender refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. So the letters continued to be sent.
When the day finally came for him to return from the east, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 p.m. at the Istanbul train station. "You'll recognize me,” she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my dress." So at 7:00 p.m. he was in the train station looking for a girl who he loved but whose face he had never seen.
Let’s listen to Yahya tell what happened:
"A young woman was coming toward me, her figure was long and slim. Her jet black hair lay in curls around her delicate face, her eyes were dark as olives. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her bright green dress she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved a small provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way soldier?" She said quietly. Almost uncontrollably I made one step toward her and then I saw Aye Ender, complete with red rose pinned to her dress.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a scarf that covered her head. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet wedged into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking away quickly and my heart was torn in two. I wanted so much to follow her, but the deep longing that I felt for Ayşe, whose written words in all those letters upheld me through so many trials while I was in the east, compelled me to stay. And so there I stood, looking at my pen pal, an aging woman. Her pale plump face was gentle and sensible; her eyes had a warm and gracious twinkle. She reminded me of my village aunt. I did not want to hesitate any longer, so I gripped the small, worn, blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her and stepped towards her. I decided in that instant that even though this would not be romance, it would be something precious, something perhaps better than love -- a friendship with a kind, intelligent older women. A friendship for which I had been and must always be grateful.
I squared my shoulders, saluted and then held the book out to her. I won't lie, while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Second Lieutenant Yahya Kara, and you must be Ayşe Hanım. I'm so glad you could meet me, may I take you to dinner?"
The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered "but the young lady in the green dress who just went by begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if, and only if, you asked me out to dinner, I should tell you that she's in the İskender restaurant across the street waiting for you. She said something about it being some kind of test!"
A test to know if love is real!
How do you measure love and test its strength and power? This is a question that deserves an answer. After all, who wants a relationship that is secretly about money, outer beauty, or quietly has hidden motives of gain or profit? Who wants a relationship that is plagued with doubts, or fears? Who wants a marriage that is only a rehearsal of duty?
The only way to know if love is real is to put it to the test. Did you know that God is interested in real love and real faith? If He had to, what kind of test would God give to measure the quality of a man’s faith? We have been looking at the life of Prophet Abraham and it is during his life that we are told about such a test, a test designed by God to reveal the extent of Abraham's love for his Creator.
Prophet Abraham was now an old man and both his sons had grown. According to the scriptures, Ishmael had moved east and begun his own strong clan. While Isaac was still with his father, taking care of the flocks and learning all the things that Ishmael had learned before him. God had kept his promise and Abraham in due time would be the father of many nations.
Abraham loved Isaac and took great effort in raising him to be man of God. And rightly so because God willed that the boy would be heir to the covenant of faith made with Abraham. He was named Isaac because it means "laughter" and Abraham and Sarah both laughed when they found out that he would be born. You can only imagine the laughter that the tiny baby brought into that elderly couples home! Tickling his little toes they must have happily drank in every smile. Oh the pleasure in kissing a baby's neck and naked belly and making him giggle with delight! The boy must have seen Abraham's pride, as he carried that little promise boy with him everywhere he went. And as Isaac grew older he surely became a helper to his father. When Abraham prayed you could imagine, this young man kneeling right there with him.
When it came time to sacrifice a lamb, Isaac would watch his father carefully. And Abraham would gently explain,
“This is a symbol God gave for the removal of our sins and defilement and fear.”
The young man strived to be just like his father and loved him very much. Then one day a strange command came to Abraham. Lets start reading at the beginning of Genesis chapter 22 verses 1 and 2:
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. 2 He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
What went through Abraham’s mind? Could this really be the request of the God of heaven who had so many times appeared to him and given him courage and help? It had been God who had promised that through this boy all nations would be blessed! Now was he really telling him to sacrifice his loved boy named Laughter?
Here was a test, a supreme test. But Abraham didn’t know it was only a test. All he knew was that the God he loved had asked him to sacrifice the boy he loved. It’s doubtful whether Abraham slept at all that night. And it was certainly unlikely that he told his wife his plans! Lets continue by reading verse 3:
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
Abraham's faith and trust in God compelled him to immediately obey God. It must have been extremely hard! He knew the voice of God so well and had learned that God’s ways are always best, even when they don’t make sense. And yet here he was doing something that made no sense at all! How could the covenant be passed to Isaac if he was dead? How would Abraham be a blessing to the whole world? Let's read verses 4 and 5 to see what happened next:
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.
Three days is a long time to walk toward the sacrifice of one’s own son! Three days Abraham walked through the countryside with the boy he loved and this strange command ringing in his ears. With every step, the knife on his belt must have felt like an enemy as it rubbed against his thigh. At such a moment, a man might question his own sanity? What could have gone through Abraham’s mind? Perhaps he recited to himself,
“Is not this the special boy God sent his angel to give me?”
And it certainly would have been easy for Abraham to turn around and go home! But he didn't, he continued to move forward in faith.
Did you notice Abraham’s words in vs. 5: “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Perhaps Abraham, even though his mind was distressed, reasoned that God was able to solve this problem. Maybe, he thought that the boy given by a miracle could also be raised back to life by a miracle. Regardless of his thoughts he continued to follow God's command. Let's read verses 6 and 7:
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, My father! And he said, Here am I, my son. He said, Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Abraham and Isaac had gone up to the mountains numerous times before to make a sacrifice. But Abraham, now in his old age, was not strong enough to carry the wood. So he secures it on his son’s strong back and they begin to walk. Can you hear the young voice asking after a while, “Where’s the animal father?” The boy's question must have struck Abraham’s heart like a dart, but Abraham steadied by God’s promise answered with the strength of his hope. Let's read it in verse 8:
8 God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went both of them together.
As Abraham and Isaac walked that last 200 meters to the top of mount Moriah, perhaps it began to dawn on the young man that he was to be the sacrifice. We are told this magnificent description of a son’s obedience and simple trust in his father. Let's read verse 9:
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Yes Abraham had raised a boy who had grown into a young man and who had the same faith as his father. He allowed his hands to be tied and knowing his father wasn’t strong enough to lift him, he laid down on the altar. Isaac was willingly to give his life and a father was willing to take it just to obey God. Has God ever asked you to give or do something that even comes close to this? We can continue with verse 10:
10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Can you imagine Abraham crying and the tears running down his cheeks and filling his grey beard? He had deep love for Isaac. This gift from God was his friend and helper. He was a good, honest and devoted young man. Abraham could see the image of his own self in that boy. Now the faith he had instilled in his son made Isaac willing to climb on the altar for his father without fight. Abraham must have looked into his son’s eyes; perhaps kissed his cheek and then said a short prayer. With every ounce of determination he grabbed the knife that lay next to him and with only milliseconds between that moment and the bloody death of the boy a thunderous voice erupted from heaven. A voice of rescue, a voice of a friend. Let's read about this in verses 11 and 12:
11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. 12 He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.
Salvation! Salvation had come from heaven! Let's finish with verses 13-18:
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided. 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
Blood mixed with tears must have flowed that day on the altar of sacrifice. Abraham and his boy had passed the test. A father had shown that his love for God was greater than his love for his son. A son had shown that his love for his father and God was greater than his love for his own life.
In Turkey’s history there have been few military leaders like Osman Pasha. The soldiers under his command said of him,
“Osman Pasha is more than a great general. He is a great leader of men. When he orders an attack, he does not say 'go' to his soldiers. He says 'come, follow me.'"
Pasha was willing to sacrifice his own life, and it made his men love him and be willing to do anything for him.
It has been said, “There is no greater love than that a man will lay down his life for a friend.”
Isaac had done this for his father, and Abraham was willing to offer his son to God. He passed the test and God knew that Abraham could be trusted with the covenant that would bless the whole world.
Questions for Discussion
1) Who do you love the most in your life?
2) Who loves you the most? Do you think they would lay down their life for you?
3) Why do you think God tested Abraham this way?
4) Does God still send tests? If so why?
Yahya Kara stood up from the bench, straightened his army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through the Istanbul train station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he had never seen. The girl holding the rose.
His interest in her had begun over a year before in Marmara University library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and an insightful mind. As was the case before the computer age, in the front of the book, he discovered the previous users name, Ayşe Ender.
With time and effort Yahya located her address. She lived on the Asian side of Istanbul in Kadiköy. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and invited her to correspond. The next day he began his military service and was shipped to the east to fight against the PKK.
During the eighteen months of their correspondence the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Yahya requested a photograph but Miss Ender refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. So the letters continued to be sent.
When the day finally came for him to return from the east, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 p.m. at the Istanbul train station. "You'll recognize me,” she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my dress." So at 7:00 p.m. he was in the train station looking for a girl who he loved but whose face he had never seen.
Let’s listen to Yahya tell what happened:
"A young woman was coming toward me, her figure was long and slim. Her jet black hair lay in curls around her delicate face, her eyes were dark as olives. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her bright green dress she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved a small provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way soldier?" She said quietly. Almost uncontrollably I made one step toward her and then I saw Aye Ender, complete with red rose pinned to her dress.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a scarf that covered her head. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet wedged into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking away quickly and my heart was torn in two. I wanted so much to follow her, but the deep longing that I felt for Ayşe, whose written words in all those letters upheld me through so many trials while I was in the east, compelled me to stay. And so there I stood, looking at my pen pal, an aging woman. Her pale plump face was gentle and sensible; her eyes had a warm and gracious twinkle. She reminded me of my village aunt. I did not want to hesitate any longer, so I gripped the small, worn, blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her and stepped towards her. I decided in that instant that even though this would not be romance, it would be something precious, something perhaps better than love -- a friendship with a kind, intelligent older women. A friendship for which I had been and must always be grateful.
I squared my shoulders, saluted and then held the book out to her. I won't lie, while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Second Lieutenant Yahya Kara, and you must be Ayşe Hanım. I'm so glad you could meet me, may I take you to dinner?"
The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered "but the young lady in the green dress who just went by begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if, and only if, you asked me out to dinner, I should tell you that she's in the İskender restaurant across the street waiting for you. She said something about it being some kind of test!"
A test to know if love is real!
How do you measure love and test its strength and power? This is a question that deserves an answer. After all, who wants a relationship that is secretly about money, outer beauty, or quietly has hidden motives of gain or profit? Who wants a relationship that is plagued with doubts, or fears? Who wants a marriage that is only a rehearsal of duty?
The only way to know if love is real is to put it to the test. Did you know that God is interested in real love and real faith? If He had to, what kind of test would God give to measure the quality of a man’s faith? We have been looking at the life of Prophet Abraham and it is during his life that we are told about such a test, a test designed by God to reveal the extent of Abraham's love for his Creator.
Prophet Abraham was now an old man and both his sons had grown. According to the scriptures, Ishmael had moved east and begun his own strong clan. While Isaac was still with his father, taking care of the flocks and learning all the things that Ishmael had learned before him. God had kept his promise and Abraham in due time would be the father of many nations.
Abraham loved Isaac and took great effort in raising him to be man of God. And rightly so because God willed that the boy would be heir to the covenant of faith made with Abraham. He was named Isaac because it means "laughter" and Abraham and Sarah both laughed when they found out that he would be born. You can only imagine the laughter that the tiny baby brought into that elderly couples home! Tickling his little toes they must have happily drank in every smile. Oh the pleasure in kissing a baby's neck and naked belly and making him giggle with delight! The boy must have seen Abraham's pride, as he carried that little promise boy with him everywhere he went. And as Isaac grew older he surely became a helper to his father. When Abraham prayed you could imagine, this young man kneeling right there with him.
When it came time to sacrifice a lamb, Isaac would watch his father carefully. And Abraham would gently explain,
“This is a symbol God gave for the removal of our sins and defilement and fear.”
The young man strived to be just like his father and loved him very much. Then one day a strange command came to Abraham. Lets start reading at the beginning of Genesis chapter 22 verses 1 and 2:
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. 2 He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
What went through Abraham’s mind? Could this really be the request of the God of heaven who had so many times appeared to him and given him courage and help? It had been God who had promised that through this boy all nations would be blessed! Now was he really telling him to sacrifice his loved boy named Laughter?
Here was a test, a supreme test. But Abraham didn’t know it was only a test. All he knew was that the God he loved had asked him to sacrifice the boy he loved. It’s doubtful whether Abraham slept at all that night. And it was certainly unlikely that he told his wife his plans! Lets continue by reading verse 3:
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
Abraham's faith and trust in God compelled him to immediately obey God. It must have been extremely hard! He knew the voice of God so well and had learned that God’s ways are always best, even when they don’t make sense. And yet here he was doing something that made no sense at all! How could the covenant be passed to Isaac if he was dead? How would Abraham be a blessing to the whole world? Let's read verses 4 and 5 to see what happened next:
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.
Three days is a long time to walk toward the sacrifice of one’s own son! Three days Abraham walked through the countryside with the boy he loved and this strange command ringing in his ears. With every step, the knife on his belt must have felt like an enemy as it rubbed against his thigh. At such a moment, a man might question his own sanity? What could have gone through Abraham’s mind? Perhaps he recited to himself,
“Is not this the special boy God sent his angel to give me?”
And it certainly would have been easy for Abraham to turn around and go home! But he didn't, he continued to move forward in faith.
Did you notice Abraham’s words in vs. 5: “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Perhaps Abraham, even though his mind was distressed, reasoned that God was able to solve this problem. Maybe, he thought that the boy given by a miracle could also be raised back to life by a miracle. Regardless of his thoughts he continued to follow God's command. Let's read verses 6 and 7:
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, My father! And he said, Here am I, my son. He said, Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Abraham and Isaac had gone up to the mountains numerous times before to make a sacrifice. But Abraham, now in his old age, was not strong enough to carry the wood. So he secures it on his son’s strong back and they begin to walk. Can you hear the young voice asking after a while, “Where’s the animal father?” The boy's question must have struck Abraham’s heart like a dart, but Abraham steadied by God’s promise answered with the strength of his hope. Let's read it in verse 8:
8 God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went both of them together.
As Abraham and Isaac walked that last 200 meters to the top of mount Moriah, perhaps it began to dawn on the young man that he was to be the sacrifice. We are told this magnificent description of a son’s obedience and simple trust in his father. Let's read verse 9:
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Yes Abraham had raised a boy who had grown into a young man and who had the same faith as his father. He allowed his hands to be tied and knowing his father wasn’t strong enough to lift him, he laid down on the altar. Isaac was willingly to give his life and a father was willing to take it just to obey God. Has God ever asked you to give or do something that even comes close to this? We can continue with verse 10:
10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Can you imagine Abraham crying and the tears running down his cheeks and filling his grey beard? He had deep love for Isaac. This gift from God was his friend and helper. He was a good, honest and devoted young man. Abraham could see the image of his own self in that boy. Now the faith he had instilled in his son made Isaac willing to climb on the altar for his father without fight. Abraham must have looked into his son’s eyes; perhaps kissed his cheek and then said a short prayer. With every ounce of determination he grabbed the knife that lay next to him and with only milliseconds between that moment and the bloody death of the boy a thunderous voice erupted from heaven. A voice of rescue, a voice of a friend. Let's read about this in verses 11 and 12:
11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. 12 He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.
Salvation! Salvation had come from heaven! Let's finish with verses 13-18:
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided. 15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
Blood mixed with tears must have flowed that day on the altar of sacrifice. Abraham and his boy had passed the test. A father had shown that his love for God was greater than his love for his son. A son had shown that his love for his father and God was greater than his love for his own life.
In Turkey’s history there have been few military leaders like Osman Pasha. The soldiers under his command said of him,
“Osman Pasha is more than a great general. He is a great leader of men. When he orders an attack, he does not say 'go' to his soldiers. He says 'come, follow me.'"
Pasha was willing to sacrifice his own life, and it made his men love him and be willing to do anything for him.
It has been said, “There is no greater love than that a man will lay down his life for a friend.”
Isaac had done this for his father, and Abraham was willing to offer his son to God. He passed the test and God knew that Abraham could be trusted with the covenant that would bless the whole world.
Questions for Discussion
1) Who do you love the most in your life?
2) Who loves you the most? Do you think they would lay down their life for you?
3) Why do you think God tested Abraham this way?
4) Does God still send tests? If so why?