LESSON 7 IDOLS WE NEVER KNEW WE HAD— FAMILY One of the greatest blessings that God gives us in this lifetime is the gift of family. Almost irrespective of how smooth or troubled a person’s family life has been, regardless of whether they are a believer or unbeliever, virtually every single person on the planet will tell you that “family” is a beautiful concept. When organizations of people with no biological ties are functioning really well, the environment is often described as “like a family.” When you see that type of praise used universally, it’s obvious that a blessing is inherently wonderful. But is it possible that family ties could be too close? Can even family become a very real idol to us—a good thing that we’re tempted to turn into a god thing?
Genesis 22:1-18 22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He called to him, “Abraham!” Abraham answered, “I am here.” 2God said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of
Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you.” 3Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men
with him, along with Isaac his son. Abraham split the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out to go to the place that God had told him about. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on over
there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it on Isaac his son. He took the firepot and the knife in his hand. The two of them went on together. 7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father?”
He said, “I am here, my son.” He said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two
of them went on together. 9They came to the place that God had told him about. Abraham built the altar there. He arranged the wood, tied up Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” © 2016 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
Abraham said, “I am here.” 12He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. For now I know that
you fear God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket
by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord Will Provide.” So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, “I have
sworn by myself, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your descendants greatly, like the stars of the sky and like the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the city gates of their enemies. 18In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Note: Mt. Moriah, the location to which God told Abraham to travel in order to sacrifice Isaac, is believed by many scholars to be the precise location where Jesus was sacrificed. This is helpful to understanding the lesson God is teaching us in this account. 1. It would be incredibly difficult for any parent to go through something like this. What circumstances in the life of Abraham, however, make this request from God particularly heart wrenching?
2. God’s request in this text is strange for many reasons. For starters, it seems contradictory to his offense elsewhere over children being sacrificed (see Deuteronomy 12:31). Did God really want Isaac to die? What was he seeking here?
Deuteronomy 12:31 Do not serve the Lord your God in the way that they worship, because they do for their gods every detestable thing that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in fire for their gods.
3. A child longed for as much as Isaac was could have very easily become the epicenter of Abraham’s heart—his true source of self-worth, identity, and ultimate value. If that had indeed happened, what would the impending consequences have been? In other words, what happens when a parent puts love for a child ahead of love for God? •
How does this affect the parent?
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How does this affect the child? (See 1 Samuel 2:12,29.) 2
1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked scoundrels. They did not know the Lord. 1 Samuel 2:29 Why do you all kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded for my dwelling place? Why do you, Eli, honor your sons more than me? Why do you fatten yourselves with the best of all the offerings from my people Israel?
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How does this affect God?
4. After Abraham demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice Isaac, God intervened. He said, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son” (v. 12). Did God not know what was in Abraham’s heart? Who really learned something here, and what was the lesson?
5. How does the story of Abraham and Isaac find its culmination in Jesus?
BONUS MATERIAL 1. One of the ways you know you’re treating something or someone as a false god is if you’re breaking the true God’s commands in order to serve that thing or person. What are some ways in which idolizing family could lead to breaking God’s commands?
Read Luke 14:25-27. Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 2. Hate family?! Jesus is using hyperbole here. How does Matthew 10:37-39 shape our understanding of what Jesus is saying in Luke’s gospel?
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Matthew 10:37–39 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 3. What is the perfectly logical reason to “hate,” by comparison, our lives and close relationships here on earth?
Read Joshua 24:14,15. Joshua said, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully. Remove the gods that your fathers served in the region across the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if you see no benefit in serving the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whomever you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household—we will serve the Lord!” 4. Joshua offers insight here into two areas from which idols are often transferred. What are the two areas, and what might they look like in present-day terms?
5. Joshua says, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (v. 15). How does this contradict contemporary thoughts about raising children? Why is Joshua’s approach better, that is, more godly and more logical?
FURTHER PERSONAL TESTS FOR THE IDOL OF FAMILY What is the most important relationship in your life? Is there a relationship in your life that is the primary determining factor in whether you are joyful or depressed? Do you ever feel like life is virtually meaningless unless your children and/or your parents are happy and happy with you?
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