Opera

F

rom the earliest times men have been gazing in wonder at the canopy of stars and have tried to climb as high as they could from the Tower of Babel to the Pyramids of Egypt, to the Apollo Moon landing. In 1953 Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest and stood at the top of the world. Everest, however was a mole hill when compared to the mountain climbed by Abraham Four thousand years ago. “I and the lad will go yonder and worship.” If you had asked Abraham where he and Isaac were going he would have said, “we are going to worship.” You might have wondered why he was dressed for work and was not wearing his Sunday-go-to-Meeting clothes, and why the knife, and why the fire? These are the elements of worship on Mt. Moriah, along with a son carrying the wood on his back. This obscure and hither to unknown place would become the spot upon which the Hebrew Temple would rise. But on this day, there were no candlesticks, showbread, bronze sea, or mercy seat. There was no army of priests, simply a father and a son, who left all servants, beasts and baggage at Base Camp, while they “went together” without sheep or Sherpa guides to the summit of sacrifice which was a shadow of a far great scene to come. Abraham brought the elements of worship and sacrifice, something sharp (a knife), something hot (a fire), and something precious (the son of promise). “Take thy son, whom thou lovest, and offer him a sacrifice.” This was the orchestral prelude to the greatest Opera ever performed on any stage the world had ever seen. The word “Opera” literally means “work,” and there is no greater work. Faith bound the lad and laid him on the altar and at the final moment the angel stayed the father’s hand, for a million Isaacs sacrificed could not atone for a single sin. It was actually a dress rehearsal for the actual opening day and long awaited promise “God will provide Himself a Lamb.” When the curtain rose again for the final Act, a cross stood high on center stage, both the highest and lowest place in history and on earth when the Father and the Son executed the plan to save fallen mankind, opening up a portal between heaven and earth, and bidding all who would to come. -id