Here I Am

Hineni - Here I Am

Here I am. The Hebrew phrase hineni (H2009) is comprised of two words: hineh (hin-nay) and ani. Hineh means "behold" or "see" or "lo" with certainty (surety), while the word ani means "I". Together the phrase means "Behold I!" or "Behold me!" and is usually translated "Here I am!" Hineni is first found in the Bible in the story of Abraham when he is called by God to sacrifice his son Isaac in Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22:1: After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Hineni - Here I am.”

Hineni, "Behold me!" or "Here I am!" has the sense of complete availability, of total readiness to serve. It is understood as: You see me that I have your attention! You are looking at him. It is a polite thing that when your name is called, that you focus your attention to the one who is calling you. You are effectively saying, "I heard you call my name; you see that I am looking at you and paying attention; how can I serve you." Hinneni.

Now, when God is calling you, you need to pay attention, particularly when your name is used twice. In the Hebrew, when a word is repeated, you can put an exclamation mark after it. It means this is imperative; this is crucial. When God speaks, when the great I Am speaks, you pay attention, with a sense of awe and with a spirit of humility; ready to render service. When God calls your name, your response should be: "Hineni - here I am, at your service!"

Moses. This, however, is not always the human response. We have the story of Moses. You may remember, one day he was tending his father-in-law's sheep when at a distance he saw a burning bush that was not consumed, so he came closer to take a look. And, as he got closer,

Exodus 3:4: God called to him [Moses] out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Hineni - Here I am.”

Then God proceeded to tell him that He had a job for him, that he was calling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. You remember his response. He was not so sure he wanted the job. Nevertheless, ultimately he did follow through with God's calling. "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Hineni." And he did what God commanded.

We find another story in the Old Testament where this phrase is used, and it is the story of Samuel, when he was a boy.

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (CEV): Samuel served the Lord by helping Eli the high priest, who was by that time almost blind. In those days, the LORD hardly ever spoke directly to people, and He did not appear to them in dreams very often. But one night, Eli was asleep in his room, 3 and Samuel was sleeping on a mat near the sacred ark in the LORD's temple. They had not been asleep very long 4 when the LORD called out Samuel's name. “Here I am!” Samuel answered. 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” “I didn't call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to bed.” Samuel went back. 6 Again the LORD called out, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli told him, “Son, I didn't call you. Go back to sleep.” 7 The LORD had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice. 8 When the Lord called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli finally realized that it was the LORD who was speaking to Samuel. 9 So he said, “Go back and lie down! If someone speaks to you again, answer, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’ ” Once again Samuel went back and lay down. 10 The LORD then stood beside Samuel and called out as he had done before, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”

Genesis 22 - The test of Abraham. With this understanding of this phrase, we return to the story in Genesis 22. For those unfamiliar with the story, here is a four-minute animated version of the story. [Watch video.]

The test given to Abraham in the sacrifice of Isaac is a significant story because it is the precursor to the coming of Christ and the plan of salvation. There are many parallels in this story with the coming of Christ. For example:

The Father offers his Son, his only Son, the Son whom he loves. He is the Son of Promise.

There is the three-day journey to a mountain in the land of Moriah.

There is the wood that the Son carries.

The Son questions his Father. The Father knew what was to happen but the Son did not. Yet the Son submits to his Father.

In the case of Abraham, he does not go through with the sacrifice of his son. But, in the case of God, the Father, His Son becomes the sacrifice. In the case of Abraham, God provides a ram caught in the thicket. The Hebrew text of Genesis 22:8 literally reads, “The Lord will provide Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” A foreshadowing of Jesus.

Abraham believed in the Resurrection and believed that his Son would be resurrected. This we are told in Hebrews 11:19.

The Son was to be slain with a knife; in the case of Jesus it would be with nails.

The ram in this story was caught in a thicket by his horns. Reminiscent of the crown of thorns Jesus would wear on his head.

Ultimately, the Son survives and a blessing is given to Abraham and all his descendants.

These parallels are all wonderful talking points, worthy to be discussed at length for the balance of our time. However, in this sermon, we will go on a journey less travelled. It is because most commentators overlook the literary structure evident in this story. The literary structure that helps us understand how it should be interpreted. It begins with the phrase, Hineni - Here I am. Which, as we said, literally means, "Behold me."

Adam and Eve. Although this is the first time this phrase is used in the Bible in relation to a test from God, it is not the first time a person is tested by God. This first test ever given was the test given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was a test of loyalty and faith in God in not eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A test which they failed and ended up hiding from God. When God came in the evening to speak to them, He said, "Where are you?" Their response should have been, "Hineni!" But, there was no "Here I am" coming from Adam. Instead, they hid. They didn't want to be seen by God. And this is the case of all mankind.

John 3:19-21: And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.

Here I am, repeated. In Genesis 22, this phrase, Hineni, is repeated three times, in verses 1, 7 and 11. We already read verse 1, the others read:

Genesis 22:7: And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am [H2009, hineni], my son.” He said, “Behold [2009, hinne], the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:11: But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am [H2009, hineni].”

Hinne [H2009]. There is also a threefold repetition of the word, hine (pronounced, hin-nay) which means behold, see, or lo. These include verses 7, 13, and 20.

Genesis 22:13: And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold [hinne], 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.

Genesis 22:20: Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold [hinne], Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

Recurring literary theme. But, there is still more. The recurring literary theme is: Behold, look, see. So, let's go through this story and note this repeating theme.

Genesis 22:1-14: After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Hineni - Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah ["land of seeing or vision"], and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 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. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw [H7200, ra'ah, to see] 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.” 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, “Hineni - Here I am, my son.” He said, “Hinne - Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide [H7200, ra'ah, to see] for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 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. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Hineni - Here I am.” 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.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked [H7200, ra'ah, to see], and behold [hinne], 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 [H7200, Yahweh-Jireh, Yahweh will see (to it)]”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided [Yahweh is seen].”

Interpretation. So what do we make of this? It is evident from the Hebrew that Beholding, looking, seeing is emphasized. This was done with intent. And, when something is done with intent, then there is a purpose for this. What then is the intent? Again, few commentators are even aware of this literary structure. So, we are on our own. I will give you my interpretation.

Faith and vision. The test Abraham was given was a test of his faith in God. What is faith? Faith is believing without seeing.

Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

John 20:29: Jesus said to him [Thomas], “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Knowing and believing. How do we reconcile the two? Here we have Abraham "seeing" throughout this story, yet he is called the father of faith, when faith is not seeing. (Pause, audience participation.) The answer is that Abraham did not see the end of the story. We see the story from the end because it's history for us, but Abraham did not know the end of the story. At the present time, we too do not see the end of our story, we only believe the end will turn out for good, but we do not know for certain. Or do we? Is it the case that we do know? How is it that we know? (Answer:) We know, because we know the One who has made the promise. That's how we know.

2 Timothy 1:12: For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that Day.

We know because the One who has made the promise is faithful. But this knowledge does not come all of a sudden.

Grow in faith. We find in the life of Abraham that his faith grew over time. As our faith can and should grow over time. You might ask, "How can my faith grow? What must I do?" The answer is simple. You don't have to do anything! God will do it for you. It's called "testing."

Proverbs 17:3: The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts.

What is tested for? In a school setting, tests are given to determine what we know or what we have learned. But in God's case, He already knows our character. Then why the test? Why test a man's character, when God already knows his character?

James 1:2-4: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James tells us that trials (or temptations) are a testing of our faith and that this testing produces endurance. Yet, endurance is not the only result or purpose of this testing. There are other reasons for testing. For example, in this testing of Abraham, it was to:

To increase his faith and reveal to him his true self. A test will reveal to you your true state in the journey of faith.

To witness his faith to others. To show to the heavenly hosts and to future generations the proof of Abraham's faith. Abraham is in Hebrews 11, the heroes of faith. He is an example to us of faith.

To give us encouragement in our journey of faith. Hebrews 12:1: Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us

To reveal greater truth—the prophecy of the coming Messiah. It was to illustrate the plan of salvation. This was a type of the work that God would do for mankind in offering His Son. Abraham was a type of the Father and Isaac was a type of the Son. With increased faith we gain greater insights in the plan of salvation and an understanding of Scripture.

The lose of all things. We need to appreciate the significance of the test given to Abraham. Abraham was asked to give up his son. He was to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. A burnt offering is one in which the animal is killed and completely consumed by fire. There is nothing left but ashes. This was to happen to Isaac. This was a major test for Abraham at several levels:

No children. Abraham had already lost Ishmael in the prior chapter, chapter 21. So Isaac was his only son left to him. To lose Isaac was to leave him no children.

No nation. Moreover, he was the son of Promise. The son from whom God would produce a great nation and a blessing to the world. To lose Isaac was to lose this promise.

No land. For a nation to be a nation, it must be sovereign to land. For Abraham to lose Isaac, there would be no land to inherit. Abraham would remain a sojourner and inherit nothing.

No honor. Abraham had many servants, numbering in the hundreds. He lead out in the worship of God. He must have taught others that God was a good and loving God. If he lost Isaac, how could he teach that God was good and loving and powerful, if he left Abraham with nothing. It would not make sense to anyone else. They would consider him delusional.

No respect. Abraham would lose Sarah's respect.

So, you see, not only was Abraham losing Isaac in this test, he was losing *everything*. He would be childless, without the promise of a nation, no land, no honor, and no respect. A man destitute of everything. A loser in every sense of the word. If Abraham were asked, "What will you lose if you sacrifice Isaac?" His answer would be: "I will lose nothing less than everything." To gain God's favor, Abraham was willing to lose nothing less than everything. This was also true for the Apostle Paul.

Philippians 3:8: More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things—indeed, I regard them as dung!—that I may gain Christ,

Final thought. Back to the phrase, hineni - Here I am. Hineni ought to be our response to God. Yet, hineni, is also God's response to us! When we pray to God; when we cry out to God for help, His response is the same.

Isaiah 58:9: Then you will call, and Yahweh will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Hineni - Here am I.

God promises us His enduring presence and sustenance. (See also Isaiah 52:6, 65:1.) As evidenced in the Psalms, God is our ever-present help in time of need, and He delights to make Himself known to His children. When God says ‘Hineni - here I am!’ He is saying that He hears us, He sees us, He knows us, and will help us.

Zechariah 2:10 (literally): Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold here I am [hineni], I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares Yahweh.

Notes

621 - Gracious Father, Guard Thy Children.

547 - Be Thou My Vision.

Here am I! – the Hebrew meaning of Hineni.

Hineni: Here I Am.

Psalm 40:7-8: Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

Revelation 3:10: Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

Other "hineni" instances

Yet another instance where this phrase is used is found in Isaiah 6. When Isaiah was a young man he sees the Lord sitting on a throne in vision.

Isaiah 6:8: I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Hineni - Here I am. Send me!”

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There is a “Hineni” Prayer in the Jewish practice that is an integral prayer recited during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur which are the Jewish services that correspond to the Biblical New Year and Day of Atonement. The Hineni Prayer is always recited in the first-person singular. It's a personal prayer recited by the Jewish people.

New Testament. We even find this phrase in the New Testament, when the Lord calls Ananias to heal Saul (before he became Paul), after Saul went blind on the way to Damascus.

Acts 9:10: Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

In the Greek, the phrase "Here I am" is idou ego, that is, Behold, see, lo, it is I.

Land of Moriah. As we can connect this story with the words behold and seeing, we can also connect it with the land of Moriah.

Genesis 22:2: 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.”

Literally, "the land of (the) Moriah." There is no certainty on the true meaning of Moriah. Several possibilities exist. The most common theory is that it comes from the Hebrew word for teacher, moreh or morah. Thus, it could mean "land of teaching." There is another possibility and it comes from the Samaritan Pentateuch which spells the Moriah differently from the Hebrew-alphabet text, giving "eres ham-môrā’āh" (instead of "eres hammoriyah", which seems to interpret the name as coming from the root rā’āh ("to see"), and accordingly means "the land of seeing" or "the land of vision".

Note that Abraham was to go to the land of Moriah, to a specific mountain in the land of Moriah (i.e., "on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you"). This mountain would later be called Mount Moriah on which the Temple of Solomon would be built.

Final occurrence. The final occurrence of hinne is found in verse 20:

Genesis 22:20: Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold [H2009, hinne], Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

In the list of names that follow, we come across the name, Rebekah. As you know, Rebekah would turn out to become Isaac's future wife. This where she is first mentioned.

Incongruity. What is implied in Isaac asking his father, “Behold [2009, hinne], the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”is a kind of incongruity. Isaac means laughter and, in a way Isaac must have thought it funny. They take this three-day journey to make a sacrifice. They climb a mountain at the end of this three-day journey. Isaac is carrying the wood and his father is carrying the fire for the sacrifice, but there is no lamb! What Isaac is telling his father is, "Father, aren't we forgetting something?" What's wrong with this picture? One of the qualities of laughter is incongruity. When you find something incongruous, something that does not make sense, you laugh. Here is an example, a joke from Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. Alan Greenspan told this joke to Arthur Levitt, chairman of the SEC, when they were playing golf one morning:

Three patients at a mental institution wanted to be released. The head psychiatrist gave them a simple test, and whoever got it right would be released. What is two plus two? The first patient said, Five. The second said, Wednesday. Now, the third patient was the craziest of them all and he answered, four, two plus two is four. The psychiatrist was amazed. Here was the craziest patient in the entire mental institution and he got the right answer. So, the psychiatrist asked him, how did he know the right answer? Easy, said the man. I just added five plus Wednesday.

This is where Isaac was at. He couldn't make sense of the situation and he asked his father for an explanation. But Abraham didn't directly answer him. He simply said,

Genesis 22:8: Abraham said, “God will provide [Jireh] himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together.