Christian Commentary Encouraging Devotions

Abraham had a habit of lying to save his skin, trying to short-cut around God to get a child, and generally taking the easy way out of most jams. By this time, he had probably changed, but how did he know he wouldn't bail again when things got tough? God gave Abraham a chance to prove it - to himself.

...Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. "Abraham!" God called.

"Yes," he replied. "Here I am."

"Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you."

...Whoa! Wait a minute. What emotions do you think are all tied up in this?

Your only son. Whom you love. Sacrifice him.

That's a pretty tall order.

The Bible doesn't say if Abraham tried to reason with God or tried to talk Him out of it.

All of which would have been pretty reasonable to do, right?

This is a powerful test of Abraham's faith.

Would he be willing to forfeit the promise of being a great nation?

Would his love for God be greater than love for his son?

Would he forfeit the security of his only son to help him in his old age?

Would he trust God to show him his destination later?

Would he face the ridicule of the heathen tribes he had witnessed to?

...The next morning Abraham got up early.

...Bet he didn't sleep a wink all night.

Here we see he's eager to obey the Lord.

Didn't delay.

...He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.

...What do you suppose Abraham was thinking as he was journeying?

' Maybe God's got a Plan B ' ?

' Wonder how God's going to work this out ' ?

...On the third day of their journey,

...He had three and a half days to think about this.

Was there a wide range of emotions?

Or did He just simply trust God?

...Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. "Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the servants.

...Abraham took no chances of being turned from his purpose.

..."The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back."

...Note he says, "...WE will come right back."

...So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders,(a picture of Christ bearing the wooden cross upon which He would be sacrificed)

while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, "Father?"

"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.

"We have the fire and the wood," the boy said, "but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"

...Isaac still doesn't have a whiff about what's coming.

..."God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son," Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

...OK, what's Abraham thinking here?

' God will provide, ' he says.

What a display of faith!

In his mind he might have been thinking,

a) We'll get to the spot and a lamb will appear to take the place of my son.

b) I'll sacrifice my son if need be, but God'll bring him back to life.

c) I have to tell Isaac something!

d) No, I'm going to believe that God will work out His perfect plan here for both of us.

In spite of his perplexity, in spite of the pain, Abraham still trusted God’s goodness and faithfulness.

...When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it.

...Do you suppose he took his time arranging the wood?

Trying to delay what looked like the inevitable.

Remember, at this point Abraham didn't know that God DID have a Plan B.

...Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

...How hard this must have been.

His only son. Whom he loves.

What must be going through Isaac's mind at this point!

Is he crying out? "Dad, what are you doing?!"

Or was he trusting his father to do what's right?

Isaac was a strong young man who could have easily refused to die.

It then became his choice to obey the voice of God which he had understood only by the lips of his father.

...And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.

...The hour of decision.

"OK, God, I heard from You. I'm going to obey."

As for Issac...would you or I be willing to die rather than to disobey the will of God?

...At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Yes," Abraham replied. "Here I am!"

"Don’t lay a hand on the boy!" the angel said. "Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son."

...This is a type of what was to happen farther along in time.

"You have not withheld even your son, your only son."

Sound familiar? John 3:16

...Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket.

...God DID provide!

Was Abraham surprised?

I imagine he certainly was relieved!

...So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means "the Lord will provide"). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."

...What do you think Isaac thought about all this?

"Dad, you were going to kill me!" ?

I tend to think he recognized he had just seen a supreme example of how faith in God operates.

You're asked to do what to you seems impossible.

God promises to provide all you'll need to do what He's called you to do.

You do your part. God does His.

The lesson for us is to likewise trust God even when we cannot see a way out while obeying Him.

The real test of love is if your love is faithful when there’s no reward. Will you still love if it brings you pain and disadvantage?

...Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. "This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me."

Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live. Genesis 22

...And what a story they had to tell about God's faithfulness!