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.
Genesis 22:3
The biggest test of Abraham’s faith in God came not when he left his home at God’s invitation to wander in a land not his own. It did not come when he rescued his nephew Lot from pagan kings. It did not come in the severe consequences when twice he told half-truths about his wife in fear and offended powerful men. The test did not come in him believing what seemed to be impossible promises from God to make from him descendants more numerous than the sand of the seashore.
The biggest challenge to Abraham’s faith came close to the heart. It came after Isaac was born to him through Sarah. God revealed to Abraham one night in a dream that he must travel to a distant mountain and there offer his only son and heir, Isaac, as a burnt offering to the Lord. This was truly an unthinkable test. Abraham never would have imagined doing this. God created it as a test of Abraham’s heart: Would he love Isaac more than obey God? Would he believe the promise of God even when the circumstances God had made totally seemed to eliminate it?
Abraham’s obedience in this unthinkable moment was swift. He didn’t debate God’s request. He knew God asked him to do it. He got out of his tent early, got packed for the journey, enlisted some servants to assist him, and personally cut the wood that he intended to burn on the altar that would sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God. They journeyed to Moriah. Abraham and Isaac ascended the mountain where Abraham then bound his son and with knife at the ready was stopped only by an angel’s command that recognized Abraham’s full obedience and ordered him to stop.
What was learned when faith led Abraham through the unthinkable? Both Abraham and Isaac learned that it is God that provides atonement. God providentially provided a ram caught in a thicket to sacrifice in Isaac’s stead. Both learned that God rewards the obedience of faith. Both were reassured of God’s blessing as God reaffirmed His covenant with Abraham, this time with Isaac there to witness it. They learned that God spared Isaac with a substitute given in grace. Today, God spares us through the substitute sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. And today, God still blesses faith that loves Him above all else, even above what is closest to us. He will provide for us in what seems unthinkable.
No comments:
Post a Comment