“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

“…the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8, NLT

When God calls our name and tells us specifically what to do; what is our first thought?  Do we immediately respond with simple obedience?  Do we lay down what is most important to us to do what God has asked us to do?  Do we trade obedience that seems too hard for working harder at “doing good”?  Or do we simple trust God?

How many of us have had to “lay our Isaac down” in an act of humbled, faithful obedience? Only then can we fully understand what God was asking Abraham to do.

Genesis 22

Abraham Tested

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Nahor’s Sons

²⁰ Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), ²² Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We have read and observed the growing faith in God of a man and his wife.  Their behaviors and attitudes are changing right before our eyes.  God has blessed them in their old age with a baby boy, the one and only son they will have biologically.  Abraham wondered how and Sarah doubted but God provided.  God fulfilled his promises when conditions appeared hopeless. God will fulfill his promises, no matter how difficult our problems. Even when we don’t know how God will act, we must trust that he watches over us.

God’s Word records the greatest test that Abraham ever faced. As believers in Jesus, we also see the beautiful picture of our Lord’s sacrifice at Calvary, but the main lesson is obedient faith that overcomes in the trials of life. Abraham teaches us how to face and handle the tests of life to the glory of God.  Abraham’s faith in God reached a new peak on the mountain that day.  So much so, that he named the place; “The Lord Will Provide.”  Imagine the testimony of God later!  Imagine telling the story down through the generations of the miracle of provision graciously given by God to Abraham because of his obedience to God.  He was willing to lay down his Isaac, his one and only son, on the altar before the Lord God! 

This same God is our God!  This same God wants our faithful obedience to Him.  This same God still provides all we need to obey and be blessed in the obedience!  Whatever God asks us to be and do—do it!  The Lord Will Provide.

Pause to pray—

What is God asking me to do?  How quickly will I put down what my hands are holding onto tightly for what God wants to provide in my life? Take all the time you need—I am.

Know the difference between a test and temptation.  Temptations come from our desires within us (James 1:12–16) while trials come from the Lord who has a special purpose to fulfill. Temptations are used by the devil to bring out the worst in us, but trials are used by the Holy Spirit to bring out the best in us (James 1:1–6). Temptations seem logical while trials seem very unreasonable. Why would God give Abraham a son and then ask Abraham to kill him?

Warren Wiersbe, Bible Commentator, writes; “God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. Consider how unreasonable God’s request was. Isaac was Abraham’s only son, and the future of the covenant rested in him. Isaac was a miracle child, the gift of God to Abraham and Sarah in response to their faith. Abraham and Sarah loved Isaac very much and had built their whole future around him. When God asked Abraham to offer his son, He was testing Abraham’s faith, hope, and love, and it looked like God was wiping out everything Abraham and Sarah had lived for.”

“Two statements reveal the emphasis of this passage: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering”; and “Yahweh-Yireh”, which means, “The LORD will see to it,” that is, “The LORD will provide.” As he climbed Mount Moriah with his son, Abraham was confident that God would meet every need.”

“Abraham could depend on the promise and provision of the Lord. He had already experienced the resurrection power of God in his own body (Romans 4:19–21), so he knew that God could raise Isaac from the dead if that was His plan. Apparently, no resurrections had taken place before that time, so Abraham was exercising great faith in God. According to Ephesians 1:19, 20 and 3:20, 21, believers today have Christ’s resurrection power available in their own bodies as they yield to the Spirit of God. We can know “the mighty power that raised Him from the dead” (Philippians 3:10) as we face the daily demands and trials of life.”

In times of testing, it is easy to think only about our needs and our burdens; instead, we should be focusing on bringing glory to Jesus Christ. We find ourselves asking “How can I get out of this?” instead of “What can I get out of this that will honor the Lord?” –Wiersbe, Study Bible

If ever two suffering people revealed Jesus Christ, it was Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah. Their experience is a picture of the Father and the Son and the Cross.  From Genesis to Revelation Jesus is present and represented!  Jesus said to the Jews, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). In Isaac’s miraculous birth, Abraham saw the day of Christ’s birth, and in Isaac’s marriage (Genesis 24), he saw the day of Christ’s coming for His bride.

But on Mount Moriah, when Isaac willingly put himself on the altar, Abraham saw the day of Christ’s death and resurrection.  Wow.

The greatest thing that can happen as we experience the trials God sends is that we grow closer to our Father and become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Calvary is not only the place where Jesus died for our sins, but it is also the place where He sanctified suffering and, by His resurrection, transformed suffering into glory.

We must seek to glorify the Lord, and He will do the rest. The Lord Will Provide!

Lord,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for drawing me closer to you this morning as I realize the depths of your love and the lengths you went through to save me.  I am grateful.  So very grateful.  Thank you for all you have provided, are providing, and will provide as my faith grows in You.  To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen! Yes, and Amen!