Genesis 22:1-14:
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 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.” 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 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, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide 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, “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, and behold, 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”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Can you imagine the questions, the reasonable considerations passing through Abraham's head as he road his donkey along in the direction of Moriah? I imagine the questions may have been..."you promised me this son, Lord, and now you are going to take him? Why did you ever give me this miracle child only to cruelly ask me to sacrifice him back to you? Why me, Lord? Why Isaac? Haven't I already obeyed you radically enough by following you when you told me to leave my relatives and homeland and go to the land you would show me?"
Don't you wish that you could have been a "fly on the wall" of Abraham's heart as he conversed with God on the bumpy, saddle ride to the place of sacrifice? This was Abraham's ONE son. This was Abraham's PROMISED son. This was Abrham's MIRACLE son. On he travelled in the direction of Moriah, the place God had told him to go. The place he knew that the Lord would provide. This provision had NOTHING to do with the place and EVERYTHING to do with the God he intimately knew.
How many times did I say (just this past week!) to the Lord, "I don't wan't to do that." This was not the response of Abraham. He said (vs.1) "Here I am." Its worth noticing that the "here I am" posture of Abraham's heart preceded the command of the Lord. Abraham's trust was more in the trustworthiness of his God than it was in his own feelings surrounding the clear, less than preferable command God gave to him. I commend to you that we would be foolish to believe the Lord's command to Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son did not put an utter pit in his stomach.
He knew His God was Jehovah Jireh, the God who Provides. He just didn't know what that would look like exactly in this scenario. Even more noteworthy, he had the wisdom to understand he didn't need to understand. Why?
Because he trusted Him.
This Advent season, what Mount Moriah has the Lord called you to? Do you trust He will provide just as he provided the ram in the thicket for Abraham? He wants our hearts. In our "yes'" to His call, we will get the honor of sitting back and watching Him provide for our needs.
We say "yes", He says "watch me!"
Questions for reflection:
1. Do you trust him more than your feelings?
2. Are you willing to say "yes"no matter what he asks of you?
3. Do you believe in surrendering to him, true life is found?
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, you are trustworthy. You are Jehovah Jireh, our God who provides. You provided for Abraham in his obedience, and you will provide for us in our obedience, even if we are scared. Give us courage to trust you no matter what the cost. Let our trust, show in our actions. Do your wonders, build our faith, glorify Yourself. In Jesus name, Amen.
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