1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham !” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son ; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there ; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 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 the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father !” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering ?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay 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 stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns ; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.” 15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore ; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:1-18 NASB)
Isaac was the impossible child. He was the one promised by God, born to an impossibly old mother, and an impossibly old father and he was a miracle.
So why on earth would God tell Abraham to take this miracle boy up on a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice to God?
It seems sort of mean, doesn’t it? How would you like it if your mom and dad gave you something that you really, really wanted, and you were so happy and then one day asked you to give i back to them as a gift? How would you feel about that?
Would you care more about the gift that they gave you, or them, the ones who love you and gave you the gift in the first place?
Would it be a hard choice for you?
For Abraham it must have been so hard! This wasn’t just a thing. This was his son, whom he loved so much.
But you know, Abraham had been walking with God for many years at this time. He had seen some pretty amazing things, including the way God had given him Isaac. It tells us in the book of Hebrews (11:19) that as he walked up that mountain with Isaac “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead“. Abraham was so sure at this point that God would keep his promise to him that he expected that God would just do another miracle, and give Isaac back to him again. That’s a lot of trust.
He was right though. God did give Isaac back to him again. He was right to trust God.
Abraham has learned a lot in the years he has been following God, and he has seen that God keeps promises, and cares about him, and everyone with him.
God’s plan to show people who He is, starting with Abraham, is working. Abraham knows now that he can always trust God, and he will teach his descendants the same.
Day 4 – Sarah, Part of God’s Plan Too