Genesis 22:1-8. 1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He 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.” 3So 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. 4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5Then 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.” 6And 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. 7And 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?” 8Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
Have you ever had to pass a really hard test? Maybe in school. Maybe while learning an instrument. Or maybe you have been tested by something hard that happened to you in life. A sickness. Losing someone that you love very much. All of these sorts of things are a test of our faith. Will we trust in God or not?
Today’s Bible passage starts out by saying that God tested Abraham. Of course, Abraham has been tested by God before. In fact, the language used here is the same exact language from Genesis chapter 12 when God first spoke to Abraham.
God: Abraham.
Abraham: Here I am.
God: Go to the land…
Abraham passed the test in chapter 12. He obeyed God and moved his family from Ur to the Promised Land. Over the years Abraham has passed other tests and he has failed some tests. That’s how it is for all of us. Sometimes we pass and sometimes we fail.
Here in Genesis 22, Abraham will pass the test. It says that Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey and off they all went. No questions. No arguments. Just simple obedience to God’s command.
And this is incredible considering what God is asking Abraham to do – “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.” God is asking Abraham to kill his only son and offer him as a sacrifice.
Yes, this sounds terrible, and it should. Isaac is the son that God promised. The son that will bring blessing to the whole world. Isaac is the son that Abraham loves more than anything.
Anything? More than God?
The question for Abraham was will he give up the thing he loves the most? What does Abraham love the most? His son. His only son, Isaac. But does he love Isaac more than he loves God? God gave him Isaac, so God can take Isaac away, right?
If we just read Genesis 12, then we don’t really know everything Abraham was thinking. Did Abraham have questions? Doubts? Was he angry at God? Sad? Confused? Probably. But Genesis focuses on what Abraham DID not on what he thought. Abraham obeyed. He got up and went to the mountain.
But one thing that Abraham says shows us what he was thinking – “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb for the offering?” Isaac is a teenager now, so he’s not stupid. He can tell that something is missing. Isaac is really asking, “Am I the lamb, Father?”
Abraham is not sure what God will actually do once they get to the mountain. Will God give Abraham another lamb? Maybe. Will God stop Abraham before they get there? Hopefully. The New Testament book of Hebrews says that Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. Wow. That means that Abraham was ready to offer up his son as a sacrifice. It also means that Abraham believed that God would keep his promise, and Isaac is that promise.
If you are a Christian, and I hope you are, then God is testing you too, just like Abraham. Hopefully the tests you face aren’t quite this difficult, but I’m sure they are still very hard at times. The truth is most everything in our life is a test of whether we will trust in God or not. If we have Jesus, the true promised Son, then we know that we can trust God no matter what. If God sent Jesus to die for our sins, then we know that he is for us and never against us.
Abraham trusted that God would provide the lamb. We trust that God has already provided THE Lamb, Jesus the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Do you trust in Jesus day by day?
Do you worry all the time, or are you able to be brave because Jesus loves you and lives in your heart?
Ae you sad and discouraged a lot? Or do you trust that Jesus will help you get through the hardest things in life?
Do you just do what everybody else does? Or do you live for Jesus even if it makes you different from others?
Don’t forget, Jesus has passed all the tests of faith for us when he died on the cross. Yes, God is still testing your faith, but not to see if he will save you or love you. He’s testing you because he loves you. He wants your faith in him to grow bigger and bigger so that your life becomes a picture of his love and grace.
You: Think through the questions above.
You with Jesus: How does knowing that on the cross Jesus has passed the test of faith for us allow you to trust God more today?
Prayer: Father, I trust you when you test me because you have already provided the lamb that I need. Amen.
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