 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[a] 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.” 15 And 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 and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba. 20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Meditation Our temptation during the uncertainty of crisis is to live by what we see, what makes sense from a human perspective. But what if God is calling us to step out in faith through use of our time, treasure, or talents? How can we obey when we do not see a way God can provide? God tested Abraham. God told Abraham to sacrifice the son he loved, his only son from Sarah, the promised one. Would Abraham’s faith be in the promised child or the One who made the promise? Would Abraham live by what was seen or would He trust the unseen promises of the Lord? God tests, or refines, the hearts of His people as a goldsmith refines gold. (Proverbs 17:3) James says to not be surprised at the testing of our faith. (James 1:2-4, 12) Peter gives us the goal of God’s refining our faith, the glory and praise of Jesus. (1 Peter 1:7) How do we endure the test, trusting God is faithful to provide? We must see with eyes of faith. Faith is being sure, certain, God will provide. Hebrews 11:19 reveals Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the grave, providing life beyond death. Abraham had resurrection hope and believed God could do with Isaac what He had done with Sarah’s dead womb. Where God guides, He will provide. With eyes of faith, see beyond the current struggle and boldly obey the Lord. The One who calls you is faithful. Richly Dwelling -Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1). Why is it difficult to have faith in the Lord and His promises? -How is God testing or refining your faith during this season? What is it revealing about your heart? -How can you live with resurrection hope, radically obeying Jesus, believing He can bring life from death, fullness from emptiness, and hope from despair? Key Verse 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.” Comments are closed.
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