Tests of Faith - Pt 10

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 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.” 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. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 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.” 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. 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?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 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. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 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.” (Genesis 22:1-12 ESV). This tenth test was the most important for Abraham. Through it he learned the importance of God’s grace in his life. We must not miss the fact that this was not so much a test to produce faith, as it was a test to reveal faith. God built Abraham slowly, piece by piece, year by year, into a man of faith. So he does with us. This test was especially hard because it seemed to contradict the previous promise of God. God had already promised in Isaac your seed shall be called (Genesis 21:12). It seemed strange and contradictory to kill the son who was promised to carry on the covenant when it had not yet been fulfilled in him. It seemed as if God commanded Abraham to kill the very promise God made to him. Abraham had to learn the difference between trusting the promise and trusting the One who promises. We can make the mistake of putting God’s promise before God Himself and feel it is our responsibility to bring the promise to pass, even if we have to disobey God to do it. The great truth is that we can trust the One who promises no matter what, and the promise will be taken care of. We should also note the naming of the place later in the text. Abraham called it, “The Lord Will Provide” (Jehovah Jireh). Abraham didn’t name the place in reference to what he experienced. He didn’t name it Mount Trial or Mount Agony or Mount Obedience. Instead, he named the hill in reference to what God did; he named it Mount Provision. He named it knowing God would provide the ultimate sacrifice for salvation on that hill someday. This event is also a prophecy of Jesus’ substitutionary redemptive work. The key for us is to rest solely in that work for all of our life! God provided the final and ultimate sacrifice for all of us in Jesus!