WORD From The Woods
Genesis 22:1-18
“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.” 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. 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.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
This well know Old Testament passage is one of the clearest and most awesome foreshadows of God's plan of redemption through what Christ would accomplish on the cross. This story beautifully points to Christ, the ultimate sacrificial lamb, who Paul makes clear in Galatians 3:16, is the offspring of Abraham that would bring blessing to all the nations of the world. I want to focus in on the obedience of Abraham and his son Isaac, who was probably around 15 years old at the time. It's apparent by Abraham's response to God's calling in verse 1, that Abraham had a deep, worshipful relationship with the Lord. God called him by name and with eagerness he answers "here I am." If we could just learn how to hear God's calling and answer in that way when He calls us into service, the world around us would be transformed by the power of the gospel! Now, I don't think that God has ever called another person to offer their own son as a sacrifice as He asked of Abraham, this was a unique event that would be used throughout history to point people to Christ, but God does call us to do things that go far beyond our understanding and our comfort zone. This passage demonstrates an incredible lesson in trusting God. Abraham and Isaac knew that God had promised to bless the entire world through their descendants, so if God was calling Isaac to lay his life down at the hand of his father, then God would raise him from the dead if necessary. They knew that their Lord God was a good and loving God, who had a great and awesome plan that they could trust and rest in! Abraham and Isaac had the kind of relationship with God that builds this kind of trust, they had truly trusted God with their life! God will certainly call us into things that we don't understand and at times will terrify us, but as we seek God and go through the sanctification process, we will develop the same kind of trust in Him that Abraham and Isaac had, after all, we serve the same God today that they did, the same God who spoke the limitless galaxies into existence and gave all living things the breath of life! He certainly is a God who can be trusted! The reason, so many times, that we fail to trust God in situations is simply that we don't fully trust and believe that He has our situation under control. As followers of Christ, we still struggle with doubt, fear and unbelief. This is all part of a growing faith, we need to be able to admit our fear and doubts to God and ask him to help us with our unbelief just as the boy's father did in Mark 9. As you go out this week, get real with God, be honest with Him and ask him to develop in you the kind of trust and faith that Abraham and Isaac had, ask Him to teach you to clearly hear His calling and respond with “hear I am Lord.”
God bless, and have a great week! -Terry-
Genesis 22:1-18
“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.” 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. 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.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
This well know Old Testament passage is one of the clearest and most awesome foreshadows of God's plan of redemption through what Christ would accomplish on the cross. This story beautifully points to Christ, the ultimate sacrificial lamb, who Paul makes clear in Galatians 3:16, is the offspring of Abraham that would bring blessing to all the nations of the world. I want to focus in on the obedience of Abraham and his son Isaac, who was probably around 15 years old at the time. It's apparent by Abraham's response to God's calling in verse 1, that Abraham had a deep, worshipful relationship with the Lord. God called him by name and with eagerness he answers "here I am." If we could just learn how to hear God's calling and answer in that way when He calls us into service, the world around us would be transformed by the power of the gospel! Now, I don't think that God has ever called another person to offer their own son as a sacrifice as He asked of Abraham, this was a unique event that would be used throughout history to point people to Christ, but God does call us to do things that go far beyond our understanding and our comfort zone. This passage demonstrates an incredible lesson in trusting God. Abraham and Isaac knew that God had promised to bless the entire world through their descendants, so if God was calling Isaac to lay his life down at the hand of his father, then God would raise him from the dead if necessary. They knew that their Lord God was a good and loving God, who had a great and awesome plan that they could trust and rest in! Abraham and Isaac had the kind of relationship with God that builds this kind of trust, they had truly trusted God with their life! God will certainly call us into things that we don't understand and at times will terrify us, but as we seek God and go through the sanctification process, we will develop the same kind of trust in Him that Abraham and Isaac had, after all, we serve the same God today that they did, the same God who spoke the limitless galaxies into existence and gave all living things the breath of life! He certainly is a God who can be trusted! The reason, so many times, that we fail to trust God in situations is simply that we don't fully trust and believe that He has our situation under control. As followers of Christ, we still struggle with doubt, fear and unbelief. This is all part of a growing faith, we need to be able to admit our fear and doubts to God and ask him to help us with our unbelief just as the boy's father did in Mark 9. As you go out this week, get real with God, be honest with Him and ask him to develop in you the kind of trust and faith that Abraham and Isaac had, ask Him to teach you to clearly hear His calling and respond with “hear I am Lord.”
God bless, and have a great week! -Terry-