9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring [b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (Genesis 22:9-19)
The story is told about a man on the operating table who was very uncomfortable about his imminent surgery. Although anesthesia was to be applied, the doctor said, "It seems you are very uncomfortable about this surgery.Yes, the man replied, it is my first surgery. I understand, the doctor said, "this is my first surgery, too!"
Who would want to go to a novice surgeon? While it is true that every surgeon has to start with his first surgery, not everyone wants to be the one operated on by him. We want to go to a surgeon who has passed the test and partake of medicines that have been approved, and hopefully to one who has years of flawless procedures and surgeries under his belt.
Spiritually, our faith works in much the same way. Yesterday I spoke about exams that one cannot study for, and although I would rather be exempt from tests, a faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. In this powerful passage, Abraham shows us how far will he can go with his relationship with God until i it ceases being a relationship of convenience to becoming a relationship of commitment. Abraham has not always obeyed God perfectly throughout his long life, but he is coming to the place where he is beginning to understand that obedience is what God requires if his relationship with God is ever going to grow beyond what it had always been.
An interesting side note here is this: In Genesis 21, we read that Abraham was asked to send away his son Ishmael. Galatians 4 tells us that Ishmael represented the world and the works of the flesh. � ust as the flesh was mocking the Spirit then, so it is today. We will never give God our Isaacs until we have sent away our Ishmaels.
We agree that God has the right to ask us to give up the bad, but we never expect him to require of us the good. It is a test between two loves. Abraham loved Isaac and God. But this test was to demonstrate whom Abraham loved more. The same question is asked on our exam today. God asks us, "Who (or what) do you love the most? God may never ask us to do what He asked Abraham to do, but consider these questions God could ask You today:
Do you love the material possessions, the security, the money that I have provided for you, or do you love Me more?
Would you be willing to part with all that to be in My perfect will?
Would you be willing to depend upon Me by faith even if it meant risking everything you have worked for your whole life?
Abraham was fully committed to surrendering everything up to God, including the promised son Isaac. He was actually in the process of coming down hard on the boy's chest with a knife when God grabbed his hand and would not allow it to come down. When we go to the very brink with God, He will go to the very brink with us and will give us much more than we were even willing to sacrifice.
Many avoid these situations in their relationship with God and then wonder why they feel discouraged or disillusioned. It is because they were not willing to put their faith to the test. Once again, a faith that is not willing to be tested is a faith that is not to be trusted. Are you willing to put your faith to the test today?
Prayer: Dear God I admit up to now I have lived with a very shallow faith of convenience. It looks good and puts on a nice show, but inside it is as hallow as a rotten log. Father I have many decisions and paths confronting me, and in order to survive them, I need a stronger faith than I have right now. Lord I submit my all to You, so that I may be after this testing a stronger, more secure vessel of honor. By Your grace let me submit to Your test today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment