Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Genesis 22:2
It shouldn’t have been a total shock. After all, many of the gods of the peoples around him routinely asked their followers to sacrifice one of their own children as an act of consecration. But Abraham knew his God was different. He was the Almighty God.
Maybe he hadn’t really heard God’s voice. With the mountain now looming in the distance, a battle began to rage in Abraham’s heart.
Deep inside, though the command was unthinkable, he knew that he had really heard God. Therefore, he had no choice but to continue his macabre journey into the uncertainty of this terrifying test.
Would he really sacrifice his son? Yes, if God did not provide a substitute, he would kill the son of promise, knowing that God was able to raise him from the dead.
Now with his knife raised over his beloved son’s bare chest, with no substitute in sight, resurrection was his last hope.
“Abraham.” The voice of his beloved Friend immediately silenced the war that was raging through the corridors of his heart. “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear me.”
What does this grim ordeal have to do with your life today? In my experience, sooner or later every believer will face a similar test. Although God would never ask you to sacrifice one of your children, he may well require you to put your home, career, or savings on the altar in order to follow him.
Even worse are those times when the decision is taken out of your hands, and you find yourself battling to maintain possession of the promise you received by faith.
Today, some of you may be facing the loss of the very home or job that God supernaturally provided for you. Others of you may feel that God is calling you to give up something very precious in order to follow Him. No matter what it is you are facing, take heart.
Whether God spares you from this potential loss at the last moment, or resurrects it after it is seemingly gone, His promises to you will not fail.
As you ponder these words, let the message of Romans 4:17b-19b burn in your heart. “He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.”
© Copyright 2005 by Jim Laffoon
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