Faith: Day 3

Devotion by: Jeanne McKinley

Genesis 22:2-12

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 that I shall show you.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill 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, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’

This is the story of how God severely tested Abraham, by requiring him to kill his son, and make him a burnt sacrifice. After hearing God’s demand, Abraham had to travel for three days, loaded down with provisions and firewood, to a place named Moriah. He knew all the while that to please his God, he would lose the one thing he loved most in the world. His heart must have been as utterly barren as the landscape. What could he have been thinking? “How can God ask this of me?” “Why do I worship this God?” “What kind of God would demand such obedience?”

I’m sure that I would not have been obedient, as Abraham was. I would have tried to run away from God, like Jonah did when God directed him to go to Nineveh. That didn’t work so well. How can we escape the life God sends us?

Anyway - on with the story. When they approached Moriah, Abraham lied to his servants, and commanded them to watch the donkeys while he and Isaac went off in the distance “to worship.” Abraham even gave Isaac the firewood to carry (just like Jesus, who had to carry his wooden cross to his own crucifixion). I think Isaac was very young, because when Abraham tied him up, and laid him on the altar, there is no mention in the Bible of any kind of struggle. Isaac trusted his father, as Jesus trusted his Heavenly Father in the hours before his death.

How will I face my own death, or the death of dear, loved ones? Will I do it with trust and faith? When I consider it, I see that Abraham’s faith was amazing! No wonder God considered him “good,” way before Jesus came to cover for our sins, and make us good in God’s eyes.

The story ended when God stopped Abraham from killing his son at the very last moment, and provided a ram that just “happened” to be stuck in the thorny shrubs nearby. It reminds me of how God commanded his judges to step into deep water, and just as they stepped out in faith (not before) the safe way appeared. When God knew for sure that Abraham was truly his, he gave him this promise, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore…”

Is God waiting to see how we trust Him so that He can bless us? What are we holding back from God? What do we still want to control without God’s hand? Where will obedience in our lives produce results that only God can give? How far are we willing to go in faith?

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, you have given us all the provisions we need. Please give us a stronger faith, so we will see that giving you whatever it is you ask will bring us greater blessings than holding on. Amen.