Genesis 22:9–19 (ESV) —
9 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. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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.”
15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 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, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
NOTE: There is a wonderful song which captures the emotion of this event in words much better than I could choose. It is written and sung by Michael Card.
Three day's journey to the sacred place
A boy and a man with a sorrowful face
Tortured, yet faithful to God's command
To take the life of his son in his own hands
CHORUS: God will provide a lamb
To be offered up in your place
A sacrifice so spotless and clean
To take all your sin away
There's wood and fire, where's the sacrifice
The questioning voice and the innocent eyes
Is the son of laughter who you've waited for
To die like a lamb to please the Lord
CHORUS
A gleaming knife, an accepted choice
A rush of wind and an angel's voice
A ram in the thicket caught by his horns
And a new age of trusting the Lord was born
'Cause God has provided a lamb
He was offered up in your place
What Abraham was asked to do, He's done
He's offered His only son
What Abraham was asked to do, He's done
He's offered His only son
From <https://genius.com/Michael-card-god-will-provide-a-lamb-lyrics>
Michael Card - God Will Provide a Lamb (Lyric Video)
Why did God need to test Abraham? God already knows our choices. He knows our heart, and yet he goes through with this test. I suppose the answer is that we don't know our own hearts, nor do we know Abraham's. You can read "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness," but you are left wondering how much did he believe God. The story, while very painful, puts Abraham's faith in a visual mode.
PONDER:
- What does my faith really look like?
- Do I really believe the words I so often express?
PRAYER: Father, I am like one of Jesus' followers, "increase my faith." Too often, I let the world and the supposedly realities of modern life to cause me to doubt. The world and its system is constantly attacking Christian believers because the enemy is absolutely convinced that it is his greatest danger. Help us to stand strong against the attacks.
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