Last week we began looking at God’s test of Abraham. It was the call from God to sacrifice Abraham’s beloved and promised son, Isaac.
This trial for Abraham provides us with a great faith lesson – a lesson to trust God for what we deem impossible!
We read in Genesis 22 how Abraham trusted God in the midst of the greatest challenge of his life. We continue to learn from the rest of the passage.
“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” That was certainly a legitimate question!
“Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.” Wow! I can only believe that Abraham poured into Isaac deep-seated trust in God. Abraham definitely had stories to relay about his times of not trusting God, and how God faithfully rescued him from his sinful choices. Abraham had other events in his life of God’s promises and faithfulness he could use to encourage Isaac in his relationship with God. Perhaps Isaac knew God’s promise of descendants would come through him?
We need to hear from one another the ways God faithfully shows Himself in our lives. We need to share that obedience to God is always best. We need to tell of God’s amazing mercy and grace revealed in our lives. These events encourage us to trust God. They also encourage others to dig deeper into their relationships with God.
Watch what God does for Abraham and Isaac:
“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. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” What are you thinking right now? Are you at peace, like Abraham, or are you thinking maybe Abraham didn’t hear God clearly? Are you thinking that perhaps Abraham should stop trusting God and take matters into his own hands, and go find a burnt offering?
So many thoughts can swirl around in our minds, when we should simply focus on God, with implicit trust.
But God had a plan…Abraham had to wait for God to reveal it! That is always when the tension is the greatest – the moments before God reveals Himself.
“But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” Abraham was attuned to the voice of the Lord. How attuned are you to His voice. In John 10:27-28 Jesus states that His sheep – His people – hear His voice.
“Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God [Abraham passed God’s test!], because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” [What an amazing moment in Abraham and Isaac’s lives!]
“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 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.”
That is our great Creator! He is our faithful God! He authors the events of our lives so that we can know Him more deeply, and make Him known to others.
But God had an even greater meaning to the events in this passage. All of this was pointing to Jesus, the One whom the Lord provided to pay the penalty for our sins.
The ultimate blessing in this trial for Abraham is God’s promise to him: “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” The song “Amazing Grace” comes to mind. I wonder what Abraham experienced in his relationship with God at that moment. Did he, like John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace” understand how wretched a sinner he was, and how great our God is?
The passage ends telling us: “Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.” I wonder what that trip home was like! I can only imagine the experience with God on Mt. Moriah had a profound impact in their lives.
Out of this deep trial came an amazing experience with God.
Perhaps we should be prepared for trials when someone prays: “May God bless you”? For God’s people, it is always a win-win situation.
Do you know Jesus intimately? If not, please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please share it with others!
Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you. Also, please remember to look at the full context of the verses by reading the complete passage.
Copyright 2025 Donna Shappy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.