Well,
you went out for some fast food, you waited in a long line, ordered
your chicken and finally sat down to eat and opened the box.
Question: Does this look like chicken to you? Next question: Do you
eat it or not? I don’t know about you, but I am not. Why? Because I
don’t go there often enough to trust them that much. But,
what if God told you to do something that just didn’t seem right,
would you do it? Abraham found himself in this very situation…
Genesis
22 ( The Apostles’ Bible )
[1] And
it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said
to him, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Behold! I am here. [2] And
He said, Take your son, the beloved one, whom you have loved-Isaac,
and go into the high land, and offer him there for a whole burnt
offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. [3] And
Abraham rose up in the morning and saddled his donkey, and he took
with him two servants, and Isaac his son, and having split wood for a
whole burnt offering, he arose and departed, and came to the place of
which God spoke to him, [4] on
the third day; and Abraham, having lifted up his eyes, saw the place
afar off. [5] And
Abraham said to his servants, Sit here with the donkey, and I and the
lad will proceed thus far, and having worshipped, we will return to
you. [6] And
Abraham took the wood of the whole burnt offering, and laid it on
Isaac his son, and he took into his hands both the fire and the
knife, and the two went together. [7] And
Isaac said to Abraham his father, Father. And he said, What is it,
son? And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the
sheep for a whole burnt offering? [8] And
Abraham said, God will provide for Himself a sheep for a whole burnt
offering, my son. And both, having gone together, [9] came
to the place which God spoke to him of; and there Abraham built the
altar, and laid the wood on it, and having bound the feet of Isaac
his son together, he laid him on the altar upon the wood. [10] And
Abraham stretched forth his hand to take the knife to kill his
son. [11] But
the Angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven, and said, Abraham,
Abraham. And he said, Behold, Iam
here. [12] And
He said, Lay not your hand upon the child, neither do anything to
him, for now I know that you fear God, and for My sake you have not
spared your beloved son. [13] And
Abraham lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! A ram caught by his
horns in a plant of Sabek; and Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered him up for a whole burnt offering in the place of Isaac his
son. [14] And
Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord Has Seen; that they
might say today, In the mount the Lord was seen.
Abraham
was well over 100 when God tested him. Isaac was his one and only
son, so reason would tell him that if he offered up his son as a
sacrifice he would be without an heir. But Abraham obeyed anyway and
God stopped the sacrifice. Abraham passed the test. For most of us,
we would just take away the lesson that we should trust God and we
would be right in doing this. But, there is another lesson here; that
of Issac. Unlike Abraham, Issac did not have years of years to build
faith and trust in God. He was a young man, but he obviously loved
and trusted his father. In this, both Abraham and Issac had something
in common.
As a
Christian, the next time you read a command in your Bible that seems
too hard for you to do, remember the union of faith and trust that
both Abraham and Issac had and obey. You will be blessed for it!