Walk In Newness of Life Pt. 30 The Great Test of Abraham's Faith.

We are learning so much about walking in newness of life from our studies. We can all be thankful that God put the details of Abraham's life into the scriptures, so that we can benefit from his steps of faith and avoid his missteps of regression. 

Now, we come to Genesis 22 which has the most severe test of Abraham's faith, the strongest expression of Abraham's faith and another special name of God revealed.

The ultimate test of Abraham's faith. 

Genesis 22:1-10  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5)  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6)  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9) And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10) And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 

The first ten verses of Genesis 22 begin with God testing Abraham’s faith. Over the years, he had matured in his walk with Jehovah and God will often use the trials to strengthen our faith to help mature us as He makes us more like Christ.

God spoke and Abraham responded immediately.

Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 

The word "tempt" in this verse does not mean that God tempted Abraham in the same manner that Satan tempts us to sin. 

Rather, the word "tempt" means to put something to the test in order to prove it's value or purity. It is the idea of going through a trial or hardship that God permits in order to prove our faith or to show us where we need to shore up our faith.  The word "tempt" is probably best understood by the word "trial" because it means being put to the test. 

James 1:12-14  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13) Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 

James says that each believer who endures being tested or tried by God is blessed and promised a reward for remaining faithful during the time of trial. The apostle made it clear that God cannot be tempted, nor will He tempt any man to sin. Instead, in our flesh dwells no good thing (Romans 7:18). It is full of sinful lusts which cause us to be tempted by various things. The Devil exploits this part of our lives, seeking to cause us to sin and thereby bring dishonor upon God.  

God had a purpose for Abraham's trial much like He did with that of Job (See Job 1-2). Job is the one who told us that when we emerge from the trials permitted by God, we will come forth as gold, purified by God's refining fire (Job 23:10). Peter told us that we will go through fiery trials and that we should be glad to be counted worthy to partake of Christ's sufferings through trials (1 Peter 4:12-18). 

God spoke and Abraham immediately responded. The command God gave to Abraham is one that defined the faith of the patriarch. Like a true servant, Abraham answered, “here I am.” He was ready to do His Lord’s bidding because he learned to trust and obey Jehovah.

God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

Genesis 22:2  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Notice the very tender language used to describe Isaac. It is very much like the language of the New Testament in John’s gospel. God said  “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest” Jehovah put Abraham's paternal love for his son, front and center. Isaac was the only legitimate son from his marriage to Sarah. He was the precious son of the covenant promises of God. He was the son of Abraham's old age and he loved him deeply.

What God commanded Abraham to do, was something that no parent would ever want to do. He was to take his only, beloved son Isaac, to the land of Moriah and kill him as a burnt offering. Notice that Abraham did not complain, protest  or argue with Jehovah over the fate of his only son. He did not utter one word of protest to his Lord.

They traveled to the land of Moriah.

Genesis 22:3-5  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5)  And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

Abraham learned to walk as the friend of God. He rose up early in the morning with his servants, his ass and Isaac. He cut the wood that was needed for the burnt offering, and then he traveled to the place the Lord told him to go.

It took three days to arrive in the land of Moriah and then Abraham saw the place where God told him to go. He instructed his servants to stay with the ass while Isaac and his father went “yonder to worship.” The Bible emphasizes Abraham’s faith, for he had said: “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” This was Abraham's confident expression of deep faith in God because even though he was told to sacrifice his son for a burnt offering, he believed that Isaac would return with him to the servants.

Isaac was an obedient son.

Genesis 22:6-8  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Notice the uncomplaining, compliant demeanor of Isaac. Abraham had Isaac carry the wood, while he carried the fire and the knife. Isaac noticed that they did not have an animal needed for a burnt offering and he asked his father where the lamb was. Abraham’s answer was that God would provide himself a lamb for the offering.

We now come to the great climax of God testing Abraham's faith. They arrive at Moriah, the place God ordained for the burnt offering. Abraham built an altar and carefully arranged the wood upon it. Next, he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar. Now, Isaac was a strong young man, and could have overpowered his father. Instead, he was obedient and submissive to his father's will. There is no record of Isaac ever questioning what his father was about to do.

The attitude of Isaac was connected to the fact that God knew Abraham would command his children to keep the way of Jehovah and to seek justice and judgment (Genesis 18:19). Therefore, Isaac trusted his father because Abraham trusted God. 

It seems clear that Abraham did command Isaac to keep the way of the Lord. He accepted everything that his father was going to do and he understood that he was going to be offered as the burnt offering, once Abraham placed him upon the wood. Genesis 22:10 ends this paragraph by stating that Abraham took the knife in his hand and was ready to kill his only beloved son.

See how the details point to Jesus Christ.

Both sons had miraculous births.

Isaac was born miraculously, when God intervened and touched the bodies of Abraham and Sarah so that they could produce a  son and heir of the covenant promises.

Jesus Christ was born the the miracle of the virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:1-21).

Both were only begotten sons loved by their fathers. 

Abraham had a special love for his only begotten son. Isaac was the son of Abraham's old age, which made him very precious to his father. He was also the only son of Abraham and Sarah's marriage and God viewed him as Abraham's legal son and rightful heir.

Our Father in heaven also had only one son, Jesus Christ (John 1:14; 1:18; 3:16-18). Our Father in heaven has a unique love for His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:35; 5:20; 10:17).

Both were obedient sons who did their father's will.

Isaac did not complain, did not grumble, did not try to avoid what Abraham asked him to do. Isaac knew that he was going to be offered as a sacrifice but he was willing to die if that was Abraham's will for him.  Jesus submitted to the will of His Father to go to the cross for us (Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46; John 8:28-30; Hebrews 10:7-10). Jesus was willing to die for us and that was the will of the Father for Him. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

There may be times that we will face a stern test of our faith. However, we can trust God to work all things out for His glory and our good. Abraham did not complain or panic or become angry at God when asked to sacrifice Isaac. He fully trusted Jehovah, and made ready to kill Isaac upon the altar. Isaac did not protest, did not talk back and certainly did not fight what his father was preparing to do to him. It seems as though Abraham taught Isaac well about the nature of God and the life of faith.

It was the most difficult test of Abraham's faith. Those of us who have children or grandchildren cannot comprehend sacrificing our sons or daughters. No doubt, Abraham experienced similar feelings, but the faith that he had toward Jehovah was far greater, and he was willing to do what he was told. 

The response that honors God when we are tested, is to obey His will without complaint. 

No matter where we are, what we do, or how long we have been a believer in Christ, our duty is to simply trust and obey. This portion of the narrative ends with a knife in Abraham's hand, ready to plunge into the heart of he only begotten and much-loved son, Isaac. 

Will he pass the test? More importantly, will we pass the testing of our faith and remain true and trusting of our wonderful God?

Bob