Read with Me
Genesis 22:1-3 (HCSB)
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
“Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.
Listen with Me
Now that Ishmael was gone from the camp, Abraham put all his affection and hopes for the future on his remaining son, Isaac. That wasn’t a bad thing, because the future of Abraham’s house really would move forward through Isaac and his children.
The problem came because Abraham had unwittingly begun to hold too tightly to Isaac. The loss of Ishmael in whom he had invested so much emotionally, caused him to be overly protective of Isaac, doting on him and spoiling him to the point that Isaac had almost become an idol to him, and would grow up emotionally needy and stunted in his spiritual life. This was a serious problem, one that required drastic measures. So, one day, out of the blue, God commanded Abraham to present Isaac to Him as a burnt offering.
The command took Abraham’s breath away. He had walked with God for several decades, and during that time He had never indicated in the least that He was the kind of God who demanded human sacrifices like some of the deities worshipped by the Canaanites. It also didn’t make any sense that God would take from him the son of the promise, the one through whom He had said all of Abraham’s descendants would come.
But this was more than a command. It was a test. If Abraham’s heart had become so tied to Isaac that he would be willing to disobey a direct command from God, God would not be able to use him as the root of His chosen people. Abraham’s lack of trust in God, his half-hearted devotion, would be taught, passed down, and amplified over subsequent generations, tainting the whole tree that issued from his roots.
Abraham spent a sleepless night before rousing Isaac and a couple of servants in getting everything ready for the three-day journey to the mountains of Moriah. As he wrestled with God’s commandment, and whether and how to obey, Abraham had come down firmly on three points. The first was that God had always kept His promises to him all the way to that point, including the promises He had made concerning Isaac. Second, God could do all kinds of amazing, even miraculous things, so He could probably raise Isaac from the dead eve after he had been killed and burned up (Hebrews 11:17-19). And finally, that he had entered into a covenant with God and, since he was a man of his word, he was obligated to stick to the terms of that covenant, the cornerstone of which was obedience and faithfulness (Genesis 17:1-2), no matter what God might call him to do.
Pray with Me
Father, this episode has always struck me as odd, as it does most people. But understanding why this test of loyalty was necessary for You, as well as for Abraham and Isaac and all who would come from them, helps me to see it in his proper context. Help me, Lord come to always keep You at the very top of my priorities, with nothing holding my heart tighter than You do, so that I never have to undergo similar testing to loosen my grip on the things of this world. Amen.