Read with Me
Genesis 22:4-8 (HCSB)
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.
Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
Listen with Me
As Abraham and Isaac and the two servants went forward on their three-day journey, the conversation, when there was conversation, was not about the sacrifice, but on other things. But on the third day, Abraham saw the higher ground ahead and knew that it was the place God had told him to go.
Abraham made the decision to not take the two servants along on the final leg of this mission. He wasn’t entirely sure how this was going to work out, and he figured that at best, the servants would be horrified as he sacrificed Isaac, and at worst, they might even act to stop him. So, he left them below and went on ahead, just him and Isaac.
Isaac was observant. He had witnessed several sacrifices, and some of the normal things were at hand – the knife, the wood, the hot coal in a small box from which it could be taken and blown back to fiery life. They would build an altar from the rocks that lay around as they normally did. The glaring omission was the lamb that would serve as the sacrifice itself. Isaac couldn’t imagine why his father would forget the key part of the sacrifice, and he finally asked about it.
Abraham’s response was vague, that God would provide His own lamb for the sacrifice. This shows that Abraham had not told Isaac what was going on yet, probably to spare him the natural anxiety that would result from sharing the whole plan.
Isaac wasn’t sure how to deal with his father’s reply. He was usually very open when discussing God and God’s plans. But the real cause for his reticence was that Abraham himself wasn’t entirely sure how this was going to go. So, rather than conjecturing, he chose to move forward in silence until he had no choice but to speak.
Pray with Me
Father, this is a heartbreaking scene, and I can’t begin to imagine the swirl of thoughts and feelings that was flowing through Abraham’s mind and heart right then. But I appreciate the understanding that when he wasn’t sure how You were going to work things out, he simply chose to remain silent, unlike so many, me included, who choose to fill the blanks in with opinions and conjectures that often prevent us from recognizing Your answer when it does come. This is especially true when Your answer is different than what we had figured would happen, which it often is. Lord, help me to be patient as I am waiting for Your answer, to move forward not with conjectures or impatience, but with a simple, respectful, silent anticipation, so that I can clearly recognize Your answer when it comes. Amen.