Genesis 22:1-19
Wednesday, 27 January 2021
“Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” -Genesis 22:12
The very title of this chapter, ‘Abraham’s Faith Confirmed’ [NKJV] prepares us for a faith test. It becomes quite clear to us as we read this passage that every believer who claims to be a follower of God will be tested to see if his/ her faith in God is genuine or not. 1Peter 1: 6 says [paraphrased] “rejoice in trials as they have come so that our faith which is far more precious than material things may be proved genuine and may result in Jesus receiving all glory and praise.”
Abraham’s faith in God proved to be unflinching even in the most agonizing experience of his life. His steadfast faith in an AWESOME GOD helped him encounter God as ‘THE PROVIDER’, that generation later people remember him as the ‘FATHER OF FAITH.’
What are some lessons we can learn from Abraham and Isaac as we read today’s text that will get people around us to know that we have put our faith not in some god but in THE LIVING GOD?
Abraham’s immediate response- Though God’s request of Abraham to sacrifice his only son would have sounded very illogical, it records, in V.3- that early the next morning he set out with his son to perform the sacrifice [paraphrased]. He did not pause to question God or argue with Him, he just obeyed. When was the last time we set things right in our lives as a response to God’s word spoken to us? Or are we still trying to prove our point to God?
Isaac’s child-like trust- Isaac never doubted his dad. All through his young life he must have heard about his father’s unwavering faith in Jehovah. Even that day he must have heard a few whispers among the servants, could have seen his mum’s tears as they left that morning, yet we see him ask only once during the journey for the burnt offering (V.7) and his father’s reply proved satisfactory to him that he never questioned him again. Do we display this kind of total trust in our Heavenly Father even when we walk through life’s rough paths?
Abraham’s absolute assurance- Vs-8: What did he build his assurance on? On the covenant that God had made with him (Gen.12:2; 15:5). He knew that God would never go back on His Word. Paul In Romans 4:20-21 says “ yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.” How about you and I, in difficult times— are we holding on to God’s promises over our lives, believing the God who has promised us, is faithful?
Abraham’s total surrender- Vs 9-11: We see his total surrender in these verses. His faith in Yahweh, his God was complete. That’s why we read in Romans 4:17: Abraham believed in a God who gives life from the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. He did not waver from doing everything that God expected to do. How could God not honour someone who obeyed him completely?
Many years later, Jesus the Son of God laid down his life for us, withholding nothing. He was willing to obey His Father even to the point of death on a cross so that you and I would be called children of God.
What are some of the “Isaacs” in our lives that we need to lay down? Do we have the faith to believe that whatever we lay down for the Lord He is able to raise it up for His glory? Are we willing, is the question!
Thought for the Day: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)
Listen: ‘God will provide’