(Genesis 22:1-24) Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.
20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
This all might sound crazy, but especially back then, it was a very common practice for people to sacrifice their children to their gods. So when God asked Abraham to do this - to sacrifice his only son of promise for whom they waited so long - Abraham had faith that God would provide a replacement. And even if his son died, Abraham would have had faith that God could even resurrect his son. Afterall, God had promised him that he would have many descendants through his son, Isaac!This so perfectly illustrates how the Lord Jesus came in flesh to be our replacement in death, as the perfect Lamb of God, to pay for all sin, so that in Him and with Him we can be resurrected to eternal life. God provides! God does it for us! When we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus! Once we are saved, we should continually offer our whole selves to Him, to change us from the inside out, so that He can work in and through us. And in our obedience, He blesses us.
As for any loved one of ours, friend or family, we should "offer them" - "give them" to God. I can share this from personal experience. The most poignant example is when our daughter was born. She had a very rare lung condition, and all the experts told us to prepare ourselves! She was going to die!
The Lord gave me so much peace in that moment as I told Him that our daughter was His. I gave our daughter to the Lord, saying that I believed He could heal her if it was His will, but if it was His will that she go home to heaven, I trusted Him to give me more peace, comfort and strength. When she did not die, the doctors and nurses were perplexed.
I could not will my daughter to live. I cannot will anyone of my loved ones to stay alive or even remain steadfast in their walk with God! This only induces worry and anxiety. I am not God. So our only choice is to trust the Lord in this. And there is so much peace in allowing God to take over, and resting in Him.
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