Grace For Your Day February 20

February 20th, 2023

One of the strangest events in the Bible is the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. For years, Abraham had waited for a child to be born to him. Genesis 12:4 says that he was 75 years old when the Lord promised him one and Genesis 21:5 says that he was 100 years old when Isaac was born implying that he waited 25 years for the boy’s arrival, which makes this event seem so bizarre. Genesis 22:1-19 describes it in detail when it says:

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 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.” 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. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 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.” 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. 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?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

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. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 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.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him arm 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. 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.”

Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 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, 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. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Since this passage is so long, I cannot say too much about it here other than to point out how important this sacrifice was for Abraham because verse 2 calls Isaac “your son, your only son, whom you love.” If you notice, Isaac was not only Abraham’s son but he was his only son. He was also not only Abraham’s only son but he was referred to as the son “whom you love” in order to demonstrate how much Abraham cared for the child.

Isaac was his whole world which makes Abraham’s response so incredible because verse 3 says that, after hearing the command, Abraham rose early in the morning to sacrifice the child. He did not rise late in the morning. He did not set out in the afternoon. He did not even wait a day or two before complying. He obeyed right away.

Why? Because he trusted God. The reason Abraham acted this way is because he believed that, if the Lord told him to do something, it was right even though he did not fully grasp what was happening. His faith allowed him to follow the Word of God no matter what which is what we are going to talk about this week at Grace Fellowship Church.

This Sunday, we are going to talk about the next passage in the Hall of Faith which describes Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Hebrews 11:17 says, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.” The reason the author mentions that at this point in the chapter is because it is the most powerful example of faith in the Old Testament. No one was asked to give up more for God until Jesus came and yet Abraham did it willingly because he knew that God was worth it.
Please join us as we discuss that this weekend. Our service begins at 9:30 and it will be livestreamed on our You Tube Channel for all who are not able to join us in person.

– Jeremy Cagle

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Tagged with Grace Fellowship Church Chilliwack, Grace For Your Day