Litwithprayer Podcast

Abraham Tested by God

June 22, 2022 Litwithprayer Podcast
Litwithprayer Podcast
Abraham Tested by God
Show Notes

One interesting story in the Old Testament is about Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90 years old when Isaac, their only son,  was born. God had promised Abraham that he would have a son with Sarah even though she was past child bearing age. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that through his child with Sarah the nations of the earth would be blessed.

 One day God made an unusual request. He asked Abraham to take his son, his only son, whom he loved, to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains.  Abraham took Isaac and two other men and traveled to Moriah. When they were close, Abraham instructed the men to stay and said that Isaac and  he would go and worship and return back to them.

 Abraham knew that God had told him to sacrifice Isaac, but he had faith to know that he and Isaac would return. Did he think that God would raise Isaac from the dead after the sacrifice?

And why would God ask him to sacrifice, kill his only son, that was the promised child? Abraham trusted God that He would return Isaac back to him even after death.

 As Abraham and Isaac were walking towards the place where the sacrifice would be held, Isaac asked his father “where is the sacrificial lamb for the burnt offering?”  Isaac had no idea that he was the sacrifice! Abraham replied and said, ”My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” After Abraham built the altar and placed the wood on it, he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood.  

 The Bible doesn’t say if Isaac resisted or complied, but He must have trusted his father to be willing to be tied up and placed on the altar. Abraham takes a knife and is about to kill his only son, when an angel from God calls him from heaven and tells him not to kill his son. He tells Abraham that God  now knows that he completely trusts God and he is willing to do what God asks him, even to sacrifice his only son. God was testing Abraham to see if he honored Him more than his promised son.  Abraham proved himself and God provided a ram whose horns were caught in the thicket. Abraham frees his son, sacrifices the ram and then they both return back to the men and then back home.

 

In this story, Abraham is a picture of God our Father and Isaac, a picture of Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb, who ultimately dies to take away our sins. God tested Abraham to see if he would give up his only son, the one he loved dearly, to follow what God had instructed him. But, Abraham had great faith to believe  that even if he killed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead. So when God the Father sent Jesus His Son, He was willing to give His only begotten Son “that whosoever believed in Him, would not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) And Jesus was willing to go to the cross and suffer to pay for our sins. Jesus knew He would rise from the dead after three days and three nights, but He also understood the pain, suffering, and separation from His Father that He would have to endure.  If Abraham was willing, God was willing.

 

Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/abraham-tested-by-god?sd=pf