- Joined
- Oct 26, 2007
- Messages
- 12,538
"Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." Genesis 22:2 NLT
What? Did you really read that? Humanly speaking, God’s command for Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son seems crazy. But it’s also the choice God had to make with His Son, Jesus. God spared the life of Abraham’s son, but He sacrificed His own Son, Jesus, as your substitute.
Consider for a moment what it would be like to hear a request from God that He had never requested before, seemed out of character with His nature, and was harder than any request He had made before.
There was a long walk to Mount Moriah, where young Isaac was to be sacrificed. Abraham had a long time to think about what God had asked, meditate on what he knew to be true about Him, and to become convinced that God had a plan, a bit unexpected but brilliant.
God was testing obedience versus excuses, willingness versus refusal, and trust versus fear. And Abraham acted on this very hard-to-honor request because he knew in his heart that God could be trusted. God honored His faithfulness and accepted a substitute. Father and son walked home—but never alone.
Prayer: Father, please help me trust You when Your plan for me seems harder than mine.
What? Did you really read that? Humanly speaking, God’s command for Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son seems crazy. But it’s also the choice God had to make with His Son, Jesus. God spared the life of Abraham’s son, but He sacrificed His own Son, Jesus, as your substitute.
Consider for a moment what it would be like to hear a request from God that He had never requested before, seemed out of character with His nature, and was harder than any request He had made before.
There was a long walk to Mount Moriah, where young Isaac was to be sacrificed. Abraham had a long time to think about what God had asked, meditate on what he knew to be true about Him, and to become convinced that God had a plan, a bit unexpected but brilliant.
God was testing obedience versus excuses, willingness versus refusal, and trust versus fear. And Abraham acted on this very hard-to-honor request because he knew in his heart that God could be trusted. God honored His faithfulness and accepted a substitute. Father and son walked home—but never alone.
Prayer: Father, please help me trust You when Your plan for me seems harder than mine.
