By now we know that 100 year old Abraham and 90 year old Sarah have had their own child, Isaac, whose name means laughter. Can you just imagine the joy that precious little baby brought into their lives? Can't you see Sarah just peering into his little face in disbelief every single day? I can almost imagine Sarah pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. And not just a baby, but . . . a SON . . . to carry on the family name . . . to be the first child in their "nation" (Genesis 12:2), to be the first "dust of the earth" (Genesis 13:16), the first "star in the sky" (Genesis 22:17). Finally, their wait is over. A miracle has taken place - a miracle - from God. Oh how they must have PRAISED HIM for the gift He gave them.
Well, little Isaac begins to grow into a toddler, then into a youth. THEN God speaks to Abraham again - this time He instructs him to take his precious son - go to the location He tells him - AND offer him (Isaac) up to God as a BURNT OFFERING. (Genesis 22:1-2). WHAT? WAIT! SERIOUSLY? I KNOW these would be the words coming out of my mouth along with NO, NO, NO . . . BUT YOU SAID . . .
But that is NOT what Abraham does. Early the very next morning, he saddles up his donkey, instructs two of his servants and his son that they are going on a trip. AND he cuts the wood for the burnt offering (did I tell you Abraham is now more than 100 years old?)
This "trip" is not right next door - it is a 3-day walk. We don't know how old Isaac is, but we know he's old enough to walk this journey with his Dad. I don't know about you, but I can imagine their nights sitting around the camp-fire. I can imagine Isaac chatting with his Dad and the servants - perhaps even laughing over some of the stories that might be shared. If I were Abraham, my heart would be bursting with sorrow at the coming event - I wouldn't even be able to look Isaac in the eye. This would be the day that laughter dies.
But we are not told that Abraham had any of these feelings. We are ONLY told that when they arrive on the 3rd day - Abraham looks up into the mountains, sees "the place" far off, tells his servants to hang there with the donkey while "I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." This is the part in this story where my heart really sinks every time I read this Scripture (even though I know the miraculous ending!!!)
Abraham, on the other hand, has tremendous faith in his Lord. He knows that God has promised "I will establish my covenant with Isaac." (Genesis 17:21) He knows that Isaac is the son of the promise. Abraham doesn't know how God is going to do it, but he his faith in the Lord is so strong that he knows He will keep His promise.
Isaac asks his father, "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 a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:7-8) The author reminds us, "Clearly a boy who could carry all that wood could easily escape from a man who was at least 110 years old. But Isaac submitted willingly.
They arrived at the place - built the altar - arranged the wood. There was nothing left to do except for Abraham to bind Isaac, place him on the wood, plunge the knife into him, light the fire and let the smoke rise up to God.
When Abraham "took the knife to slay his son", an angel of the Lord called to Abraham and said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." (Genesis 22:10-12)
The author tells us, "Now Abraham had passed the supreme test. By raising his hand with every intention of carrying out God's instructions, he demonstrated that now he feared God more than he feared losing what God had given to him."
"And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, 'The Lord will provide' " (Genesis 22:13-14) The mountain did not become a monument to Abraham's obedience but to God's provision.
The point of this story is not to convict us that we must be willing to sacrifice to God what is most precious to us. The point of the story is that God is willing to sacrifice for us what was most precious to Him.
This promised child was always meant to point us to another promised child. Seeing God's power at work in Sarah prepared us for another woman who could not possibly conceive because she had never been with a man.
"For many, this story of God calling Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice seems pointless, indiscernible, and cruel. Yet God did not ask Abraham to do anything that He himself would not do. In fact, the command to Abraham was always intended to foreshadow what God would do centuries later on the cross of Calvary. The true Father would one day walks his beloved only Son up that same hill on which the Son would be sacrificed. But this time the Father's hand was not stayed.
Do you want to know how you can know that you are loved by God? It is not by looking at your circumstances. You must come to this mountain and look up at this cross. You must see that God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up" for you (Romans 8:32). Only then can you say, "Now I know. Now I know that I am truly loved, because you have marked me as your own, you have kept your promises to me, you have sacrificed your only Son for me."
"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)