God Tested. God Approved.

Abraham Tested. Yep, that's the name of Genesis Chapter 22 in my Bible. In reading this story, I think we often gloss over the details and just come up with catchy sermon titles. So, I want to go through this story verse by verse and imagine those things that we aren't really given details about.

Gen 22:1-Some time later, God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.

God tested Abraham. Just like you, I am not really fond of tests. But the reality is that we are given tests to see what we have learned and to judge our progress. In school, you generally only get to take the test once because they are concerned about your performance but I am so thankful that God is more concerned about our personhood then our performance! His tests are tests of character which allow us to see where we are (he already knows!) and what areas of weakness God still needs to refine.

Also in this verse, I love that there is absolutely no hesitation indicated in scripture here in Abraham's response. Abraham heard God's voice and he answered. May I be as quick to respond to the Lord as Abraham.

Gen 2:2-Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.

I find it interesting how specific God is when talking to Abraham about Isaac. You would think that all God would have to say is "Take your son" and Abraham would know which one God was talking about since he only had one. But God continues, "Take your son, your only son". "Your only son". Again, this seems kind of redundant but we know God has a purpose with every word he speaks. And then God names the son, "Isaac". At this point, I think Abraham gets who God is talking about. But then God seems to seal the matter further, "whom you love". Isaac was the fulfillment of the promise that God had made with Abraham. Isaac was a representation of the Lord's grace and love for both Abraham and Sarah! Besides that, Isaac is Abraham's son, so of course he loves him! Just as God finishes reminding Abraham of who Isaac is God seemingly asks the unthinkable. God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. God asks for Isaac back.

Gen 22:3-Early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God told him about.

Early the next morning is often likened to Abraham's swift act of obedience. And while, I agree, I also have to wonder what the night was like for Abraham. Can you imagine getting the news that you have to sacrifice your "promise" and then try sleeping after that? Scripture doesn't say that Abraham informed Sarah about what the Lord said and so it was just him mulling over the order from the Lord. I personally don't think Abraham slept much that night which made it a little easier for him to be up "early the next morning" but in that moment even though he was awake, Abraham still had a choice to make. Obedience or Disobedience? We see Abraham gather supplies, servants and his son.

Gen 22:4-On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

Okay, so I had never seen this before until this past week. Note that verse 4 says, ON THE THIRD DAY! I guess I had always over read that part and just assumed that this whole Abraham "sacrificing" the promise all happened on the same day! But it did not! Can you imagine traveling for 3 days knowing what lies ahead?!  That would have left plenty of opportunity for Abraham to turn around, to turn back and say, "God, I know what you are asking me but that is just too hard! You already know how much I love this boy! I thank you for giving him to me but I can't give him back to you!" And while Abraham may have been battling these thoughts, we see that he kept on going, kept on walking, kept on obeying God.

Gen 22:5-He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I an the boy go over there. We will worship and the we will come back to you."

So, I never caught this in verse 5 either..."WE, will come back to you." Did Abraham have that much faith that God wasn't going to really take his son with his proclamation that WE will come back? Was he just saying that so no one would know what would really happen up the mountain? I think it may have been that he was hoping that they both would be returning from the mountain.

Gen 22:6-8-Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

Okay, I put all of those verses so we can get the full picture. This is the only time we hear from Isaac in the whole chapter. While it was probably fairly normal for him to accompany his father for offering time, this time he notices that something very important is missing, the lamb. Now, I have to wonder what was happening with Abraham. Did he have tears streaming down his face as his son asked this question? Was he even able to look at Isaac as he asked his PaPa the question? Did Abraham and Isaac talk about other things as they traveled along for 3 days as I am sure that they had to? And what was going through Isaac's mind? Maybe he noticed dad was being more quiet than usual. Maybe he thought it was super odd for them to be going to sacrifice without an animal in tow. (All of these are just speculations on my part to try and get in the story with Abraham and Isaac. I think I have so often read this story knowing the outcome that I overlook the details or the feelings laden therein.)

Gen 22:9-When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar. This is an incredibly hard scene for me to wrap my head around. Isaac, who knows the love of his PaPa, who probably knows that he is the promise of God to Abraham, is bound. The crazy thing is that Abraham had to do the binding! Was Isaac screaming? Was he crying? Was he trying to talk to Abraham and find out what was happening? Was Abraham crying? Was he praying? Did Abraham explain to Isaac what God had asked of him? How was Abraham handling this act of complete and total obedience? We don't know. How was Isaac handling being bound by the man that loved him (Abraham) so that he (Abraham) could be obedient to the God that loved him?

Gen 22:10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Abraham was all in. Obedience in action.

Gen 22:11-12-But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy, " he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Praise the Lord for the angel! Praise the Lord for Abraham hearing the Lord's voice!

NOW I know that you fear God! Abraham was willing to give back to the Lord what was already His and in turn blessings followed his obedience. A ram appears in the thicket for Abraham to sacrifice to the Lord. And then the Lord seals and ups his promise saying in verses 16-18, "I swear by myself declares the Lord that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me."

Now, it's not likely that the Lord will ask us to head to the mountain for a sacrifice of this kind but what area of obedience does he want from us today? What area of obedience do you want from me today? Lord, I want it to be said of me like you said of Abraham, "Now I know that you fear God!"