Shalom,

Sundays are usually very busy days here, so the blog will be brief today. We will look at Genesis 22. Verses 1-2 say:

¹AFTER THESE events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am.

²[God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you.

God put Abraham to the test and Abraham PASSED this test! Abraham did NOT go up the mountain crying all the way because God told him to sacrifice his son. And Isaac (who was probably about 25 at the time!) didn't worry and fret all the way up the mountain, either! Don't you think that a strong young man could have fought his elderly father and NOT allowed himself to get up on that altar? What made Abraham do what he did and Isaac go right along with it? Because they BOTH remembered the promise that God had made to Abraham that through Isaac God would make of Abraham a great nation! They both knew and believed that even IF they had to go through with the sacrifice, God Himself would bring Isaac back to life. THAT'S the faith that the Bible talks about US having! The faith of Abraham (and Isaac!)! Notice what Abraham told his men when he and Isaac left to continue up the mountain alone in verse 5:

⁵And Abraham said to his servants, Settle down and stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go yonder and worship and come again to you.

Then what Abraham said when Isaac asked him where the sacrifice lamb was:

⁷And Isaac said to Abraham, My father! And he said, Here I am, my son. [Isaac] said, See, here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt sacrifice?

⁸Abraham said, My son, God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering. So the two went on together.

They were both in agreement and here is what God did:

¹¹But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! He answered, Here I am.

¹²And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back from Me or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son.

¹³Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, 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 for a burnt offering and an ascending sacrifice instead of his son!

Now for the result of Abraham's (and Isaac's) obedience:

¹⁵The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time

¹⁶And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld [from Me] or begrudged [giving Me] your son, your only son,

¹⁷In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies,

¹⁸And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.

God Himself did not hold back His Son, His ONLY Son, but GAVE Him for us! Jesus did not hold back His own life, but laid it down for us! And now the Holy Spirit lives inside of every believer in Jesus of Nazareth to lead, guide and direct us every day and to teach us the Word of God so that we can walk in obedience to it! Hallelujah! Keep meditating the Word! There is so much in every verse that we could take all of eternity and never reach the end of all there is to learn!

Shalom in Him!