Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

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.

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. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 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.”

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “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.”

Up until this point, Abraham has had multiple dramatic encounters with God in which God has made covenants and promises to him. But does Abraham really believe and trust God? Was it all just words and head knowledge or was it something more? Something deeper.

It turns out he did believe it all for he was willing to sacrifice to God the promised son, the one who would be his heir and father of his descendants. He knew his experience wasn’t just dreams or imaginings – they were real. And he believed that God would somehow keep his word in spite of him killing the one in whom the future of the family laid.

It’s a powerful and shocking story. Offensive, even, to 21st century ears. But here we are still pondering this story 4000 years later. If he hadn’t been tested in this way, would his story have survived the passing of time? Would he have been the Father of a nation that blessed the world? Would those promises alone have given the Israelites hope to go on when they were slaves in Egypt? Or did this story prove to generations to come that God is who he says he is and can be trusted? He’s a God who may ask great things, but gives greater things in return. He asked for Abraham’s son, in return Abraham received not just his son but became the patriarch of a great family with a multitude of descendants. Abraham trusted that God would provide a way – and he did. And he continues to provide a way today. In the fullness of time he sent the Son, becoming a sacrifice for us, freeing us from our sins. And as we prepare to celebrate that first coming, we can wait with hopeful anticipation as we trust that he will keep his final promise to us, the Second Coming and the bringing together of heaven and earth as one.

Let us pray.

Thank you God that you are the God who keeps his promises. We know we can trust you and take you at your word. Thank you that you provide for us as you provided for Abraham on the mountain. Thank you for the example of his great faith; may we may learn and be inspired by it. Amen.

Questions

How has God provided for you in your life in your times of need? How has God proven his trustworthiness to you?

Whose stories of faith have inspired you?

Has God ever asked you to give something up or let something go? How did that work out? Or is it still working itself out?