Proclamation:
“Some
time later God tested Abraham. He said
to him, ‘Abraham!’ … Then God said, ‘Take you son, you 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.’ Early the next morning … he took his son …
When they reached the place … Abraham built and altar … he bound his son Isaac
and laid him on the altar … and took the knife to slay his son. But The Angel of The Lord called out to him …
‘Do not lay a hand on the boy’ … Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he
saw a ram, caught by its horns … he took the ram and sacrificed it … The Angel
of The Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said ‘… 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.’” Genesis 22:1-18 (NIV)
Explanation:
The Lord God appeared to Abraham and made a covenant with him.
(Genesis 17:1-7) God kept His promise
and Abraham was an old man when his son, Isaac, was born. (Genesis 21:2) When The Lord God called to him and told what
He wanted him to do, Abraham was obedient and took his son to the mountains to
offer him as a brunt offering unto The Lord. Before he actually slayed his son, The Angel
of The Lord stopped him and showed him a ram that was caught in the bush. Abraham called that place “The Lord Will
Provide”. (Genesis 22:14) Because he was
willing to sacrifice his son to please God, The Lord promised to bless him and
his descendants, who would be too numerous to count. (Genesis 22:16-17) He promised that through Abraham’s
descendants all nations on the earth would be blessed, referring to Jesus, The
Christ. (Genesis 22:18) The genealogy of
Jesus can be traced back to Abraham. (Matthew 1:1-16)
Application:
Abraham passed his test of faith in God by showing his obedience
to God. He was willing to give up the
son that he loved in order to obey God. What sacrifices are we willing to make to obey
The Word of God? All too often we choose
to please ourselves and our lustful, sinful nature instead of sacrificing our
personal wants, wishes, and desires in order to please God. We offer excuses when we are presented with
the opportunity to choose to obey The Word of God and we give in to pleasing
ourselves. Abraham is often referred to
as the father of the faithful. He was
truly blessed, God even used his enemies to be a blessing to him. If we want to be blessed more in the future
than we already are, then maybe we should be more obedient to God's word and
His will than we are currently. God gave
us a free will and He allows us to choose to be obedient or not. Following Him requires some personal
sacrifices. However, with obedience and
sacrifice comes some special blessings.
Remember, some blessings are conditional.
