Testing Times
Opening Prayer
Lord, I invite You to be at home in every corner of my life. Help me to make You welcome.
Read Genesis 22:1-8
[1] Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. [2] 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.” [3] Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded 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 had told him about. [4] On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. [5] He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” [6] 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, [7] 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?” [8] Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
Why would this be such a big test for Abraham?Child sacrifice was not uncommon in this era; contemporary texts from Phoenician and Punic colonies suggest it was performed as a means of ensuring fertility. But Isaac was a child of promise, born to parents in extreme old age (21:2), and dearly loved (22:2). It is a staggering testament to Abraham’s trust and devotion to God that he immediately and unquestioningly responds to God’s instructions to give Isaac up as a burnt offering (3). One can only imagine the anguish of that three-day journey to Moriah (4), and yet there is no wavering or argument from Abraham. As I read this story, I ask myself what I would have done, and I fear the answer. Do I love God more than the things he gives me? Would I give him everything if he asked me to? We don’t know how Abraham heard God speak on this occasion but, clearly, it was unambiguous. I hope that if God spoke to me as directly, I would be obedient. In the meantime, I pray that my love of him would grow more wholehearted and overshadow the love I have for anything or anyone else.
Apply
God can use difficult circumstances to refine our character. How might he be working through situations you face?
Closing prayer
Lord, I want to trust You fully. I trust You to work through the challenges and tests I’ll face today.
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