Daily Devotions
Genesis
"For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death." Psalm 48:14
Text: Genesis 22:1-24
GOD’S PROVISION FOR A SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Abraham was right! His words to Isaac were true and accurate! God would indeed provide for himself a lamb for the burnt offering! With great gladness of heart, Abraham released Isaac from his bonds!
“Then Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked,
and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket
by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram,
and offered it up for a burnt offering, instead of his son.”GENESIS 22:13
How wonderful it was to have such a faith! God had indeed provided! The ram was already there even before Abraham caught sight of it! Faith merely confirmed what God had planned to provide! (Historical note – From time to time, shepherds lose sheep when they go astray and they are caught in thickets).
DEEP LESSONS OF FAITH
What deep lessons of faith Abraham learned as he went through this experience! Let us take time to ponder this commentary from the Book of Hebrews.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises offered up his
only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed
shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up,
even from the dead, from which he also received him in a
figurative sense.”HEBREWS 11:17-19
1. Full belief that God was able to resurrect Isaac
Abraham had never seen anyone resurrected from the dead! Nevertheless he believed that God was able to do just that! Thus he was prepared to offer Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord! That faith was well and truly tested! Abraham’s faith was intact throughout the testing! In his mind, when he decided to sacrifice Isaac, his son was as good as “dead”. The return of his son may be compared to having him resurrected from the dead!
2. A deep love for the Lord
Abraham began with some knowledge of God. But after having walked with the Lord for more than three decades, he had grown to love and trust the Lord completely! He had not always succeeded in obeying the Lord fully. This time he did that successfully! No matter how much he loved his only begotten son, he was prepared to give him up, if God so commanded him! He would withhold nothing from this everlasting God whom he had come to love beyond everything else he held dear! He passed the test of love he held in his heart for the Lord with flying colours!