“Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” 3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. 9Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:1-14)
This is one of the most famous stories in all the Bible. It is the story of how our faith can be tested to the greatest degree. Abraham loved Isaac because he was the son God gave him by Sarah, his beloved wife. Abraham is referred to in scripture as “the father of the faithful” and this story tells us why. Image the difficulty of this task and yet Abraham did not hesitate to obey God. Fortunately, God does not require us today to demonstrate our faith and willingness to obey Him today in such dramatic ways. However, our faith and willingness to obey Him can be tested none the less. We are encouraged in the Bible to test ourselves to determine if we are really continuing to serve God by faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5) We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.)
One of the things that many are confused about is why a loving God allows us to suffer such terrible things while here on earth. We have a booklet, “Why Does God Allow Suffering?” We also have a sermon on CD entitled, “Why Didn’t God Destroy the Devil?” Both are FREE of charge just by filling out the form below.
