One of the greatest acts of obedience recorded in all of Scripture is found in today’s reading. Before we jump to that story, let’s stop to notice how God intervenes. The first life that we see God intervene is on Abraham’s behalf. He does it again. He tells a king that Sarah is his sister. Yet, God knows that He is soon going to fulfill His promise to bless her with a son. There can be no room for question that Abraham is the father. God would not be able to carry the line of promise through her otherwise. He stops Abimelech before he takes Sarah. Abraham stepped out on his own wisdom, but God prevented the tragedy from occurring. In the next chapter, we see God intervene on Hagar’s behalf. When no one else would take care of Hagar, God did. I am so thankful that God is our Father. These two chapters reveal to us even more about the character of God, our Everlasting Father. Then we find the incredible story of Abraham obediently offering his son, the promised one, as a sacrifice to God. This is the Old Testament foretelling of God laying down the life of His son for the sins of mankind. As we imagine Abraham walking up the hill, we want to cry out, “No,” as Isaac looks up to his father asking what will be used for the sacrifice. The son is tied to the altar, the knife is raised and yet again, God intervenes. This time, however, it’s not because of Abraham’s disobedience but because of his complete obedience. There are so many principles that can be drawn from this passage. Today, however, I want us to simply imagine what it must have like for Abraham to take each step up that mountain, fully realizing and accepting what God was asking. God asked him to sacrifice what was most precious to him, “his son, his only son, whom he loved.” Now we see why Abraham had to give up Ishmael. It would have not been as great of a sacrifice if there were another son. Then we must realize that God carried through entirely with the sacrifice of His son. The sacrificial knife did not come to a halt before taking the life of the Son. It entered and pierced. No alternative was provided. And the Son lay on the alter trusting the actions of His Father in complete submission.
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