06 Jun New Faith for an Old Fear
Genesis 22:8 – Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
If you’ve been studying Genesis along with us for the past several months, you probably remember several instances in which Abraham shows a lack of faith, namely in giving his wife away not once but twice in fear of his own life being taken.
After the promised son, Isaac, comes to Abraham and Sarah, there’s a long period of prosperity that lasts at least a decade before Abraham’s biggest test to date comes. The timing is interesting in that Abraham’s greatest test comes later in his life when his faith is most mature.
Abraham and Isaac get up early with seemingly no complaints or rebellion and travel 50 miles, carrying wood for the sacrifice, traveling plenty of miles (by donkey, no less) for either one to change their minds and turn around. But this time, Abraham doesn’t waver and passes his faith test.
The fact is, God didn’t want Isaac’s life. He wanted Abraham and Isaac’s heart.
God knows everything, including the faith of Abraham, and Abraham is even memorialized in Hebrews 11, considered the “Hall of Faith” chapter of the Bible. It seems that this test may not be for Abraham after all; instead, it may have been for Isaac to see the faith of his father and learn how to have faith in his own life.
God steps in before Isaac’s life is taken and, in turn, he blesses Abraham and his entire generational line. As we see here, faith is both internal conviction and external action. Our faith can encourage and influence others, especially our children if we’re parents. Ultimately, the key to being a good parent is to be a good child of God, our Heavenly Father.
Although he has stumbled in faith and quick obedience at times, the now older, more mature Abraham responds immediately to this daunting task. How are he and his son illustrating James 2:21-22?
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