When Abraham was given the command to sacrifice Isaac, he was just told where to do it. This devotional reading looks at the why – after he had successfully completed the mission.
Nuggets
- Because Abraham showed his obedience to do whatever Jehovah asked of him, Jehovah did not require the sacrifice of Isaac.
- The purpose of the test was to determine if Abraham feared Jehovah.
- Abraham’s prediction that Jehovah would provide a lamb for sacrifice was correct.
- The angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham and stopped the sacrifice.
- Jehovah swore by Himself as that would be a binding oath.
- Jehovah repeated and clarified some of the covenant blessings.
- Abraham. Isaac, and the servants (and the donkey) returned home.
Jehovah always rewards faith and obedience. When Abraham passed his test, he was rewarded.
Jehovah always rewards faith and obedience. We, like Abraham, have to walk toward trials with an attitude of worship.
Let’s see how that turned out for Abraham.
Programming note: This devotion ran long, so I cut it in half. Check back next time to get the connections and the application.
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Devotions in the Abraham the Patriarch series
Isaac Saved
“At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Yes,’ Abraham replied. ‘Here I am!’ ‘Don’t lay a hand on the boy!’ the angel said. ‘Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son’” (Gen. 22: 11-12 NLT)
Don’t Lay a Hand on the Boy
Because Abraham showed his obedience to do whatever Jehovah asked of him, Jehovah did not require the sacrifice of Isaac.
Abraham got the order for the sacrifice and left the next morning to the mountain to which God led him. He never wavered.
Abraham built the altar and placed Isaac upon it. Hie lifted his hand with the knife in it to kill his beloved son.
Abbadie nailed Abraham’s dilemma. He wrote,
“Two Abrahams combated one against the other; but divine and heavenly principles raise him far above those which are carnal and [terrestrial]. Grace triumphs over nature. Abraham makes a double sacrifice to God; an exterior sacrifice upon the mountain, and an interior sacrifice in the secret of his soul. In the one he takes his son and binds him; in the other he immolates to God the sentiments of his soul.”
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- The issue wasn’t that Abraham’s two natures battled within him for supremacy. That battle is going to go on inside everyone.
- Godly principles are higher than secular.
- Grace rewards obedience – this time for true total submission to His Will.
The angel of the Lord (Malach Hashem) took then to be the time to step in. He said, “Wait a minute. That really isn’t what Jehovah wants.”
Isaac was obedient to his father Abraham and his Father Jehovah. When he found out who the sacrifice was going to be, He could have rebelled against his father.
It wouldn’t have taken much. Remember, if Isaac was 15 to 30 years old, that made this 1845 to 1830. Abraham was anywhere from 115 to 130 years old.
I’m sure Abraham had some strength left, but he may not have been a match against a young man.
Isaac’s obedience as well as Abraham’s obedience was rewarded. Isaac got to keep his life.
I Know that You Truly Fear God
The purpose of the test was to determine if Abraham feared Jehovah.
The fear of the Lord means is an Old Testament term. We are used to hearing it said as godliness.
No, fear doesn’t mean terror. It means aw and reverence.
How do we show that?
- We respect Jehovah’s authority and holiness.
- We recognize His power and justice in the world.
- We approach Him in humility and submission to His will and commandments.
- We live lives of moral and ethical behavior.
- We build a relationship with Jehovah because we love and trust Him.
- “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment” (Prov. 9: 10 NLT).
I have to think about what Maclaren said. He wrote, “Not meaning that he learned the heart by the conduct, but that on occasion of the conduct He breathes into the obedient heart that calm consciousness of its service as recognized and accepted by Him, which is the highest reward that his friend can know.”
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What we do doesn’t necessarily show what is in our hearts. Why? “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jer. 17: 9 NLT).
That is why being a good person means nothing to Jehovah.
Look again at what Maclaren said. In Elaine-speak — when we obey, Jehovah grants a peaceful assurance that our service is known and accepted by Him.
This was the greatest reward for His friend Abraham. It is also our reward when we obey.
Because Abraham obeyed and because the test found his heart to be right, he was rewarded with a more profound understanding of Jehovah’s teachings.
Sacrifice Provided
“Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means ‘the Lord will provide’). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided’” (Gen. 22: 13-14 NLT)
Abraham’s prediction that Jehovah would provide a lamb for sacrifice was correct.
Remember, after they left the servants, Abraham told Isaac that Jehovah would provide the sacrifice (Gen. 22: 8). He had been confident that — no matter how Jehovah pulled it off — He would get it done.
Look what Spurgeon said about this. He wrote, “True faith not only speaks the language of prophecy, but, when she sees her prophecy fulfilled, faith is always delighted to raise memorials to the God of truth.”
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Abraham’s prediction that Jehovah would provide a lamb for sacrifice was correct.
Jehovah is always going to provide what we need. That is a fact. It includes what we need for the body as well as spiritual needs.
- Manna
- Clothes
- Protection in danger.
- Relief in trouble.
Jehovah will provide for our spiritual needs.
- Counsel.
- Instructions.
- Strength.
- A plan for our lives.
- Love
- Forgiveness
- Salvation
- Peace
- Protection is temptation.
At first I wondered about adding both counsel and instructions. But we need both.
Instructions are the do’s and don’ts of God’s Word. Counsel is the Holy Spirit nudging us when we get in situations where we have to make schoice.
What Jehovah provides isn’t going to be in opposition to His law and commandments. He is never going to do something halfway or leave it undone.
Jehovah is going to do it right the first time — at the right time.
We sometimes question how Abraham couldn’t see the ram stuck in the bushes until he was told it was the sacrifice. Well, God may have made it appear then.
Or He clouded Abraham and Isaac’s eyes. We know God can do that.
- “But God kept them from recognizing him” (Lk. 24: 16 NLT).
- “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (Lk. 24: 31 NLT).
Rees reminded us that Jehovah provided much more than a ram. He provided the faith to ace the testing. I’d say He provided the grace to handle it as he did.
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We know that Jehovah will wisely provide for us. Since He knows yesterday, today, and tomorrow, He knows much better than we do what we need.
We also know that Jehovah is faithful to us. “God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful” (I Thess. 5: 24 NLT).
We should be thankful when Jehovah does provide for us. He is revealing Himself to us. We should also be thankful when He removes the pain of the testing by offering the sacrifice Himself.
Swearing by Himself
“Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — all because you have obeyed me’” (Gen. 22: 15-18 NLT)
By Myself
Jehovah swore by Himself as that would be a binding oath.
The angel was the one talking, but he was probably saying God’s words verbatim. These were important words.
Jehovah had given Abraham a lot of promises in their covenant. This was the first time He swore on Himself.
Let’s look at this two ways. Jehovah swore by His name and He swore by Himself.
Jehovah swore by His name. This made the promise absolute and unchangeable. He was basing it on the fact there is no higher authority to which to appeal.
By swearing by His name, Jehovah was swearing on Himself. He did this to show Abraham could have unwavering confidence in what He promised. But what does that mean?
- He swore on His character.
- He swore on His power.
- He swore on His tenderness.
- He swore on His sympathy.
- He swore on His authority.
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That shows how important the promise was. It was so absolute that He would keep the promise that He could only use His name as the guarantee.
Well, God is Truth. There is no power higher than Him.
God didn’t need to swear anything because He cannot lie, and He cannot change His mind.
The gut-wrenching testing becomes a spiritual treasure.
Blessings in the Obedience
Jehovah repeated and clarified some of the covenant blessings.
Because Abraham was obedient, God would bless him. His descendants would rival the number of stars in the sky — an uncountable number.
God didn’t say that all people on earth would be counted among that number. He did say that all nations would be blessed because of his obedience.
Murphy offered a great reminder. All were going to be blessed through Abraham — even though he wasn’t the father of mankind. We know Adam was. Really, Noah was, too.
This was more than a familial tie. But Murphy argued that he would have ties to all families.
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We know that blessing came through Yeshua.
Heading Home
“Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live” (Gen. 22: 19 NLT)
Abraham. Isaac, and the servants (and the donkey) returned home.
Abraham was able to return home knowing he had the approval of his Sovereign God. Isaac was able to return home. The servants were probably none the wiser.
Edwards noted that Abraham’s faith matured on Mount Moriah. Hmmm.
Well, I was thinking we didn’t mature until the end of our lives. So, let’s go to our edited timeline.
1960 BC — Abram was born (Gen. 25: 7)
1890 BC — Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot moved from Ur to Haran (Gen. 11: 31)
1885 BC — Abram called at age 75 (Gen. 12: 1-3)
c. 1880 – 1875 BC — Abram defeated King Chedorkiamer to rescue Lot (Gen. 14)
1874 BC — Ishmael was born (Gen. 16: 15)
1875 BC — God promised an 85-year-old Abram that he will have a son (Gen. 15)
1861 BC — God reestablished His covenant with Abram; and Abraham, Ishmael, and males were circumcised (Gen. 17)
1861 BC — Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed one year before the birth of Isaac (Gen. 18 – 19).
1860 BC — Isaac was born (Gen. 21: 2)
c. 1858 BC — Isaac was weaned (Gen. 21: 8)
c. 1845 – 1830 BC — God tested Abraham, at the age of 115- 130, by commanding he sacrifice his only son Isaac (Gen. 22).
1785 BC — Abraham died at the age of 175 (Gen. 25: 7 – 8).
Based From
Ummm. Abraham lived up to 60 years after the test. That is a long time to still be human.
Just because we don’t hear a lot about Abraham’s day-to-day life doesn’t mean he got everything right every time.
Edwards said something interesting. He wrote, “Circumcision of the heart, in the spirit, and not of the letter, was the expression of the deep truth that man is to reflect the Divine love by self-sacrifice.”
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- Circumcision of the heart is where God changes our hearts.·
- In the spirit would be the intended purpose, fairness, and underlying principles.
- Of the letter means literally.
Yes, we want circumcision of the heart. That is what sanctifies us.
But we have to watch when we try to put things into a spirit/letter perspective. We want to make sure we follow the divine, not worldview, interpretation.
In other words, we cannot rewrite God’s Word because the literal doesn’t mesh with the worldview. The worldview is always wrong when it is opposite to the divine.
We might think spirit means Holy Spirit, but it doesn’t. The purpose, fairness, and principles need to be Jehovah’s, not the worldview’s.
Father God. Thank You for examples of those who obey Your commands. It helps us see that we can obey when we someone who was given a horrible task to complete – and was rewarded for following You. Help us to do the same. Amen.
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