Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey." (Genesis 22:2,3)
This has always been one of my favorite parts of Scripture. I think this may be one of the greatest acts of obedience in recorded history, second only to Jesus going to the cross. After waiting decades for his promised son to be born, God asks Abraham to sacrifice him. But that doesn't mean just killing Isaac. As a burnt offering, that means slaughtering him, draining the blood, and burning his body.
As if that isn't enough for Abraham to look forward to, God's command starts with a heart-wrenching description: "your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love." As if Abraham didn't know. Then He tells Abe to go to Moriah. So Abraham has 60 miles - three whole days - to dread what will happen. Three days to visualize the horror of sacrificing his only son.
But that didn't stop Abraham. I don't know if he thought God would stop it. That seems counter-productive to me. I think he went simply out of obedience, not knowing the outcome. All he knew was that God had always been faithful and had always fulfilled His promises. That was enough for Abraham. So he got up the next morning, no questions asked.
Is that enough for us? If God asks us to make a sacrifice of the things, or persons, we love the most, will His faithfulness to us in the past be enough to prompt our immediate obedience? We talk a good game most of the time, but when it comes down to crunch time, I, for one, am not always so obedient.
Things are happening all around me right now. I see things that would make a really good Old Testament miracle story. But with that comes sacrifice, for all of us. So it's gut-check time. What will we give up? More importantly, will we give up everything? It wasn't just God's track record with Abraham that led him to obey, it was Abraham's love for, and devotion to, God. More on that later.
