“WE WILL COME BACK” 

By Tim Sheppard

And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." Genesis 22:5

God’s command to Abraham about Isaac must’ve shaken him to the core. Why would this all-loving Father give Abraham and Sarah their only son—a miraculous promise born well past their childbearing years—only to require Abraham to sacrifice him? As a father myself, I can’t begin to imagine what Abraham was feeling, especially since God had promised he would be the father of many nations. 

Yet amid his questions and emotions, Abraham rose early the next day, determined to obey without hesitation. He climbed Mount Moriah with Isaac to build an altar. He tells his men he’s going to “worship,” which in this context literally means to bow down or prostrate oneself. In one of the first mentions of “worship” in the Bible, Abraham gives us a full understanding of what worship entails, especially in the midst of trial. 

Worship is a posture. One of the most powerful expressions of worship is bowing or falling prostrate before the Lord in submission. And although we don’t see Abraham physically bowing down in this passage, his immediate obedience to God’s command, no matter how gut-wrenching it must have been, indicated his heart’s posture. Before this journey even began, Abraham had already offered Isaac to God in his heart. 

Worship is a place. Abraham climbed a mountain and built an altar to worship. Others, such as Noah, Jacob, and David, also built altars to the Lord. Moses met with the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to designate times to worship together. We embolden our worship by setting aside specific places and times to seek the Lord—both individually and corporately. 

Worship is centered on a Person. Even though this command seemed to contradict God’s initial promise, Abraham did not waver in his obedience. Hidden within his own words “and we will come back to you” was his immovable confidence that God would somehow restore the circumstances—even if it meant raising Isaac from the dead—so that both father and son could return together from the altar. Abraham didn’t know the outcome, but his worship was centered on God, and expressed his trust in God’s goodness. 

God did provide a ram to sacrifice in Isaac’s place. And like Abraham, we are called to bow on the altar of worship even when we can’t see how the story will end. 

Prayer

Lord, I’m so dissatisfied with giving You less than my all. I build an altar before You and lay my life on it as Your living sacrifice. I humble myself, bowing on the inside and the outside. I worship You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Memory Verse

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV)