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A father sacrificing his son

God always fulfills his promises, but not usually in the time frame we might expect. The story of the promised family continues with the next generation, which includes Abraham’s son Isaac and his grandsons Jacob and Esau. It begins with Abraham testing his faith with the life of his promised and long-awaited son.

Isaac’s birth brought the covenant promises into reality. In Genesis 22, God issued three simple imperatives to Abraham: take, go, and sacrifice (Isaac). You may be shocked and surprised to learn that God is now asking Abraham to sacrifice his promised son, the manifestation of the covenant God made with Abraham.

The test of Abraham is not so much focused on his obedience to God as on his faith that God will do what he has promised, even if he requires the death of Isaac. Abraham obeyed, and early the next morning, he saddled up his donkey and took Isaac and two servants with him to the region of Moriah.

On the third day of the journey, Abraham spotted the place where he would sacrifice Isaac and said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you” (Genesis 22:5). This was clearly an act of worship as was Abraham’s custom.

Abraham and Isaac gathered the needed items: wood, fire, and a knife. As they walked together, Isaac asked where the lamb was for the offering. Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (vv. 7-8).

When they arrived, Abraham built an altar, bound Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. If Isaac was concerned for his life or unwilling to be sacrificed, he could have escaped or even overpowered Abraham.

But there appears to be a touching confidence in each other, almost beyond human comprehension. It’s evident Isaac has a habit of being obedient to his father.

At just the right time, amid Abraham’s obedience to God, he sent an angel to issue a stay of execution. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its thorns. He went to the ram and sacrificed it instead of his son. Up to the point of drawing the knife, Abraham had no vision of a substitute for his son. God was testing Abraham for a sacrifice in spirit rather than an outward act.

The heart of this story of the promised family is Abraham’s faith and trust in God to provide. Isaac’s willingness to trust his father and the God of his faith as a totally yielded person became part of the faith of the promised family.