Genesis 22:1-13
Vs. 1, 7, 11
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I."
Here
am I, Lord! Abraham was quick to listen to God’s calling. As soon as God called-
he answered…even when his son had a question, Abraham was ready to listen. When
God is calling us to a particular ministry or to follow his will, we need to be
ready to listen! Sometimes God speaks to us directly through his word or
preaching, but other times he uses people to show us his will. Do we want to
hear from God? Or are we looking for a reason not to listen? Whatever it may
be, God’s will is always perfect! It may include breaking our own stubborn
wills, shattering our life-long dreams, or be something that you never imagined
God would want you to do; still we must listen for the smallest whisper from
God.
Vs. 2, 9, 10
"And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son."
Not
this, Lord! Listening will always lead to submitting. Both are a battle of the
flesh for all of us. Abraham had learned to trust God, so even though it was
hard to listen to God’s request, he knew he needed to submit. ‘Sacrificing his
only son’ must have been a horrible thought…he knew how difficult it would be,
yet he submitted to the will of God. Oftentimes, God will ask us to submit to a
very hard thing. We won’t want to do it; we will fight it to the bitter end! We
will say ‘Not this, Lord!’…’I can’t sacrifice this!’ It may be uprooting to a
mission field, losing a child, or a family member, or a friend, and many other
things. However, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth
his life for my sake shall find it.” {Matthew 10:39; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35;
Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33}.
Vs. 12, 13
"And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son."
Now
I know! What if this great sacrifice that we have been asked to submit to is
simply the door to what God’s plan truly is? It’s a difficult concept to grasp,
but it is possible. Look at Abraham for example, his great sacrifice was his
only son…God saw Abraham’s great faith…”Now I know!”…God shows Abraham a
different path that is easier to accept…Abraham is willing to serve in this new
path because he has already submitted to a greater sacrifice. The same may be
for us. God wants to see – to know that we are willing to do whatever he asks
of us. He may simply be testing our faith and trust in him. He then shows us
what his perfect will is for our lives…he has been waiting to show us…but
first, he tested us…the question is ‘Did we pass the test?’ Were we willing to
sacrifice? Were we willing to give God whatever he asked of us? Did we hold
anything back? Will we let him mold us into a vessel that can be used for him?
Or do we resist and rebel? Do we refuse to let God work in our lives? Do we
miss our opportunity to do something truly great for God? Do we settle for
second-best? What is God saying to us? Does he say, “Now I know that thou
fearest God”? Or does he say, “Now I know you never had a heart to serve your
Saviour”? The decision is yours- are you ready to listen for your calling, to
submit to your calling, to serve in your calling? Now he knows.