The Six T's in Living Life Part 4
Navigating Life from
Trials to Triumph and Testimony
I encourage you to read Part 1, 2, and 3 before Part 4
The Testing of Abraham
An Example of How We Can Trust God
Why? The Fast Track to Temptation!
Abraham Tested
Genesis 22 NIV
1Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.2Then 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."3Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.Abraham was a most special man, a man chosen by God for Good reasons. Before God ever chose Abraham (known as Abram at the time of choosing), Abraham had decided there was only one God. We have nothing in the Bible that anyone told him this. In fact, everybody around him in the land of Ur (somewhere in the area of modern Southern Iraq) told him different. There was a god for everything. A god for the sun, one for the moon, the planets; a god for air, water, whatever existed, there was probably a god for it. And here comes Abraham and he decides there is only one God! This was truly a revolutionary belief and he was surely laughed at, ridiculed, and made the object of many jokes.
But, Abraham obviously did not care what others thought. For whatever the reason, Abraham thought there was only one God, and lived that thought and belief. In living that thought, God measured out faith to Abraham (Romans 12:3). From what we know, he is the first to believe such and in his faith came the Promises of God. A mustard seed of faith that built a great nation, a promise of land, and a promise of blessings to the families of the earth.
The Sacrifice of IsaacThe Trial of Abraham
As a parent, I cannot imagine God telling me to take my only son and offer him as a sacrifice. He would not! God, being a loving God, never ever tempts us to do evil! Satan does, but not God. But, clearly, God may test us, or at the very least allow us to be tested. It would require us to pass much testing before God would test us as he did Abraham. God will test us only when He knows we can pass His test. God is on our side! How else can we believe in a loving God?
So, how do we reconcile God telling Abraham to go and kill his treasured son? It is all about Trust.
In looking at the scripture carefully reading and re-reading we sometimes read what is not there! The full text of the Test of Abraham is at the end of this writing for your reading.
In reading the scripture of Abraham's test, in the very first verse we are told this a test of Abraham and not a temptation. From definitions provided in Part 3 of this series we realize then that(1) Abraham is being tested for his fitness to lead a nation, (2) this opportunity is for Abraham to be proved and made stronger in his faith, (3) it is done for refining Abraham for pureness and greatness, (4) increase his wisdom, and show that he (Abraham) is worthy of God's grace. This was done for Abraham's benefit as much as it was written as an example to us in Trusting God!
Abraham Responds
Now, look in Scripture at Abraham's response! First- When God called out in verse 1, "Abraham!" Abraham immediately replied, "Here I am." He knew God's call, he felt, he heard, and responded! I taught school for 10 years, many times when I called out to a student by name, and oh so many times I heard back, "What!" Abraham is the example, when we feel God in our life, we must, like Abraham, be prepared to tell God, "Here I am."
In verse 2, God tells Abraham what to do. Now, this is where we would likely fail. Instead of responding in Trust as Abraham, I bet 99% of us would answer, "Why?" All children go through the "Why?" stage; with God, we may never grow out of it because of a lack of our Trust in Him. Abraham, in his example, just got to work. He went to bed that night thinking about his material needs the next day to complete God's task, and not with worry about the consequences of the task. He trusted God!
The next day, Abraham brings together the materials and personnel for the trip and travel for three days. In all of this testing episode of Abraham, perhaps the greatest showing of faith and trust is verse 5. They arrive to the foot of the mountain where the sacrifice is to be made, and look at what Abraham tells 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." Look, at the underline! He tells his servants to stay while he and the boy goes up to worship, and then "we will come back to you". Never once in the four days of this event did Abraham break in his Trust of God! God knew Abraham would pass the test! God wanted to show Abraham just how faithful he (Abraham) was in his Trusting Him. If God tests us, He knows we can pass the test and it is done to our benefit!
"Why?" The Fast Track to Temptation
One of the great dangers to our faith and Trust in God is our desire to know everything about everything before we take the first step on a project. No doubt, we must plan how to complete a project, but we do not always have to know why. In asking God "Why?" when we fell nudged to act and do something for Him, we start treading on our Trust in Him. In that, we can quickly find ourselves in the quicksand of Temptation.
Abraham did not ask "Why?", did not whine, and did not wimp out. In his behavior, Abraham serves as a great example of how we should live in responding to God. In turn, Abraham was glorified by God's promises made and is kept, even until today. God is always faithful.
This event in Genesis 22 tells us three great things about Abraham.
It tells us of the strength in the character of Abraham.It tells us of the Trust Abraham had in God.It tells us of the Faith that God developed in Abraham based on the Trust that Abraham developed for himself in God.
Trusting God brings Joy in our lives and we only have to observe and understand the trial of Abraham to see the Triumph we can have in our own lives, if we only Trust God.
Thanks Be to God
===================
Genesis 22 NIV
1Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.2Then 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."3Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.5He 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."6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"8Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.9When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.11But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.12"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."13Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.14So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."15The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time16and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."19Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
No comments:
Post a Comment