From Promise to Sacrifice - Genesis 22
According to Google, sacrifice is the act of giving up something valued or precious for the sake of something else considered to have a more pressing claim or higher value.
Abraham waited 25 years for the birth of Isaac. That is a long time to wait for a promise. There had to be times he wanted to give up, lost hope, or perhaps, even get angry. He must have wanted a child. We know he and Sarah took things into their own hands.
God made Abraham a promise, and although it took a long time, Isaac was born. Then in Genesis 22, we see God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. He was testing his faith again. Abraham's faith failed the first time, but now, he did what God had asked. It was a three-day journey, and Abraham did not go back home. He could have changed his mind during those three days. He proceeded to do what had to be done to make the sacrifice.
Genesis 22:1 After these things God decided to test Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”
Genesis 22:2 Then God said, “Take your son to the land of Moriah and kill your son there as a sacrifice for me. This must be Isaac, your only son, the one you love. Use him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which mountain.”
We see God call him Abraham, not Abram. In Genesis 17, God tells Abram that He will make him the father of many nations. God changes His name to Abraham. God said that Abraham will have many descendants. Maybe, God was giving Abraham a clue in Genesis 22:1 that God did not forget about the covenant He made with him.
Also, God specifically says "Isaac, your only son, the one you love." Isaac was the son of promise. Abraham did love his son, and I am sure he did not want to lose him. Hebrews 11:17-18 God tested Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed because he had faith. He already had the promises from God. And God had already said to him, “It is through Isaac that your descendants will come.”[b] But Abraham was ready to offer his only son. He did this because he had faith. 19 He believed that God could raise people from death. And really, when God stopped Abraham from killing Isaac, it was as if he got him back from death.
Abraham showed his faith. He told his servants that he and Isaac would go and come back later. Genesis 22:8 shows Abraham believed God would provide: Abraham answered, “God himself is providing the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.” Abraham knew God kept his word in giving him Isaac, and that God is faithful to keep all His promises.
Genesis 22 continues. So both Abraham and his son went together to that place. 9 When they came to the place where God told them to go, Abraham built an altar. He carefully laid the wood on the altar. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached for his knife to kill his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord stopped him. The angel called from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
Abraham answered, “Yes?”
12 The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you do respect and obey God. I see that you are ready to kill your son, your only son, for me.”
13 Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God. 14 So Abraham gave that place a name, “The Lord Provides.”[a] Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord, he will give us what we need.”[b]
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time. 16 The angel said, “You were ready to kill your only son for me. Since you did this for me, I make you this promise: I, the Lord, promise that 17 I will surely bless you and give you as many descendants as the stars in the sky. There will be as many people as sand on the seashore. And your people will live in cities that they will take from their enemies. 18 Every nation on the earth will be blessed through your descendants. I will do this because you obeyed me.”
God should come before everything and everyone, even the ones we love. It takes a lot of trust in God to trust Him with our lives and to trust Him with the lives of those we love. God may ask hard things, things that break our heart. But He always knows what is best for all of us. And we need to have the faith to obey Him. We need to trust Him that much.
I do not think God tested Abraham's faith to hurt him. He knew what Abraham would do. Abraham knew God could perform a miracle just like when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. And thus, God is capable of bringing Isaac back to life, as well. God knew how much Abraham loved Him and he would obey Him. In the end, God reiterated the covenant they made. This also foreshadowed what happened with Jesus. Father God was willing to give His only Son, Jesus, for you and me.
