Hebrews 11:17-19 "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: (19) Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure."
Let's review the words of God when He called upon Abraham. God said,
"Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's
house, unto a land that I will shew thee." (Genesis 12:1) It seems
every step taken by Abraham was one of, "Follow me, I will show you when
you get there." Each step taken was in faith of God's promise to
him. What was the ultimate promise given to Abraham? "I will make of
thee a great nation, and I will bless thee." (Genesis 12:2) So as
Abraham took each step of the journey, he surely had to keep this promise of
God fresh in his heart and mind.
God promised Abraham a son. When God had given that son to Abraham and
Isaac, He then turned around and 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." (Genesis 22:2) This verse is reflective of Abraham's entire life.
What is the dearest thing to you? Is it so dear that you could not lay it down?
Is it so dear that you feel like you have to be in control of that very
thing? For Abraham, that "thing" was Isaac. "By
faith Abraham... offered up Isaac." Abraham trusted the Lord so much
that he was willing to give up Isaac, his only son that he loved dearly.
We all know this account and God's intervention by providing a ram as the
substitute offering. We know that ram that was caught in the thicket is
representative of God giving His Only Begotten Son, the One that He Loves!
We have so much to be thankful for as we think on this lesson this
morning. Abraham was called to offer his son, but God intervened. In the
heart of Abraham, Isaac was going to be offered unto the Lord. As our
verses tell us this morning, in essence, Abraham received Isaac back from the
dead. I'm thankful that after three days and nights, our Heavenly Father
received His only begotten Son back from the dead. And in that offering, atonement
was made for our sins. We were redeemed through the shed blood of our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ.
So I go back to a previous question: What is the dearest thing to you? Is it so
dear that you could not lay it down? When things do not seem to be
working the way you want them to go, maybe it's time to place it into the hands
of our loving Heavenly Father. It may be that as the Gospel song states,
we need to "lay our Isaac down." Entrust that thing or circumstance
into the very hands of God. He will provide. "What shall we
then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
(32) He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)