Think about what he endured. Originally, God told him to leave everything familiar to him…his family, his homeland, and go to an uncertain destination. Abraham chose to obey God, and God gave him a series of promises. In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised, “Get out of your country, from you kindred and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Then in chapter 17:1-8, God expanded on that promise, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” And then, after passing a great test, God spoke these words to Abraham, “blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:17-18) What a journey of faith Abraham lived, and I am sure, in fact the Bible tells us about some of the times when Abraham must have thought God would never come through with His promises.
In particular, I am thinking about that trip to Mount Moriah that Abraham took with his son Isaac. God had required from Abraham the most precious possession of his life…his only son whom he loved. Can you imagine how Abraham must have wrestled in his heart over this decision? He had waited 25 years for this son…this promised son…the one that was the fulfillment of all those promises God had given. How could God now ask for Isaac? How could He ask for this sacrifice? But Abraham didn't hesitate, he chose to obey God and to trust Him to keep the promises that He had made. Here is how the scripture describes that journey: “So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:3-5) Little did Abraham know that years later, on this very mount, thousands of lambs would be sacrificed cover the sins of Israel, for this was the very spot where the Temple of God was constructed, and the very place where Jesus will one day return to reign and rule forever.
As Abraham left instructions for the servants that were with them to wait, Abraham and Isaac trudged up that mountain. I cannot imagine how heavy Abraham’s heart must have felt…how he must have moaned inside to think of what God had asked of him. How he must have labored in his heart as he began to prepare the altar for the sacrifice, and then to tie his young son up and lay him on the altar. And then, as he held the knife over Isaac with every intention of following through in total obedience to God…there, at the very last possible second, Abraham heard the voice that changed everything. “But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (verses 11-12)
Have you ever been there? Have you held on to God for an answered prayer, a promise fulfilled or a great need from the Lord? Have you gone for months, or perhaps years, waiting and believing God, and it seemed that He would never come through? Have you gotten down to the very last second, and almost given up hope…and then suddenly, there was the answer you needed. Has He ever failed to come through, even though the waiting and the anticipation became almost unbearable? Why does He wait until the last minute? Why does He choose to allow us to get to the end of our hopes? Could it be because He wants us to learn to trust Him? Even when the going gets really difficult, even when every circumstance looks dim…He desires our trust. In Isaiah, God gives us a glimpse of why we should trust Him, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) The bottom line is this…He wants us to trust that He will keep His promises in spite of what circumstances look like, and He wants us to trust in His great plan for our lives and to know that He will fulfill every promise He has ever made, and He will supply our every need. But most of all, He wants us to be obedient to Him…no matter what and He want's to be the more important than anything else in our lives. For without God, everything else is useless!
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