Obedience or Sacrifice?

Genesis 22:1-18 (Click on reference to read text)

Some of our trials and tests are brought on by God. This may seem harsh, but the opposite is true. He uses these trials to refine us to make us more like Himself and to reveal to us just exactly who He is and what He is made of! Abraham was a perfect example of this truth!

Abraham was a follower of God if there ever was one! He lived in a state of readiness: spiritually, physically and emotionally. When God called, he answered immediately (vs.1). Yet, God asked this great man of Faith to do something that seemed unfair and horrible, to sacrifice his own son... the fulfillment of a promise from God.

Instead of running away, we see Abraham following the Lord and trusting Him (vs. 4-8). He did not begin to act in obedience and then stop when He did not see God providing an escape. No! He trusted God the entire time and was going to be obedient above all else. Even if it meant sacrificing what he held most dear. I think one of the reasons he was willing to walk in obedience is because he KNEW God. He knew God was compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love (Psalm 103:8). He knew God could be trusted because God loved him passionately. Abraham had the faith that God would give Isaac back to him. When he left the servants to go on with Isaac, he said to the servants, “We will go and sacrifice” and then “WE will return" (vs.5). Abraham knew that God would not go back on His promise of his son, even though current circumstances did not show it.

However, there is a huge point from this story that we cannot miss. When God called Abraham to stop and sacrifice the ram instead... Abraham listened! (vs. 12-14). Abraham could have gone ahead and slain Isaac, because after all, at some point didn't God tell him to? When God said you don't have to do this, Abraham could have responded in the flesh, saying "I will show my devotion to God by killing my son, my most precious blessing." As important as it is to instantly obey God and be willing to sacrifice to Him all you hold dear, it is just as important to listen to the voice of God and not sacrifice on the altar what He does not require of you. This is why to obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). It is not about the object of the sacrifice we lay down, but the attitude of our hearts. The world looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Are we truly willing to give everything to the Lord? Our hopes, dreams, possessions, jobs, family, children?

God's timing is perfect. He is never too early and never too late, despite what we think (2 Peter 3:9). Even though Isaac was never sacrificed, God says to Abraham, "Because you have not withheld your only son whom you love" (vs. 12). To God, the act of putting his son on the altar and raising the knife WAS not withholding his own son. What is God asking you to give over to Him? Are you holding on tightly in fear? Trust that He loves you and has your eternal best at heart!