God tells Abraham “Take your son, your only son.” We know that biologically Abraham had two sons. But Ishmael, not being part of God’s promise, was put out. That is how serious God was about sending him out of Abraham’s life. So serious that now Abraham had only ONE son in the eyes of the Lord. Obviously, Abraham was not to look back. Not to reconsider Ishmael. He was to not only put him away physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
Do we have an Ishmael in our lives? Do we have something or someone… not part of God’s promise or plan for us… that we are holding onto? Is there something we need to consider as DEAD in our lives in order for God to fulfill His purpose in us? A few years ago I was facing that challenge. But my problem was I did not KNOW if God wanted him “put out.” I did not know if having him in my heart would stop God’s anointing from flowing in my life… or keep His purpose for me from being fulfilled? How could I know? I could not reason it out. I tried to remain in peace about that situation. I needed to remain in peace to the point where when God gave me an answer… when He said “Traci”… I needed to be able to hear that voice. I needed to keep my spirit in peace and not to struggle with the issue… but to remain in faith, and close enough to God to hear Him when He called. And I couldn’t do that because I kept worrying about the situation. So what happened? I did not listen. When God spoke to me I found reasons to say “Maybe that wasn’t really God.” I justified any reason to keep someone in a position in my life that they shouldn’t have held. That person became an idol, because I put their presence before God’s. I was severely sidetracked and it led to getting out of God’s perfect will for me. Friend, if God is telling you to do something… do yourself a favor… Just Do It.
So Abraham is told to take Isaac, now considered his only son, whom he loved, and offer him as a burnt offering on “one of the mountains which I will tell.” Now, Abraham is asked to take his only son that he has left. One that he loves with all his heart… and to offer him up to the Lord as a burnt offering. So Abraham rose… early in the morning. We aren’t told here that this caused great distress… as we were told about Hagar and Ishmael. We ARE told that God said to do something… and Abraham DID IT. (If he had not done it, Isaac would have become an idol.)
We KNOW it wasn’t easy. But here I believe we get the first real picture of Abraham’s faith in action. Perhaps he was going by former testimony. Perhaps he felt “God brought me through the heartache of Hagar and Ishmael, God will bring me through this as well.” Friends, when we encounter a new test from God, we need to look back at what we’ve already been brought through… and know and believe that God can do it again… and will. He does NOT ask us to do something He won’t equip us for. God doesn’t CALL the equipped… He equips the called.
Have you been ask to lay all you have left on the altar? Have you been asked to lay down that very thing you thought God was going to use to fulfill his promise in your life? What would you do? Lose all hope? Shove your dream under the bush like Hagar did and weep? Or believe, that God is somehow still going to work this out as Abraham did? Abraham didn’t even know where this sacrifice was to take place. He simply started walking when God said to go. God said “I will SHOW you where.” Too often we don’t want to move until God tells us when, where and how. But Abraham stepped out… and we’re told in verse 4 that Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. God didn’t point and say “There it is.” Abraham KNEW. He allowed God’s spirit to speak to him, and he listened. He was able to hear because his mind was not muddled with fear and doubt.
If he had spent the last three days in grief and turmoil he would have cluttered up his spirit. His faith didn’t start operating when he laid Isaac on the altar. It started operating when God said “Take your son, your only son, whom you love.” He headed out to those mountains in faith… and he remained in faith. He didn’t speak words of doubt and fear along his journey. In fact, his first recorded words in this incident are “Stay here with the donkey… I AND the lad will go yonder.. and WE will worship and RETURN TO YOU.”
He knew then, somehow, that both of them would come off that mountain. He had to have that faith. God had promised that His promise to Abraham would be fulfilled through Isaac. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that “Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.” (NLT)
God has a promise to you… but before it can come to pass… you may be asked to lay it on the altar. You need to be willing to let it go… knowing God is supreme and He will somehow bring it to pass. Abraham didn’t say “But God… you said your promise would be fulfilled through Isaac.” No. He simply stepped out in faith and obedience and out of love for a sovereign God. Do you love God more than your dream? Do you long to be one with Him more than you long to receive His promise to you? Do you seek companionship with the one who promised… more than you desire what was promised? That day may come when you are asked to choose. To prove your love. Your commitment. That day came for me. I had gotten out of God’s will and I knew it. And I knew what had to be done. It hurt to pull the root of that promise out of my heart… but I longed for God’s face more than I longed for seeing the face of the one I loved again. But OUCH.
Abraham spoke forth faith. He said “WE will return to you.” No wonder he made the “Faith Hall of Fame” in the book of Hebrews.
So Isaac walks up the mountain with his dad and asks an obvious question: “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” If that were my child, I would have burst into tears. But Abe’s answer was again one of faith “God will provide for Himself the lamb…” Most of us would like to think that is as far a we need to take our faith. See Lord? I’m DOING IT! I’m walking up the mountain… just me and Isaac. I’ve gathered the wood, Lord. Don’t you see?
And what about Isaac’s questions when Abraham bound him and laid him on the altar? Could we continue to sacrifice our dream when it’s crying out “Daddy… what are you doing?” And Abraham at this point could have cried out… “I’ve gone this far God… don’t you see I’m willing? I’ve bound him and laid him on the altar. PLEASE don’t make me kill my dream, God.” But God is silent. How far was Abraham willing to go? How far are YOU willing to go? How much are you willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to raise the knife? Are you willing to go all the way in sacrificing your dream? Your future? Your promise? Are you willing to put the knife all the way through it? To completely kill it… knowing God can raise your dream, your promise, your future from the dead? It is all by faith…
As Abraham had the knife raised… and ready to penetrate Isaac… God stopped him. He said “Abraham… Abraham…” and he answered again.. “Here I am.” God lets him know “Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” God did not take Abraham to the point where He needed to raise Isaac from the dead. But Abraham, in faith, was willing to go that far.. knowing nothing was impossible with God and that HE would fulfill His promise to him.
Friend, are we willing to go that far? When God requires that we lay that someone or something down on the altar, do we humor Him, thinking He’ll see what great faith we have and put a stop to it all? What if… God asks you to use that knife? What if you are required to completely put to death your dream? Your promise? Can you be obedient to the point of knowing God will raise it from the dead if it is His will to do so? And can you .. or I… come to grips with the fact that it may not be His will to raise it? We need to be willing to completely sell out for God. To be able to let go of everything in our hands and our hearts… just to be able to touch His face and hear His voice.
At that point.. Abraham heard a ram in the bushes, and offered it up to God as an offering. We need to give something back to God when He gives us back that thing we loved. We need to give a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise and worship.
It was not until Abraham was willing to give it all up that His promise was fully established. In 15:1 God just gently reminded him “Don’t fear… and your reward shall be very great.” Perhaps it was those words that Abraham kept in his heart and mind as he walked up that mountain.. and bound his son… and lay him on the altar… and raised the knife to slay him. Let those exact same words sink into your spirit. “Do not fear, Traci.. I am a shield to you. Your reward shall be very great.”
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