Tested by God (Genesis 22:1-14)

What is most valuable to you? What is your greatest treasure? Is it something material like your house, your car, or your jewelry? Is it something immaterial like your reputation, or the respect of others? Is it something relational like your family or your friends?

Whatever your answer may be, whatever is most valuable to you, the real question is: do you believe that God is of greater value? Would you be willing to give up that which means the most to you for God’s sake? That’s the question that Abraham faces in today’s Scripture passage.

Please Read Genesis 22:1-14.

The passage begins by saying that “God tested Abraham.” This entire scenario is a test to see what Abraham values more. Does Abraham follow God and worship God because God promised to give him a son? Does he love his son more than he loves God? OR, does Abraham love his son because Isaac was a gift from God? Does he recognize every good and perfect gift as coming to him from the Father of Lights?

Abraham’s reaction to God’s test shows his unflinching faith in God in at least 4 ways:

(1) He immediately obeys the Lord – rising “early in the morning” to follow the command in verse 3. Abraham doesn’t procrastinate, hoping God will change His mind. Though he surely does not want to sacrifice his son, Abraham immediately does what God tells him to do.

(2) He tells his servants that both he and Isaac will return to them in verse 5. Commentators disagree on why Abraham said this. Some think that he was lying, but I think this is more evidence that Abraham truly believed that God would provide for this sacrifice. He was willing to sacrifice Isaac, but truly believe that God would be willing to raise his son from the dead. The author of Hebrews tells us this in Hebrews 11:17-19.

(3) He encourages Isaac that “God will provide… a burnt offering” in verse 8. Again, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his most precious son to the Lord, but he believed that God could even raise him from the dead. Here, the Scripture seems to indicate that Abraham didn’t really believe he would have to sacrifice his son, but that God would provide a sacrifice, as indeed He did.

(4) He goes so far as to bind his son, take his knife, and pull his hand back to offer Isaac as a sacrifice in verse 9-10. While Abraham may have believed that God would provide a sacrifice, He was willing to do exactly what God told him to do. There’s an old saying that goes, “hope for the best; prepare for the worst.” Abraham may have been hoping in his heart that God wouldn’t let him actually sacrifice his son, but he demonstrated through his actions that he was willing to sacrifice whatever God asked of him.

Because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. This was so back when Abraham first believed God, and it is so now. Tomorrow we will look at how God reiterates His promise to Abraham after this act, but today, lets focus on Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. Let’s ask ourselves: would I be willing to do the same? Jesus tells us that our love for Him will make our love for our family look like hatred. This doesn’t mean that we no longer love our family, but that we love God so much more. Abraham loved Isaac, and indeed hoped that God would either provide another sacrifice or raise him from the dead. But his love for God was greater. May our love for God always be greater than our love for anything or anyone in this world.