When we think about honoring God, it’s common to think of saying or doing things that draw attention to God in a way that honors Him before other people, and this is certainly valid. But sometimes the most significant way we honor God is in circumstances that play out just between us and the Lord.
As we read stories in the Bible, especially if we’ve been doing this for a while, it can be challenging to fully appreciate the difficult struggles that are sometimes taking place, because we already know how the story ends. The story of Abraham offering his son Isaac up to God is very well known among Bible stories, and it’s easy to forget that this stretched out over several days as Abraham walked out his obedience to God all by himself. To fully appreciate what Abraham went through, let’s look back at the circumstances leading up to this extraordinary event.
Abraham is 75 years old when God first speaks to him, telling him to leave his country and family and go to the land that God will show him 1. At a later date, God makes a covenant with Abraham and tells him that his offspring will be as the stars of heaven, and they will possess the land he has been dwelling in as a nomad 2. At this point, Abraham has no children.
When Abraham is 99 years old, God appears to him again, renewing and elaborating on the covenant, saying that He has made him the father of a multitude of nations and that God’s covenant with his offspring will be an everlasting covenant. These are amazing promises! But it’s been 24 years since God first called Abraham, and the heir God promised still hasn’t been born, and Sarah has now gone through menopause 3. God’s ways certainly are not our ways. But scripture tells us that “In hope Abraham believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations” (Rom 4:19).
Finally, when Abraham is 100 years old and Sarah is 90, she gives birth to Isaac, the son that God had promised. Although Abraham had God’s promise that multitudes and nations would be his descendants, he still waited 25 years just to have that one son.
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This brings us back to Abraham offering up Isaac. When Isaac was about 15 years old, scripture tells us that God tested Abraham, telling him, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering” (Gen 22:1-2). This incredible test from God challenged Abraham on two distinct levels.
First, God tells him to sacrifice his “only son”. This is significant because Abraham actually had another son, Ishmael. But when it comes to all the amazing promises of the covenant, God had made it clear that Isaac was the only son, that everything would be fulfilled through him. But then God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. This is completely illogical and makes no sense. Obedience required Abraham to suppress his intellectual reasoning and simply choose to do what God had told him. God defies logic and reasoning, and relying on our intellect is a great hindrance to following His ways 4.
Secondly, God tells Abraham to sacrifice the son “whom you love”. It’s incredible that even as God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, He also acknowledges how much Abraham loves him. After waiting 25 years to have a son, Abraham has now had 15 years with Isaac, rejoicing in his son and growing in his love for the boy.
When God calls us, He calls us to Himself, to walk with Him in genuine fellowship. In His word, God calls us to godliness 5, and godliness means God likeness. The more we become like God, the deeper the relationship will be. God had determined before the foundation of the world to give His son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. And He is testing Abraham to see if he will be like Himself.
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After Abraham heard God, he didn’t consult with friends, and there was no sendoff party or people cheering him on. He was all alone as he traveled to the place God directed him to. Yes, he had Isaac and two young men with him, but they knew nothing of the monumental test he was engaged in. It took three days of traveling to reach the appointed spot. Scripture doesn’t tell us what Abraham was feeling, but it’s fair to imagine that those three days were extremely difficult for Abraham.
Again, I want to emphasize that as Abraham was walking out his obedience, he had no idea how the story would end. He also had no idea that his story would become legendary and be repeated throughout history. In the moment, he was going through a test that was playing out between him and the Lord alone. This is worth taking time to contemplate.
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Abraham was fully committed to obeying God. He moved forward fully intending to sacrifice his son. Scripture tells us he built an altar, laid wood on it, bound Isaac and laid him on the altar, and took up the knife to slaughter his son. And it was at this point that God called out to him not to harm the boy.
Then God says something truly amazing! “For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Gen 22:12). This statement from God places great importance on how we respond to God Himself, and how we conduct ourselves through trials and testing.
While the omniscience (all-knowing) of God is a Biblical truth, wrong conclusions can still be drawn from Biblical truths. If we’re quick to assign pat theological answers to define God, we can miss the mystery of who He is and the wonder of how He interacts with us. Because in the story of Abraham sacrificing his son, Abraham’s actions clearly revealed something to God. Abraham’s actions affected God’s opinion of him.
I’ve heard preachers say that when we sin it doesn’t surprise God because He knew we were going to do that. While this may be technically correct, it leads to a wrong conclusion. The implication is that since God knew about our sin beforehand then our sin doesn’t really matter, that it doesn’t really change anything. This view of sin is very unbiblical. Sin matters, just as our obedience matters.
Later in the passage, God says a second time that Abraham’s actions will affect what God will do with his life. “Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.” (Gen 22:16-17). God had already promised these things but now God declares He will do these things “because” of what Abraham had done.
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The Bible is clear that when we sin, there is forgiveness and cleansing when we repent. The wonder of God’s grace is that we are justified by the death of Christ and through repentance our sin is completely removed. But this should not lead us to believe that our actions don’t matter.
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There are many men in the Old Testament who lived more dramatic lives than Abraham; men who did remarkable, highly visible things that brought honor to God. Yet Abraham holds a very unique place in New Testament scriptures.
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:29 ESV)
So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:9 ESV)
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? (James 2:21 ESV)
God considers Abraham to be the father of all who are in Christ. And he is put forth as a leading example of both faith and obedience.
I pray that like our father Abraham, we will be a people of faith and trust, who are fully committed to obeying God, even when things make no sense. I pray we will honor God in our hearts, even if no one is around to see what is taking place. Lord, give us spiritual insight to see trials and testing as opportunities to honor you, and that your approval alone will be sufficient motivation for us to walk in obedience.
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Footnotes:
- Genesis 12:1-4 ESV Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
- See Genesis chapter 15
- Genesis 18:11 ESV Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
- Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares 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.
- 2 Peter 3:11 ESV Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
Test Everything 