What Faith! What Obedience! What A Lesson!

Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” [Genesis 22.14]

Abraham's obedience and faith are certainly noteworthy.

What stands out to me today is that Abraham's obedience and faith were really one and the same. What is obedience if it is not faith? Likewise, what is faith if it is not obedience?

It is so easy for us to spiritualize this story without ever considering the real and present circumstance that Abraham was in! To us, it is a nice lesson about faith. To Abraham, it was something altogether different! It was indeed a test! It was an opportunity, if you will, for Abraham to see what he was made of faith-wise and obedience-wise.

As with everything God does, I don't believe He ever "doesn't know" anything. In other words, I don't see that God needed to test Abraham's faith because He, as God, already knew Abraham's faith. Consider this: Abraham needed the test so Abraham could see his faith!

Now, this puts an entirely different light upon the situation!

I believe the key ingredient to this story is found a few verses back when Isaac asked his father Abraham about the sacrifice:

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. [Genesis 22.6-8]

Why would Abraham say such a thing to his son? Abraham knew that God had said, "Offer up Isaac," so why did he not answer Isaac that he would be the sacrifice?

But look before then:

“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” [Genesis 22.5]

Abraham revealed something in his instructions to his servants too: he AND the boy would return.

It all comes down to knowing God. Abraham knew God! Abraham knew enough about God to know that the test was indeed just a test. Abraham knew that God did not ordain murder. Abraham was fully confident in his estimation of God's character to answer Isaac as he did. Painful as the exercise of obedience was for Abraham, he had every confidence in Who God Is and What God Does!

Again, I suspect Abraham knew that he was being tested. I suspect that, based on his answer to Isaac, Abraham was even considering the great lesson about obedience that Isaac was about to witness - albeit in perhaps a horrific and harrowing way!  What faith! What obedience! What a lesson!

Father, help me to be obedient. Help me to be faithful. AND, help me to see the opportunities to obediently demonstrate my faith to those around me!