In Genesis 22, we read how God tested Abraham and led him to place an awe-inspiring trust in the faithful God over all creation. Abraham revealed a faith in God which reflected the trustworthiness of His character and promises. In today’s story of Abraham and Isaac, we learn what it looks like to entrust everything to God and to believe He is worthy of our ultimate obedience.
What role does worship play in today’s passage? How do we see God’s faithfulness depicted from Genesis 22 throughout the rest of Scripture?
God called Abraham to offer up his only son as a sacrifice. Abraham’s response to what seemed like such an outlandish command from God was to get up early and begin his journey to the unknown place God would reveal to him. In verse 5, we see the first use of the Hebrew word for “worship” in the Bible, spoken in reference to the sacrificial offering Abraham was willing to lay down before his God.
When Isaac inquired about the lamb for the offering, Abraham replied, “God himself will provide.” Though, logically, the death of Abraham’s son would make God’s promises impossible, God would faithfully provide the ram they needed, and make good on His promises to bless Abraham through his only son.
Hebrews 11:19 states that Abraham “considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead.” Abraham’s faith-filled obedience demonstrated that God could be trusted in any circumstance. With each new command he received from God, his response was to obey. He did not shrink back or busy himself with the lesser concerns of the world because God had proven Himself faithful over and over.
Abraham’s deep love for his one and only son points us to the greater love God has for His Son, Jesus. Though this story tells of one man’s obedient willingness to give back to God his most prized gift, we can know that God’s love for His own Son reveals His great love for us as His people. Pray that God would reveal this same love to the children who will learn about Abraham and Isaac today and that they, too, would be willing to offer back to Him their lives as living sacrifices of worship.
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