Insight Into the Scripture
When Abraham took Isaac to sacrifice him. They took a 3 day, 50 mile journey.
The passages where Sara died and Abraham wanted to buy the land for her tomb, he was not in his homeland, so if the land was given as a gift, later on the land could have been taken away from him. So he had to pay and paid an inflated price of 400 shekels of silver. 400 shekels equals about 7 1/4 lbs of silver.
When Abraham's servant met Rebekah at the well, she gave water to him as well as his camel. A camel that traveled as long as they did, could have drunk 25 gallons of water. Rebekah's pot could only hold 3 gallons.
As we are reading the Old Testament, some may think it is dry and not relevant in today's world. The tendency might be to stick with the New Testament. But, the Old Testament is full of God. Reading and studying the Old Testament is a wonderful way to understand God and His character.
Genesis 22:1-13 NIV
Some time later God tested Abraham.
He said to him, "Abraham!""Here I am," he replied.
Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.
"Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?
"Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Thought for the Day
I know that most of us have heard the story of God testing Abraham's faith. We know it, but do we really live it? It seems like as soon as we are in a trial in our lives or God is testing us, we want to escape the trial or maybe start to complain and become bitter. I know that when God tested me, I cried out "Why God, why don't You love me?" There were times that I became very angry and bitter.
The most important thing to God is your relationship with Him. God knows your potential, and testing you builds up your character, it strengthens your faith for larger plans He has for you. God wants to know that He is the most important thing in your life. Just as God gave Abraham, Isaac, then asked Abraham to give him back up. God may give you earthly items that you enjoy very much, but we should be willing to let them go in order to obey God. We need to have the faith that if God promises us something, He will provide for us. Just as God promised Abraham that he would be a father of many nations, He promises us that He will provide for our daily needs, but do you believe Him. This is something where God is working in me, I am extending my faith to trust that He will provide for me.
I have often tried to put myself in Abraham's shoes. Can you imagine walking for three days with your son or daughter knowing that God asked you to sacrifice him or her? I can imagine that Abraham was thinking "This is not happening, when does the angel come down and tell me it is a joke." Three days to think about what he had to do, only for God to stop him at the last minute. Where is your faith compared to Abraham's? Abraham was only a man, so we have the capacity to have faith as strong as his.
Just as a side note, this story is just rich with prophecy. Do you see the parallel of Abraham and Isaac to God and Jesus? Both had "Only" sons, where Abraham was spared his son, God did not spare His only son, He had to see Him die.
Do you also see the imagery of Jesus representing the ram? The ram took the place of Isaac, where Jesus took our place as the sacrifice?
Closing Prayer
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the story of Abraham and what a great example of faith it is. Jesus I want my faith to grow, I want it to be as strong as an oak, but Lord I am weak and I need Your help. Please Jesus work with me to increase my faith so that I can make You proud. I love You Jesus! In Your Name,
Amen
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