“And
they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar
there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his on, and laid him on the
altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the
knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not
thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son
from me” (Genesis 22:9-12).
From
the text we clearly see and understand the courage and faith that Abraham
possessed in God. Abraham loved his son Isaac and wanted nothing but the best
for him. Despite his love for his son, he was not willing to go against the
grain, tide, and command of God. He maintained faith in God and when Isaac
said to his daddy in the latter portion of Genesis 22:7, "Behold the
fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Bearing
all this in mind, we can understand how difficult it was for Abraham to follow
the command of God in offering his son as a sacrifice. Traveling with his
two men and his son, knowing he was to sacrifice him must have been an encounter
replete with anguish. In chapter 21, Abraham was cajoled by his wife to cast
out Hagar (his handmaid) and his son Ishmael. Soon after comforted by God,
supported by God for doing, as Sarah wanted.
he
lost one son he faced losing Isaac, the promised seed of God.
Abraham
continued to follow the commands of God and successfully went forth with the
process until God ceased the action. We have read, heard, discussed, and examined
the faith of Abraham and in looking at him alone we can miss another example
of faith that parallels with that of Christ.
Bound By God And No Fighting
Back!
As
we take a look at the actions and lack of action on the part of Isaac, it
leads to a superlative position in Christ Jesus; A place of contentment, peace,
and a place of rest. Isaac, a young lad, able to talk, and able to understand
the details and necessities of a sacrifice. He had probably watched his father
perform many sacrifices in the past.
Genesis
22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham
built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and
laid him on the altar upon the wood.
He
tied him with ropes or binding material to prevent him from moving around
and making the sacrifice difficult.
Abraham
had to tie his son up, but more importantly Isaac had to allow himself to
be tied.
So
many times we find ourselves in situations where God has:
1.
Pinned
us down?
2.
Driven
us to a corner?
3.
Removed
us from our loved ones?
4.
Left
us with the bare necessities?
5.
Placed
us on our beds of affliction?
6.
Left
us alone so we could truly understand what it's like to live without him?
7.
Placed
us in the valley when it seems everything is taking place on the mountaintop?
8.
Left
us in a dark room with just enough light to meditate on Him?
We
find ourselves resisting and fighting against being bound by God. For God to
get the sinners attention sometimes they are just as we were brought to their
knees. When find ourselves bound by God, suffering through travailing
situations we must take the attitude and demeanor of Isaac and not fight back.
Have faith in God and trust in his might.
Not
only did Isaac have to be bound by his father he also had to lay there,
cooperatively, while in Genesis 22:10 And [Abraham stretched forth his
hand, and took the knife to slay his son].
Some
may say it is no big deal for God to bound me up, it is no big deal for me to
be a living sacrifice as commanded in Romans 12:1. No matter how tough you
think, I think, or we think we are, volitionally, it is a natural reaction to flee
danger.
Isaac
found himself watching as his father painfully prepared him for sacrifice. We
read about no resistance. We are all going to find ourselves struggling and in
travailing situations for the sake of the Body of Christ, but we must keep in
mind Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
1.
Job
was a man who was bound by God with spiritual, emotional and physical
afflictions but he made it through
2.
Nehemiah
was a man who suffered distress because of the torn and defenseless condition
of his people but he made it through
3.
David
was a man who suffered personal affliction and watched his household suffer
because of his deeds, but because he was a man after Gods own heart he made it
through
4.
Joseph
was sold because of his envious brothers, but he trusted God and was blessed by
God and proved victorious
5.
Paul, a man who began by persecuting the Church was eventually
converted by God and persevered through his bondage. To document some of his
hardship he said in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27, “Of the Jews five times
received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once
was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the
deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city,
in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” Despite all this he said in a letter he wrote from jail to a
young preacher name Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am now ready to be
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only,
but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
6.
Stephen, a great preacher of the gospel proclaimed the Word until
the end. He did not fight against God nor did he deny Christ three times for
the saving of his life as Peter. Instead of denying Christ he confessed him and
proclaimed His name. We have Biblical documentation of his last moments. “When
they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him
with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly
into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of
God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on
the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped
their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the
city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young
man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon
God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and
cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he
had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:54-60).”
All
of these men stuck with God, maintained the course, and refused to resist
God. The supreme example is in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He was bound
by his Father, suffered persecution, refused to fight back, petitioned to
God for strength, and lived a perfect life.
God
perfected Abraham’s faith just as our faith is perfected by the sacrifice
of Christ Jesus. Jesus did not resist the command of God and we are to be
Christ-like, so let us not create resistance toward God.
“Through
his stripes we are healed and Christ has left us with a perfect example. We
don’t know how things will end but once Abraham and Isaac surrendered God
provided a lamb and a way out”(Isaiah 53:3-12).