The patriarch Abraham,  had sent Hagar and her son Ishmael away from them. Ishmael was Abraham’s first born son. Though Ishmael was born of Hagar, he was still Abraham’s son and Abraham must have loved Ishmael dearly. But when God told Abraham to send Ishmael and Hagar away, he did it.

Now after a couple of years had passed by, God spoke to Abraham again. This time, God told Abraham to take his only son Isaac, to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. First son, he sent away coz God told him to. The next one, Isaac, was the only one left and he was to be offered as a sacrifice.

Can you just pause and think how Abraham must have felt? I’m sure it must have shattered Abraham! The Bible has not recorded the emotions that Abraham possibly went through. Surely, he was not a man void of emotions! He must have wept bitterly. Perhaps, many questions would have rushed through his mind. “Why would God ask me to do this?”, “Is it really God?”, “But God is not a God who asks for human sacrifices??!!”,  He must have wrestled within himself.  But, despite his emotional battle, Abraham obeyed. The Bible says:

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Genesis 22:3

The very next morning, he got ready to DO WHAT GOD TOLD HIM TO DO. And we know the events that followed. The Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Genesis 22:12. God was so touched by Abraham’s obedience that blessings after blessings just followed!

We all have our own little “Isaac’s” in our lives, that God may ask us to lay down, to test our love for Him.  But would we be ready to lay them on the altar?

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there’s pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name!

                             – Matt Redman, 1999

Read related post, “Be it unto me according to Your word”.

Worship Him without holding back anything, and HAVE A FABULOUS WEEK AHEAD!!!