Abraham was a trusted friend of God. The Lord called him out of his pagan community in Chaldea to teach him his ways. He called him into a special relationship with him. His committed obedience to the will of God, even when it seemed completely senseless and purposeless, was counted for him as righteousness and he earned the appellation of the father of faith.
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren. Although both of them were getting on in years, Abraham held on to the Lord’s promise: “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth” (Gen. 13:16). Years passed and the couple was getting older and older, but the promise was yet to be fulfilled. It dragged on to a point in which Abraham’s patience floundered and he made some mistakes that he regretted. However, the Lord did not withdraw his promise. For he is ever faithful.
Isaac
When the Lord reiterated his promise to Abraham, he replied demoralized, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” (Gen. 15:2–3). But the Lord reassured him that no one but his very own son would be his heir. Although this promise seemed impossible, Sarah eventually conceived and bore Abraham a son, Isaac. For nothing is too difficult for God (Jer. 32:27).
Then came the most trying moment in Abraham’s life. The Lord requested that he should offer Isaac, his only son, as a burnt offering to Him. Why should God make this ‘weird’ demand? How should Abraham respond to this benumbing request? He waited for years for this son of promise. Now, the Lord demands that this only son be sacrificed as a burnt offering. Even if he were not an only child, how would the Lord expect Abraham to sacrifice his own child in such a brutal manner? What kind of God is He actually?
Abraham’s mind must have raced through the several promises the Lord made to him. He still hoped to be the father of many nations. He must have battled with a multitude of thoughts concerning the integrity of God: “If I would sacrifice Isaac, how would the promises be fulfilled? Is God indeed faithful? Can I trust Him?”
God’s Business
However, Abraham must have concluded after this mental struggle and torture that all the odds concerning the fulfillment of the promise, God’s faithfulness and integrity should be God’s business and not his. His part was to follow the way He leads. He must have said to himself, “He is God. Let his will be done!” Against this background, Abraham set out early the next morning to offer his son to the Lord.
Abraham did this not because it was a joy to kill his only son. It was not because the act was not painful and torturous. It was not because he expected to gain anything by obeying the Lord. He accepted to offer the sacrifice simply because it was what God commanded, it was the will of God, and he believed that God was right in all his ways. He understood that God made us for His pleasure (Rev. 4:11). Every other thing for Abraham was secondary. This is the faith that justifies, the faith that God credits as righteousness.
We too must learn to submit to the will of the Master, even when it pains most to do so. It is important to note that in practical terms, it is very difficult to exercise the faith of Abraham. Yet that is what the Lord expects from us. He encourages us, “submit as man and I will handle your cares as God”.
