Ultimate Acts of Faith (Genesis 22)

It ought not to take long to realize by reading the Bible that Abraham was a man of faith... a man of God. He trusted God completely... this Genesis 15:6 says "He believed in the LORD, and He counted it unto him for righteousness.

The Bible also teaches that Isaac was the one through whom the promises to Abraham would be kept. In Genesis 17:5-7, God promised:

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (6) And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. (7) And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

In Genesis 12:3, God promised, "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." And then the promise through Isaac was made in Genesis 21:12, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called."

Abraham received and believed these promises from God.

The story takes a turn, however, in Genesis 22. In this passage, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac... to offer up the one through whom all of God's promises would come. Abraham's faith wasn't shaken, though. He had received promises from God, and knew God was not a liar, so he trusted God to keep His promises by sparing, reviving or resurrecting Isaac.

Abraham's faith was such that he trusted God to keep His promises, and why not? Abraham had already seen God perform the impossible. He and Sarah couldn't have children during their childbearing years, and now they were beyond childbearing age, yet God promised them a son. It was in that context that Genesis 15:6 says "He believed in the LORD, and He counted it to him for righteousness."

God delivered on that promise in Genesis 21, so why not trust God to keep Isaac, his promised son safe? Abraham had a couple of theories on how God would do this. The first appears in Genesis 22:7-8:

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together.

Abraham expected God would provide the sacrificial lamb at the last moment, and if He didn't, Hebrews 11:17-19 says:

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called: (19) Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence he also received him up in a figure.

So, Abraham believed God would either supply an offering, or resurrect Isaac. Either way, he trusted God enough that he expected to return home with Isaac. (Genesis 22:5). How could Abraham trust God in this situation? Abraham knew he could trust God because (a) God does not lie, (b) God keeps His promises and (c) God can do the impossible. Luke 1:37 says "For with God all things are possible."

Abraham wasn't the only one showing faith, though. Isaac showed faith. Contrary to popular belief, Isaac was not a baby in Genesis 22. He turned five at his weaning ceremony in Genesis 21, and many days had passed since then (Genesis 21:34), and Isaac was big enough to carry the wood. So, he was big enough that he didn't have to go along with this if he didn't want to. He could have fought off, or ran away from Abraham, but he didn't. Why? Because Isaac had faith in God, and Abraham.

Isaac showed faith in God and Abraham by submitting to Abraham. Abraham told Isaac that God would provide a lamb for sacrifice, and Isaac trusted him. Isaac not only trusted Abraham, but also God for the sacrifice.

Isaac depended on the Lord for deliverance. People today should depend on the Lord for deliverance, whether it be from sin, or problems in their lives. They should trust God to work things out for them. Isaac's life teaches us that we can please God simply by following God and making Godly decisions as we live our lives.

God responded to Abraham's faith, and provided a sacrifice. Abraham said as much in Genesis 22:8, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Abraham trusted God to provide a sacrifice, and God did in Genesis 22:13, "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." God provided a sacrifice.

This is a foreshadowing of what Christ did for us when He died on the cross. He was God's sacrifice for our sin. Isaiah 53:5-6 states:

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6 says we have all gone astray, turned from God and to our own ways, but the sin and iniquity we committed in the process were placed on Christ, and paid for when He died on the cross. Hence, He was bruised and wounded for our sins (transgressions) and iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace with God was put on Christ. With His stripes, His crucifixion and sufferings, we are healed from sin.

John 1:29 says "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." In the days of John the Baptist, the Jews would sacrifice a lamb to cover their sins for a year. John referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God in John 1:29, which would take away the sins of he world for good. He would be the ultimate sacrifice.

Romans 3:24-25 says "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.)

God set Jesus forth to be a propitiation, a sacrifice for ins. God, once again, provided a sacrifice. Therefore, we are justified freely by His grace, because Christ redeemed us on the cross. But, you have to believe (John 3:16).

And then there's 1 John 2:2, "And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours' only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Repent, and believe in God's sacrifice. In John 5:24, Jesus said "He that heareth My words, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." If you believe on Christ, you are saved and will live eternally in His Kingdom. If you reject Him, you'll be condemned to Hell. Accept Jesus as your Savior.

One final thought...

In James 2, James used the occasion of Abraham offering up Isaac to demonstrate perfect, or complete faith (James 2:21-22). A key verse is James 2:18, which says "Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."

You you believe in the Lord? Does your life prove that you believe? May God bless you in a special way today.