Day 3 -- Abraham's Test of Obedience
Life is full of tests. Tests are what lie between the beginning of our faith journey and the day we receive our glorified bodies in heaven. They are not intended to squash us. On the contrary, they are to move us toward a greater dependence on God. Our faith is revealed to God and others by the degree to which we obey, worship and love God. These three Christian principles of faith are mentioned together for the first time in the Bible in Genesis 22 when Abraham is tested by God.
Abraham already had righteousness credited to his spiritual account (Gen. 15:6). God told him that One would come from him who would be his heir and would give him many descendants. Through this Heir, ALL the nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). Abraham knew of the Messiah to come and believed God. Through his child of the promise (Isaac), Jesus would come.
But God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to take his beloved Isaac and offer him as a burnt sacrifice. How could Abraham obey that command? He could obey because he believed the promises that God made to him! If God allowed Isaac to die, Messiah could not come through that line. Abraham trusted God to do what He said He would do. This is how he was able to tell the men with him, “I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”
Again Abraham demonstrated and acted on faith when his son asked him a difficult question. “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham replied, “God will provide for Himself the lamb.” Abraham passed God’s test when he followed through on everything God commanded him, binding up the one he loved most, laying him on the altar, and raising the knife to slay him. Because of such faith, Abraham is a picture to us of true worship. His actions reveal to us an obedient heart. No wonder Abraham was called a friend of God! (James 2:23)
Though he was a man from the Old Testament days, Abraham’s heart was transformed by his love for a Savior who had not yet come. We have the promises in the Word; we say we believe them. But do we live a sacrificial life that is proven by our obedience to God’s commands?
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