066 Abraham: The Test

The opening words of Genesis 22 read: “Some time later God tested Abraham.”

That word “test” is only used in the Bible in reference to the people of God, never unbelievers. Which begs the question, “Why would a loving Father test His cherished children?”

I’m convinced that the answer to that question is within that question.  It’s because our Father is loving and does cherish us that He tests us. 

The purpose behind the giving of tests is to develop us, not to destroy us. 

At the age of 100, Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah had a baby. A son they named Isaac. He was the son of God’s promise, the beginning of a line of descendants that would be as numerous as the stars, a nation through whom the world would be blessed. 

And Abraham loved Isaac…more than anything.

Then one day God came to Abraham and said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering...”(v. 2)

In reading this, any thinking person immediately asks, “Why? What is the purpose of such a demanding test?” It almost doesn’t seem fair after all this man has been through.  

Had Isaac perhaps grown too dear to Abraham?  Had the boy taken the place of primary loyalty in Abraham’s heart?  Could this wonderful gift of promise have begun to cloud Abraham’s commitment to the Promise Keeper?  

We’re not specifically told.  All we see is that God decides to test Abraham in a way that none of us can begin to fathom. 

We aren’t privy to the agonizings of Abraham’s heart.  But what we are told is that he obeys… immediately.  He sets about to do what God commands, even though it means giving up what he loves the most.

The journey to Moriah took three days. Throughout those miles of travel, Abraham’s mind must have been spinning even as his heart was aching.  But Abraham stays on the journey of faith, showing a tenacious obedience in the midst of agonizing pain and unanswered questions.

The key to handling tests is to never forget in the dark what you learned in the light.         

Arriving at the mountain, Isaac asks his father, “We have the wood and the fire, but where is the sacrifice?” Abraham’s answer? “God will provide.”      

Then he bound his son, laid him on the altar and, I can imagine with tears streaming down his face, Abraham raises the knife to sacrifice his son.

Some of you know exactly what that feels like. Your laughter has ceased because your dreams seem to be as good as dead.  Maybe it’s your marriage, your singleness, or your dream of children. Perhaps it’s your ministry or dreams of a life of impact.

Now you stand on Moriah, with your dreams on the altar. It means being willing to trust and obey even when from a human perspective it appears to be absurd to do so.  It means believing that God knows what He’s doing even if you don’t.  

With the knife in the air, a voice rings out: “Abraham. Don’t lay a hand on the boy… Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

This test wasn’t for God’s benefit.  It was for Abraham’s.  It allowed him to see the extent of his faith and plumb the depths of his trust.  It forced him to grapple with who really was #1 in his life.

But, more than that, it allowed God to bless him even further.  His willingness to lay it all on the altar opened up the door to something only God could give.  

The reward for passing tests is provision in your present and fulfillment in your future. 

Text: Genesis 22:1-19

Originally recorded December 7, 2014, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.