THEME 7 MAKING HARD CHOICE
SCRIPTURE: [1]
After these things God tested Abraham’s faith. God said to him, “Abraham!”
And he answered, “Here I am.”
Then God said, “Take your only son, Isaac, the son you love. Go to the land of Moriah. There kill him and offer him as a whole burnt offering. Do this on one of the mountains there. I will tell you which one.”
Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took Isaac and two servants with him. He cut the wood for the sacrifice. Then they went to the place God had told them to go. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. My son and I will go over there and worship. Then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the sacrifice and gave it to his son to carry.
Abraham took the knife and the fire. So Abraham and his son went on together.
Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!”
Abraham answered, “Yes, my son.”
Isaac said, “We have the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb we will burn as a sacrifice?”
Abraham answered, “God will give us the lamb for the sacrifice, my son.”
So Abraham and his son went on together. They came to the place God had told him about. There, Abraham built an altar. He laid the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac. And he laid Isaac on the wood on the altar. Then Abraham took his knife and was about to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. The angel said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
Abraham answered, “Yes.”
The angel said, “Don’t kill your son or hurt him in any way. Now I can see that you respect God. I see that you have not kept your son, your only son, from me.”
Then Abraham looked up and saw a male sheep. Its horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the sheep and killed it. He offered it as a whole burnt offering to God. Abraham’s son was saved. So Abraham named that place The Lord Gives. Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be given.”
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time. The angel said, “The Lord says, ‘You did not keep back your son, your only son, from me. Because you did this, I make you this promise by my own name: I will surely bless you and give you many descendants. They will be as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. And they will capture the cities of their enemies. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. This is because you obeyed me.’”
THINK ABOUT IT
This is one of my favorite Bible stories. I’ve always wondered if I would be as trusting as Abraham. You know already how much Abraham and Sarah loved their long-awaited son. Now, he’s a young man, and God is asking Abraham to sacrifice him by tying him to the altar, and killing him.
Abraham is obedient. So too is Isaac, although he’s asking important questions like, “Where’s the sacrifice, Dad?”
Well, the story continues right up until the time Abraham raises his knife, ready to plunge it into his beloved Son.
Here’s when there is a lot of symbolism. The lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ, and is used throughout the Scriptures as an acceptable sacrifice. Secondly, it’s not hard to see that Abraham was called upon to sacrifice his beloved son. God did this with Jesus’ death on the cross.
So, we may be called upon to make hard choices. We may have to make hard decisions. However, God is guiding our choices, and He will make it right, every time. The Bible says, “Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”[2]
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
When we have hard choices to make, when we have decisions and we don’t know which way to go, please give us Your power of wisdom to choose as You would have us do. Keep us walking in Your pathways so that we will not be anxious about anything, because we know You will give us the right mind in every matter. We thank You for Your guidance and direction every time we ask for it. May we always be in communion with Your laws and Your direction of love. We thank You that we can know You as Father. Amen.
[1] Genesis 22: 1-14. Ibid.
[2] Philippians 4: 6-7 NIV
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