Friday Devo
Scripture:
Genesis 22:1-4
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
Commentary:
22:2 your only son Isaac, whom you love. With the departure of Ishmael from Abraham’s household, Isaac had become Abraham’s only son. As such, he was held with much affection by his father. land of Moriah. According to 2 Chron. 3:1, Solomon constructed the temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. While Genesis 22 does not specify that the sacrifice of Isaac took place at or near Jerusalem, v. 14 possibly implies such a connection. A burnt offering involved the entire sacrifice being consumed by fire. The outcome of the incident makes it clear that God never intended the directive to be fulfilled. Thus, taken as a whole (in terms of both the command and the outcome), the incident cannot be seen to conflict with God’s moral law. Because this was by far the greatest demand that God could have made of Abraham, it confirmed the depth of the Patriarch’s commitment. Abraham was willing to kill his own son, although as the author of Hebrews observes (Heb. 11:17–19), he prepared to do so believing that God was able to bring Isaac back to life again.
22:3 Abraham rose early in the morning. Abraham promptly responds to the challenge placed before him.
22:3 Abraham demonstrates the reality of his faith in action, serving as a model for how our good works demonstrate our faith (James 2:18–24).
22:4 On the third day. It requires about two days to travel on foot from Beersheba to Jerusalem, a distance of about 45 miles (72 km) “as the crow flies.” Elsewhere, two days also represents the time set aside to prepare for a special encounter with God on the third day (see Ex. 19:11). Perhaps this sets the pattern for the significant “third day” (cf. Matt. 16:21; 1 Cor. 15:4).
22:3 Abraham rose early in the morning. Abraham promptly responds to the challenge placed before him.
22:3 Abraham demonstrates the reality of his faith in action, serving as a model for how our good works demonstrate our faith (James 2:18–24).
22:4 On the third day. It requires about two days to travel on foot from Beersheba to Jerusalem, a distance of about 45 miles (72 km) “as the crow flies.” Elsewhere, two days also represents the time set aside to prepare for a special encounter with God on the third day (see Ex. 19:11). Perhaps this sets the pattern for the significant “third day” (cf. Matt. 16:21; 1 Cor. 15:4).
Questions:
- In Genesis 22, we see Abraham facing his most difficult test yet. God asks him to sacrifice his son... the child of promise, the one they had waited so long for, the greatest miracle of their lives. Abraham, full of faith in God, was obedient. And the true test of his obedience wasn't on the first day. It happened on the third day of his journey up the mountain when things started to get real. Maybe you've found yourself in this place before. Or maybe you're there now! Maybe God has asked you to break off a bad relationship to honor Him. Maybe He called you to a ministry, but you have not followed through because you weren't seeing the fruit. Maybe God led you to make a financial sacrifice but you weren't willing to stay obedient when things got difficult. Do any of these resonate with you?
- When Abraham says, "Here I am," He's not just saying, "Hello." It was a way of saying, "I stand ready at your command." It is a statement of surrender, which is pretty incredible if you think about it. To this point, every time God has called Abraham up to this point he seems to ask him to leave something good or attempt something impossible. But Abraham says, "Here am I," because he trusts God. The difference between a life of drudgery and a life of joy is whether you trust Jesus. Have you found this to be true in your life? Think about a time when joy was brought to your life because you trusted God and were obedient.
Pray:
- That you would be obedient even when you don't see God moving.
- That you would experience the joy of trusting God.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
No Comments