" Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son."
~Gen 22:9-10~
Why are the greatest acts of obedience so hard? God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac to Him on the alter. We know this story has a different ending however . . .
"But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son."
~Gen 22:11&13~
So, if God knew there would be a ram provided for Abraham instead, why did He put him through the torture of this test? Why didn't God just give Abraham the ram in the beginning?
"And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” vs 12
The answer: to test Abraham's love for & obedience to & faith in God. Period. A lesson Abraham could nevear have learned without the preparation of sacrifice.
Often in my life, I see the clear answer before my eyes & fail to understand the purpose of waiting to receive it. I don't see why God asks me to chose the difficult path when an easy one would get me there faster. I fear choosing the hard road, because I have no control here, only God does. I'm afraid if I lose site of my blessing, it may be lost forever. But, my answers are the same as Abraham's, there are lessons I can only learn in preparation for the sacrifice. One day my ram will appear in the bush, and I will know God is pleased with my sacrifice & that He has provided for me. My blessing was never lost, it was in His hand the whole time.
"And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
~Gen 22:14-18~
