“Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God.” Genesis 22:12
Fearing God seems to have fallen out of fashion. We sing love songs to Him; think of Jesus as our best friend; spend times wittering with the Lord (and I hasten to add that I welcome all of these ways of relating to the triune God, for we are blessed to worship a God who communicates with us in many different ways). But do we bow our knees and honor him as the infinite, never-ending, all-powerful, holy, holy, holy God?
Because Abraham feared God, he obeyed him, and this obedience is counted to Abraham as righteousness. Abraham was released from following through on his act of sacrifice – it’s the only time in the Bible that God sends the order to halt proceedings. And so Abraham, as the writer to the Hebrews says, is one of a great cloud of witnesses who surrounds us. We who have the benefit of these great heroes of the faith should therefore throw off the sin that entangles us as we run with perseverance the race marked out before us, setting our eyes on Jesus (12:1).
As Isaac carried the wood on which he would be sacrificed, so did Jesus carry his wood – his cross, enduring its shame. Today, in holy reverence and awe, may we fear the Lord, considering Jesus’ sacrifice that we may not grow weary and lost heart.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen.
Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Genesis 22:10
As we read this story in Genesis, it seems like time slows down. Each step as Abraham moves towards the slaying of Isaac feels like it happens in slow motion: they reach the place God told them about; Abraham builds an altar; he arranges the wood; he binds his son; he lays him on the altar… And then (big breath), he reaches out his hand (heart pounding) and takes the knife (hand shaking) to slay his son (“Whatever am I doing?”).
Abraham proves himself worthy of being the father of nations. He doesn’t grasp the promises of God too tightly, nor has he made the promises themselves into an idol. Therefore God is pleased to move forward with his covenant with his people.
Consider how this story, right at the beginning of our Bibles, reveals God the Father’s love for us. As we read the account of Abraham, we sense some of the pain and loss this earthly father must have felt. The Lord God on such a greater scale experienced the depth of this anguish when he sent his only Son to live on the earth and die on behalf of the people who often turn to their own ways.
May we honor our Father whose sacrificial love saves us from despair and the consequences of sin.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, your love never ends. Saving Son, thank you for your sacrifice. Convicting Spirit, we’re sorry for our sins. Amen.
Pieter Lastman: The Angel of the Lord Preventing Abraham from Sacrificing his Son Isaac
“God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Genesis 22:8
This week, reread our passage from Isaac’s point of view. What do you think he felt as he and his father walk toward the place of sacrifice, no animal in sight to offer to the Lord? I wonder if he had a sense of foreboding, or if that came later, when Abraham tied him to the altar. Here we see a conversation between son and father, one that echoes the loving relationship of Abraham to the Lord. As Abraham trusts his heavenly Father, knowing that he will be true to his promises, so Isaac has confidence in the character of his earthly father. For each, trust comes from their relationships.
Some questions to consider in the light of this passage: What might be an “Isaac” you need to lay down at the altar of the Lord? Is there something in your life that threatens to overtake your relationship with God as your primary source of love, affirmation and belonging? You could write down anything that comes to mind, setting it at the foot of the cross while you ask God to take his rightful place in your heart. Or think about relationships close to you – which mirror that of Abraham and Isaac? That of Abraham and the Lord? Take some time asking God to shine his holy light on your life, that you might experience his freedom and joy.
Prayer: Lord, we want to trust and obey you. Reveal whatever hinders our walk with you. Amen.
Abraham going up to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, as in Genesis 22, illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible.
“We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:5
Matt Redman’s song “Blessed Be Your Name” has helped many voice the mystery of worshiping God when we’re suffering. Though we feel “pain in the offering,” yet blessed is God’s name. We may croak the words through tears or gritted teeth, but the act of singing can inform our emotions.
Abraham names what he is about to do as worship. He doesn’t know why God would ask him to sacrifice his son, but he trusts in the Lord. Biblical commentators remind us that child sacrifice would not have appeared as shocking to Abraham as it does to us, for back then it was common for deities to demand this as an act of worship – though of course the true and living God is not just any deity.
Note also what Abraham says to his servants: “We will come back to you.” Did he sense that God would stop him from killing his son? We don’t know, but we can marvel at his faith, finding encouragement that a man who once lied to Pharaoh, calling his wife his sister, or who another time tried to fulfill God’s promises through his slave, is now a man of great faith.
How might we worship the Lord today, even if we are walking the road of suffering? May we affirm him as our loving Father who wants the best for us.
Prayer: Lord God, you sacrificed your only son that our slate might be wiped clean. Thank you for your love.
Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Genesis 22:2
They say losing a child is the hardest thing to experience. One day your hopes and dreams for your son or daughter live and breathe; the next they seem quashed. Your world has changed inexorably, and how God fits into the questions of why can lead to a lifetime of questing. (I write from empathy, not experience.)
The Lord God didn’t require of Abraham something he wasn’t willing to do himself – sacrifice his only beloved son. We see in the Lord’s instructions that he knows what he asks of Abraham – this is Abraham’s only son; the one who will fulfill God’s promises. It seems unthinkable.
Yet Abraham obeys, setting off on the three-day journey to Moriah. Consider what Abraham must have been thinking and feeling. Every step closer to Moriah marked less time with Isaac. Did he battle internally, questioning God? We don’t know, but as we see in Hebrews 11:19, he came to a point of acceptance, for he “reasoned that God could even raise the dead.”
Wrestling with the questions of “why” can eventually be a means of strengthening our faith, as we work through with God the issues that we don’t understand. This side of heaven, we won’t fully comprehend, but I hope the character of God – His goodness, faithfulness and love – will frame our questions and answers.
Prayer: Triune God, there’s so much we can’t fathom; at times our grief feels too much. Show us your great love. Amen.
We embark on a new seven-week series in which we explore a famous story from Genesis. That the Lord would ask Abraham to sacrifice his son may boggle our minds, but we will see what was behind this request as we travel through the passage. We can be inspired and encouraged by Abraham’s obedience to God’s voice, knowing that the Lord of this patriarch is too the God who made us and formed us, and loves us as his own.
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God 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 on a mountain I will show you.”
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Genesis 22:1–14 (NIV)
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” (Luke 12:48). So said Jesus to his disciples, but this statement could equally apply to Abraham. The man known as the father of the nations was one who obeyed (Hebrews 11:8). Much was given to him, but much was also required.
When we consider the story in our text, however, we may wonder why the Lord would put his servant to the test. We’ll see hints later in our series, but for this week, consider how we respond when we feel tested. Are we like Abraham, who when God calls him, says, “Here I am”? He has learned how to discern the voice of God over time and thus presents himself before him, ready to listen and obey. His trusting relationship with God prepares him to follow his commands.
I don’t believe God will put us to the test in such an extreme way as he did with Abraham, but I’ve seen him allow hard things in life, which tests our faith. One day I asked a friend whose husband and daughter had died about her relationship with God. She said, “Who else can I turn to? He’s my rock.” What a humbling, faith-filled response born out of the crucible of pain and suffering.
May our faith be strengthened, that we may be found ready.
Prayer: Father God, shine your light on the Scriptures, that we might understand and love you more. Amen.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit (Isaiah 11:1–5).
I love walking by a brook near to us, taking in the gentle gurgling water and enjoying the canopy of green from the many trees and shrubs in the area. Often I don’t pay any attention to the tree stumps near to the water. But recently as I was reading the prophecy of Isaiah, I thought of those pieces of wood rooted in the ground: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse” (v. 1). And I realized that although something like a tree stump may appear useless or decrepit, God can be working deep within.
Although God’s people at the time of the prophet Isaiah faced enemies and exile, the Lord assured them that hope would spring forth, for from the roots of a stump would come the Branch bearing fruit (v. 1). Another level of meaning in the prophecy is this Branch being the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Not only is he the Branch that bursts forth out of the lifeless stump, but he is the Vine to whom the disciples are connected (see John 15:5).
When you next go for a walk, maybe even near a gurgling brook, consider the roots and stumps that may appear seemingly dead. And know that nothing is impossible with God. May we find hope in the tree of life and be strengthened in our connection to the Lord, who dwells with us.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the Branch to whom we are connected. May your Spirit flow through me, bringing renewal and new life.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive! Revelation 1:12-18
Our time together of considering the phrase “Fear not” started in Genesis and ends in Revelation. We could have spent much longer exploring this theme, for nearly all of the books of the Bible contain this phrase. As puny human beings, fear and awe seem to be our natural reaction when God bursts into our lives. Even the seasoned disciple John falls down flat when the living Lord appears to him.
And rightly so, for as the Proverbs say, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (1:7). A proper and holy fear acknowledges God’s majesty and glory; that he is God and we are not. When we rightly fear him, we want to obey his commands and his leading.
With our two lovely children, we seek to instill in them a healthy fear of the Lord, partly through prayer and teaching, but also through discipline. We don’t enjoy taking away screen time or when they were little sending them to the naughty chair. But encouraging them to change their hearts and obey with a good attitude takes time and perseverance. I wonder if the Lord feels the same with us at times, when we put our own agendas before his, or are ungrateful for his grace.
Jesus appeared to John in a brilliant vision of flashing light and sound. John feared him, but the Lord brought reassurance: He was no longer dead but alive. He had overcome death and the evil one. So too does Jesus want to appear to us, saying “Fear not; I am with you. The waters won’t pass over you. The flames won’t burn you. I will never leave or forsake you. You are my beloved. Fear not, and come with me.”
How will we respond?
Prayer: Holy Father, loving Son, comforting Spirit, we honor you with a holy fear. May you increase our awe and wonder at your glories and goodness. Amen.
Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” Acts 27:13-44
The apostle Paul was a passionate man whose life was changed radically. He who had been the primary persecutor of the new Christians was struck blind on the Damascus Road as God revealed himself through Jesus. After his conversion, Paul gave up his prestigious Jewish career and lived no-holds-barred for God. Our reading comes when he is a prisoner for his beliefs and is being transported to Rome to appear before Caesar.
The pilot and sailors must have regarded their cargo – the prisoners – as a nuisance. They continued in their own course along the water, even though Paul warned them to stop and harbor over the winter. Sure enough, they find themselves caught in hurricane-force winds. Battered for days and worried about food supplies, they must have started to give up hope. Just then Paul speaks up, sharing a word from God that he received through a dream. He conveys hope amid the fears.
I love how matter-of-fact Paul seems when he shares his dream. He can’t resist pointing out that they should have listened to him in the first place, but that God will graciously rescue all of them. His faith is strong enough to bring calm during a raging storm, for he has put his trust in the triune God.
What storms are you facing, or those close to you? What squalls rage in the world, with nation poised against nation and many peoples facing abject poverty? As we consider the good news of Jesus coming into our world, may we commit to praying and believing that God can calm the storm. And then may we act on what we discern the Lord would have us do, for we are his agents of peace and hope in a hurting world.
For reflection and prayer: “May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm” (Celtic Daily Prayer)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:1-27
I love this part of the Bible. It’s called Jesus’ Final Discourse, because he and the disciples have eaten their last supper together and Judas has gone off to plan his betrayal. Soon Jesus and his friends will make their way to the Mount of Olives, where the soldiers and officers will arrest him. The setting and timing makes Jesus’ words all the more important.
The disciples have just learned that Jesus is going to die, and of course they react with fear and trepidation. But Jesus reassures them, telling them not to be afraid. Then he shares with them a great truth of the Christian faith, the dance between the three members of God (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) and us, his children. Jesus says, “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” And that he is sending the Spirit, the Advocate of truth, to be with us forever.
What does this mean for us, that the Trinity dwells in each other and in us? It’s a great mystery, to be sure, but has practical implications. For one, we are never alone. Jesus lives within, and we can just pause and practice his presence, to quote the phrase from Brother Lawrence of centuries ago. As we are quiet, we can call to mind the fact that God has descended not only to earth as the man Jesus, but that he dwells in us when we have welcomed him in. He can quicken our thoughts; bring to mind someone who is hurting for whom we can pray and reach out to; bring comfort and peace… the list is endless. No longer are we alone.
May the peace of Christ surround us this day.
For reflection: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
I love this section of the Bible so much that I have written a month of daily notes on John 14 to 17 for Inspiring Women Every Day. Look for it in September!
