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.”
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Genesis 22:9-18
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If you are familiar with the Bible at all, you likely know the story in Genesis 22 where God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac.
But there is an often-overlooked sentence in that story that should send shivers down the spine of every Jesus-follower.
Quick backstory: In Genesis 12, the Lord makes a promise to Abraham that his descendants will become a great nation and “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Finally, when Abraham was 100 years old, his son Isaac was born. The promise was finally coming true.
Some time later (Genesis 22), God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac on a mountain. Abraham proceeded exactly as God commanded, even to the point of laying Isaac on the altar. However, God interceded at the final moment to stop Abraham and provided a ram to be offered instead.
Abraham had passed the test.
And then, in Genesis 22:16-17, an angel of the Lord delivers to Abraham words that cannot be missed and ought to send all Christ-followers into prayer, meditation, and solitude. It should not be overlooked by anyone who wants all that God offers to us.
The angel said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.”
“Because you have done this,” the angel declares, “God’s promise to you remains.”
Abraham could have lost the promise! His sin? Placing something in his affections and heart above God.
God’s test was clear, “Do you desire me and love me more than anything else on earth?” And “because he did, God’s promise to him would remain.”
God owes us nothing, but promises us everything. But those promises can be removed by God at any time.
We don’t like hearing that—especially in modern Christianity.
We prefer a God who fulfills all His promises, unconditionally, to everyone, regardless of the place they have put God in their life. We want to place money, social status, pleasure, entertainment, luxury, power, and our selfish desires alongside God in our hearts. But we fall into a great trap believing we can pursue those things and still receive all the promises of God.
“Because you have placed me first, my promises to you remain,” are the words of the Lord to Abraham.
And they ought to send shivers into our soul that we might fail the test and lose out on the promises that God has made to us.
At the very least, those words should drive us into quiet desperation before the throne of God to search our heart for anything we have placed there instead of Him.
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Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me put you first in my life—above all else. Show me anything that I have placed in my heart and affection above You. And mold my heart to always love you more than anything this world offers that I might enjoy all your promises. Amen.