Valuable Sacrifices
“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.” God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”
The angel said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide” as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” Genesis 22:1-2, 9-14
Insight
This moment Abraham had with God always felt crazy to me, but now that I am dad, it’s also scary! This encounter is a reminder that the call of sacrifice can be intimidating. It will look different for each of us but, at some point, God may ask us to lay down what we value the most. This could be a relationship, a title, a skill, a dream, a salary, or anything we have longed for.
This was the case for Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham’s greatest desire was for a son. Before Isaac was born, God gave Abraham an incredible promise that he would be the “Father of many nations” (Genesis 12). Now, Abraham received this promise when he was about 75 years old. When he was 99 years old, he still had no son. Could you imagine the slow transition from excitement to sadness as this promise seemed to slowly deteriorate? A lot of us know too well that feeling. But after a few bumps in the road, a bump suddenly appeared in Abraham’s wife’s belly. That bump would be Isaac, and God’s promise to Abraham was finally fulfilled. It is fair to say that Isaac was one of the most valuable realities for Abraham.
A little while later God asked Abraham to provide a sacrifice. Naturally, because God had come through for Abraham, he was more than willing. Then Abraham found out what the sacrifice needed to be: his son Isaac. God’s command was, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go… and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2). Wow. The next verse reveals that Abraham committed to the command and took Isaac towards the mountain. There is no Scripture that revealed the wrestling that Abraham had but surely he had some questions for God.
I imagine those questions would have been along the lines of: “Why are You asking me to do this God?” “Why would you give me the desires of my heart, just to ask for it back?” “Do I have the strength to give what I value most back to God?” These would be the questions consuming my mind and heart.
Abraham arrived at the altar and was about to drive the knife into his son, when suddenly, God intervened through an angel. The angel stopped Abraham and told him that he passed the sacrifice test and proved that he was willing. I bet there was little hesitation to get Isaac off that altar and a ram instead on the altar. I can only imagine the relief Abraham had, not only that his son was still alive, but that he also proved his faith to God.
We all sort of breathe a sigh of relief when we get to the end of this moment because we convince ourselves that once we can prove our willingness to sacrifice, God will not actually take that which we value most. But what happens when an angel does not appear? What happens when we must sacrifice what we value most? Suddenly, the testing of our sacrifice goes to the next level.
While we may never know why God takes that which we value most rather than intervene, we do know that God would not ask us to do something He did not already do. Abraham was asked to give his son as a sacrifice to reveal his love for God, and God saw Abraham’s love and obedience. God took it a step further. God gave His only son as a sacrifice to redeem us, and God gave His son so that we would see the love God has for us.
In response to the sacrifice of love God gave, He asks for the same in return. What I hope we understand is that which we value most in this world holds nothing to the value that you and I have as a child of God. The most immeasurable gift we possess is a relationship with our Father. Everything else loses value in comparison. But when God asks you to surrender, know that He has been there. More importantly, He is with you through the sacrifice. He sees your sacrifice, He sees your faith, and He sees His child whom He loves.
Reflection
What is God asking you to sacrifice?
How can you use your sacrifice as a chance to grow closer to your Father?
Prayer
Father, thank you for the immeasurable sacrifice You gave for me to be Your child. My mind cannot fathom what it felt like for You to give Your only son for me. I know there may come a day where You ask me to sacrifice something valuable in my life, and I pray I remember Your willingness to sacrifice for me. Help me to find assurance that You are with me in my sacrifices. I love You Father, and pray in Your name, Amen.
Port City writer Davy Nance wrote today’s devotional.
