You might think that waiting on the Lord would be exhausting, but those who wait on the Lord actually renew their strength!
It is almost impossible to exaggerate the significance of the events found in Genesis 22. What we have recorded for us to watch in our mind’s eye is a solemn rehearsal for the greatest events in human history—the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God! Abraham and his family are living at Beersheba, about 45 miles south of Jerusalem. Isaac has grown into a fine young man, and things could not be better for the patriarch, as he delights in the son of his old age. But a moment for review. Thus far, Abram had been called by “the God of glory” (Acts 7:2) to first leave his home in Ur of Chaldea, then the place of his father’s grave in Haran, also in the Mesopotamian Valley. Living in various locales in Canaan (with a disastrous side-trip to Egypt), he finally parted ways with his nephew, Lot. It was then that the Lord spread out the land of Canaan before Abram as his inheritance. But, as we saw, there was a serious problem. The whole scheme was based not only on a promised land but on a promised son. If Abraham was going to be the “father of many nations” (Gen 17:4), that process couldn’t begin until he had at least one boy! Finally, after so many years, Isaac was born. What joy! What relief! What assurance that the God who makes promises also keeps them. Now at last there was a certain hope that this new God-worshiping nation could become a reality. Surely all of those difficult tests in the school of God had been worth it, and nothing could interfere with the Big Plan now. But what Abraham didn’t know was that one final exam awaited before he would graduate, and it was, by far, the most challenging test of all. What if, after all his giving up for God, he was asked to also give up his only son?