We’re all in training for reigning, so of course the lessons and tests get tougher as we move toward our graduation to glory.
In Genesis 22:2, God had a surprise test for Abraham. “He said, ‘Take now 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.’” Our last study concluded with the question, If Isaac was going to die, what would happen to the Lord’s promise to Abraham? Wasn’t it based on Isaac? Remember, Abraham had waited 25 years until finally his son was born. At this point, Isaac is in the vigor of young manhood, a suitable heir to the covenant Jehovah had made with his father. Recall that his name means “laughter,” for, said Sarah, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me” (Gen 21:6). But nobody’s laughing now. Yet here we see the remarkable faith of Abraham! Let me ask again the question: Wasn’t the promise to make Abraham the “father of many nations” based on Isaac continuing to live and himself bearing children? The man who would also be called “the father of all those who believe” (Rom 4:11) responded with a resounding “No!” The promise was based on God Himself, and, said Abraham, God will keep His word, however bleak it looks at the moment. In fact, the Bible records an explanation two thousand years later, in Hebrews 11:19, that Abraham was willing to obey the Lord in offering his son, “concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.” Yes, long before people even had the Bible that told of the hope of resurrection, this man believed that the only worthwhile life must be based on trusting God in every circumstance because He always proves Himself faithful. I hope you believe this, too, because without such faith it is impossible to please the Lord.