November 8, Genesis 22
Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. - Genesis 22:8
With wood, knife and fire in hand, the elderly father and his young son climbed the mountain. God told Abraham what to do, and he was on his way to do it. In an amazing demonstration of trusting faith, Abraham did not hesitate to obey God’s command to offer his son as a sacrifice. Isaac didn’t know what was happening, and asked his father about the obviously missing component for their worship — the sacrifice.
Abraham's strong faith enabled him to tell Isaac that "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” After they climbed the mountain to worship, Abraham bound his son, laid him on the altar and raised the knife. He was ready to go through with the most difficult thing God had ever told him to do. At the last moment, God stopped Abraham. A ram caught by its horns in a thicket was provided for the substitute sacrifice. Abraham named the place Jehovah Jireh: "The Lord Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14). Instead of taking Abraham’s only son that day, God renewed the covenant promises about the multitude of his descendants and the blessings that would come through them.
I love those little “gospel miniatures” found throughout the Scriptures. Abraham’s answer to Isaac’s question is one of my favorites. “God will provide a Lamb” is the big Genesis to Revelation story of the Bible, condensed into a few words. It is a beautiful distillation of God’s plan to redeem lost humans like us in Christ, the Lamb of God.
From the paradise garden home of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 to the promise to provide all the necessities of life for those who seek his kingdom and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33), God is a providing God. From the harvest of the earth that sustains our physical life to the cross where Jesus died to give us spiritual life, God is a providing God. Every good thing in your life is a gift from him (James 1:17).
Have you noticed how things we memorized as children are still in our minds, even if we can't remember four things we're supposed to get at the store without a list? Here's a poem I learned 55 years ago as an elementary school child. I learned it for a speech about trusting God I delivered to the PTA.
Said the cardinal to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the cardinal,
"Friend I think it's plain to see
That they have no heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."
Do we ever betray our distrust about God's promises of provision by our anxiety? We long to be free of the smothering weight of worries. Yet we cling to our anxieties instead of trusting the Lord and casting all our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7).
Many of the Psalms are celebrations of God's provision. The words of praise come from the hearts of people who have learned to lean on the Lord. The extent to which we have learned to rely on him will determine how true the words sound to us when we read them aloud. Look at just two examples from Psalm 111, verses 5 and 9:
“He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.... He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!"
Do you really have a sense of your daily bread being provided by God? Or does pride lead you to congratulate yourself on having plenty? Moses warned Israel, "Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).
And do you trust and remember that your righteousness is provided through Christ? Or do you keep believing the lie that you can do it yourself (Romans 10:1-4)? Only those who in trusting faith yield themselves to him can really know the peace that comes from knowing that the Lord will provide.
We marvel at Abraham’s faith that enabled him to do such an astounding thing as offering his son to God. How often do far less demanding matters of obedience betray our lack of total trust in the Lord?
Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—November 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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