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“Abraham, take Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering.”

By: Ray Larson

Posted: July 8, 2015

Category: Daily Devotional

Does it not seem as if God never gets through testing poor Abraham? We are told often how much God has tested Abraham to see if he really was one to be trusted. Could it be that God just did not have complete trust in the one who was chosen to lead God’s people? I learned through my years of Seminarian Sarrar Theologiae in order to be one of God’s chosen to lead His people, that I was often tested. I have come to the conclusion that God was testing Abraham not to satisfy God’s trust in him, but to prove to Abraham that he truly could be trusted.

Did Abraham pass the test of the Lord God? We can read, “But the angel of the Lord called, Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy; for now I know that you fear God.” (Genesis 22:11-12). Most religions in our day question why God tested those whom He had called. But our text does not flinch at telling this story.

God is not a simple logical premise who must always perform in our ways of thinking. The God of Abraham’s day is not one who must perform in rational consistency. To help us come to an understanding of our God of Genesis, we have to realize that God continually tested those whom God called to serve. The Word that comes to us to reconcile is that he who is dead lives. That word is “resurrection.” Resurrection concerns itself with the keeping of a promise when there just doesn’t seem to a solid ground to hold it. Faith is fully connected to this promise. Faith that is nothing more than trust found in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Abraham had a strong faith in God. Abraham knew beyond understanding that God will find a way to bring life even through death. That is faith of the listening community, and that is the meaning of the ram given at the last moment. A substitute not brought in by Abraham, but given by God who always is inscrutably gracious.

Prayer

Holy God, our Loving Father, forgive our untested doubts, and bless our faith when we ask questions that do not need understandable answers. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.