He said, "Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I'll point out to you." (Genesis 22:2, Message)
I'm not a mom yet, but I can only imagine and empathize with Abraham as to how he must have felt. What are you talking about, God? Sacrifice my own son on the altar? Surely I misunderstood. But he did not misunderstand. And so he took his son up the mountain and prepared the altar for sacrifice, just as he did every time. But God, he is my ONLY son. Isn't there another way? What must his thoughts have been as he cut the wood? Did he slow down, placing them one by one just to have a few more moments with his beloved? Or did he do it at the usual pace, painfully placing each stick up there, tears rolling down his cheek?
They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son. (Genesis 22:9-10, Message)
Agony. Was his son struggling? Did he think his father was going mad? Something just wasn't adding up. He had assured Isaac just moments ago that God would provide the ram for the sacrifice. And now there lay Isaac, tied up and watching a knife come closer and closer...and then...
"Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me." (Genesis 22:12, Message)
God did provide the ram. He wanted to see that Abraham had faith in Him, that he trusted his Heavenly Father. And Abraham did, although it caused him so much earthly pain to do so.
In modern church terms, we see that this is a parallel to the gospel story. Just as God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, but then spared his life with a lamb, God later provided the ultimate sacrifice---His only son---as the "lamb that takes away the sins of the world."
Today, my dear friend Tyler lost his only little girl. Taylor Kate was a brave little baby. When I met her for the first and only time in April, she was alert, aware. Sadly, a debilitating muscle disease caused her to aspirate many times a week, losing the ability to breathe on her own. This morning, Taylor received ultimate healing and went home to be with her Heavenly Father, Jesus. He wrapped His big arms around her in a hug and watched her run and giggle and play...things she could never do here on earth. Her mommy and daddy are hurting, but we will be Jesus' hug for them right now.
Scott was talking to Tyler earlier this week about this passage on Abraham. He was saying that sometimes, situations are so out of our control that the only option is just to say, "God, you can have this. I'm going to let it go and let you take over." At times this causes our human hearts great pain, just as it did today for Tyler and his family. Please keep them in your prayers in coming days. We leave on Monday for the funeral, which will take place on Tuesday around noon in Florida.
The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: "I swear—God's sure word!—because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, I'll bless you—oh, how I'll bless you! (Genesis 22:15, Message)
I am confident that God has a better blessing in store for Tyler. I hurt so deeply for his loss, yet because of our faith, we have hope. Hope for healing, hope for a future. God promised Abraham that he would be a blessed man because of his willingness to sacrifice his child and obey God.
Oh to have that kind of faith!
I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (Jeremiah 29:11, Message)
I'm not a mom yet, but I can only imagine and empathize with Abraham as to how he must have felt. What are you talking about, God? Sacrifice my own son on the altar? Surely I misunderstood. But he did not misunderstand. And so he took his son up the mountain and prepared the altar for sacrifice, just as he did every time. But God, he is my ONLY son. Isn't there another way? What must his thoughts have been as he cut the wood? Did he slow down, placing them one by one just to have a few more moments with his beloved? Or did he do it at the usual pace, painfully placing each stick up there, tears rolling down his cheek?
They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son. (Genesis 22:9-10, Message)
Agony. Was his son struggling? Did he think his father was going mad? Something just wasn't adding up. He had assured Isaac just moments ago that God would provide the ram for the sacrifice. And now there lay Isaac, tied up and watching a knife come closer and closer...and then...
"Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me." (Genesis 22:12, Message)
God did provide the ram. He wanted to see that Abraham had faith in Him, that he trusted his Heavenly Father. And Abraham did, although it caused him so much earthly pain to do so.
In modern church terms, we see that this is a parallel to the gospel story. Just as God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, but then spared his life with a lamb, God later provided the ultimate sacrifice---His only son---as the "lamb that takes away the sins of the world."
Today, my dear friend Tyler lost his only little girl. Taylor Kate was a brave little baby. When I met her for the first and only time in April, she was alert, aware. Sadly, a debilitating muscle disease caused her to aspirate many times a week, losing the ability to breathe on her own. This morning, Taylor received ultimate healing and went home to be with her Heavenly Father, Jesus. He wrapped His big arms around her in a hug and watched her run and giggle and play...things she could never do here on earth. Her mommy and daddy are hurting, but we will be Jesus' hug for them right now.
Scott was talking to Tyler earlier this week about this passage on Abraham. He was saying that sometimes, situations are so out of our control that the only option is just to say, "God, you can have this. I'm going to let it go and let you take over." At times this causes our human hearts great pain, just as it did today for Tyler and his family. Please keep them in your prayers in coming days. We leave on Monday for the funeral, which will take place on Tuesday around noon in Florida.
The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: "I swear—God's sure word!—because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, I'll bless you—oh, how I'll bless you! (Genesis 22:15, Message)
I am confident that God has a better blessing in store for Tyler. I hurt so deeply for his loss, yet because of our faith, we have hope. Hope for healing, hope for a future. God promised Abraham that he would be a blessed man because of his willingness to sacrifice his child and obey God.
Oh to have that kind of faith!
I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (Jeremiah 29:11, Message)
2 comments:
Thanks for your thoughts, Aut. That story does hit home, especially now with a little "only son" of my own. I can't imagine what Abraham must have been feeling and how strong his faith was to be that obedient. I will be praying for Tyler and his family. It's so hard to understand why God would allow this and yet, our hope it that His sovereign plan is perfect and will bring Him glory. Please let us know how the funeral goes. Love, Christy
I'll be praying too. I actually just finished a great book on losing a child called Safe in the Arms of God by John Macarthur. Jon asked me to read it for him so he would know if it would be good for him in ministry...and of course it was great for me to read with our two miscarriages in mind...anyway, I would recommend it to them if it would be appropriate for you to do so. I was encouraged reading it. He uses tons of scripture regarding that topic and paints a beautiful picture of what life is now like for those little ones who have gone on before us to be with the Lord. And that truly is where they are! Amazing!
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