The Mountain of Sacrifice

Now I know that you fear God, since you have not 

withheld your son, your only son from Me

 (Genesis 22:12)

Abraham’s phenomenal spirit of obedience is one to which we can look in awe.  It seems inconceivable that a parent could trust God to such a degree that he would offer his only son as a burnt offering.  It makes any sacrifice God requires of us pale in comparison.  However, though the stakes involved are extremely different, elements required in any sacrifice can be found is the account of Abraham and Isaac.

This was not the first time God called Abram (later renamed Abraham) to step out in faith:

Now the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family 

and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you

 (Genesis 12:1)

Notice that God didn’t tell Abraham where to go, how far away it was, or how long the journey would take.  He just said “Go” and Abram obeyed.

When God calls us to trust His Son, Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord, we must do so in the spirit which Abram exemplified.  It took a great deal of faith on his part to leave the place of familiarity and security.  So it is with us.  Though some people find it necessary to physically leave home and family in order to become a Christian, most do not.  However, every one of us must turn from living by our own standards to live according to God’s requirements, trusting Him to show us the way and to give us the ability to do so
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Taking his wife and nephew, servants, and all his possessions, it was obvious that Abram did not plan to return.  It was a journey into the unknown, but he intended to go all the way with God.  Following Christ must also be a wholehearted commitment for Jesus said:

No one having put his hand to the plow

and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God

 (Luke 9:62)

Over the next many years of his life, Abraham encountered a myriad of problems but still he carried on in faith.  On occasion doubts arose, and being human, he made mistakes.  Yet, God was faithful to forgive and continue leading, providing, and protecting; and eventually blessed him and his wife, Sarah, with the son He had promised them.

When God calls on us to step out in faith and follow Him, we cannot see the road ahead.  There will be crooks and turns which cannot be foreseen, as well as questions for which we have no immediate answers.  But like Abraham, we must trust Him.  And just as He was true to His Word then, He will honor His promises to us:

My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and complete) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness

(2 Corinthians 12:9 Amp)

Now we come to the mountain of faith which Abraham faced when he was instructed to sacrifice his son, Isaac.  This was the son through whom God had promised to grow a great nations; by whom all inhabitants of Earth would be blessed.  Though His plan never included the physical death of Isaac, Abraham could not have known that.  The sacrifice had already taken place in his heart and mind before the climb up the mountain began.

God knows our thoughts even before they are formed.  He knows the moment in which surrender to His will is complete.  It is then, and only then that His peace flows in and He reveals the next step of His plan.  Each step thereafter must be taken in faith in order for His peace to remain.

Notice that God did not meet Abraham in the valley below, but on the mountainside.  The climb upward could not have been easy as, leaving the servants behind, he laid the wood on Isaac, took fire and knife in his own hand, and began the climb.  How his heart must have ached as each step brought them closer to Isaac’s death.  It must have felt as though the knife were plunged into his own heart when Isaac asked “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7)

 Still in absolute faith, he replied “God will provide” (Genesis 22:8). And provide He did!

Though the sacrifices God asks of us do not compare to Abraham’s, they still require us to climb closer to Him in faith.  The path upward is seldom straight or smooth.  In places, it is steep and slippery, with boulders of doubt, fear, and selfishness around which we must negotiate.  At times, there are questions for which there are no immediate answers.  Yet, like Abraham, we must follow on, doing what we know to do, leaving the rest in God’s hands.

                                           Lord, there are mountains in our daily lives
                                           which we are asked to climb,
                                           if we would please You, Sovereign Lord,
                                           and feel Your love sublime.
                                           The pathway up is strewn with rocks
                                           of fears, doubts, selfishness,
                                           which we must climb or go around
                                            to reach Your blessedness.                                         
                                           You are waiting there for us
                                            upon the mountainside,
                                            And we can have the perfect joy
                                            which there You will provide.
                                            So help us make the climb,
                                            trusting what we need from You;
                                            Calming doubts, and giving peace,
                                            and blessing us anew.