Personal sacrifice

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"

"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.

"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your Offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:1-18).

Abraham had just about everything a man could want. He had a wife who was so beautiful that even in middle age, Abraham sometimes worried that she might be taken from him by force. Abraham was also wealthy; he had a large herd of livestock and a personal servant for his wife. He was a powerful figure in the region; when an alliance of five cities raided the town where his nephew was living, Abraham mustered his own force of fighting men and rescued everyone and everything that had been taken, prompting local kings to sign peace treaties with him. And Abraham was close to God; he was so close that God spoke with him personally on many occasions.

But there was one thing Abraham did not have—he did not have any children. God had promised Abraham a son, and through that son many descendants; but Abraham had to wait until he was 100 years old for that son to be born. The boy was named Isaac, which means "laughter"—a name that shows how much joy Abraham and his wife experienced at being blessed with a son in their old age. At last, it seemed, Abraham had everything a man could possibly want.

What a shock, then, for Abraham to hear God’s command that came a few years later: "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Of all the things to ask of Abraham! His wife would soon be dead of old age; he would willingly give up his money and influence in an instant. But to sacrifice his son? The boy he had waited a lifetime for? The young man who would carry on the family line after Abraham was finally laid to rest? Isaac was the joy of Abraham’s life and his promise for the future—there was nothing on earth more precious to the old man. And it is clear that God knew this—look at His words again: Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.

God asked Abraham to give up the most precious thing in the world to him—and Abraham obeyed. He assembled a little group and set out for the highlands of Moriah. As he and the boy climbed the mountain selected by God, Isaac asked his father about the sacrifice: where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham replied, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Abraham loved God more than anything or anyone else, even more than his own dear son; he knew that Isaac had been a gift from God, and that the Lord had every right to demand the return of that gift at any time. As Abraham wearily climbed that mountain, he believed that God had already provided the lamb--in the person of the boy walking energetically at his side.

The time came for the sacrifice. Abraham arranged everything perfectly and readied himself to plunge the knife into the beating heart of his precious son. Abraham trusted God; God had promised that the old man would have descendants through Isaac, so Abraham reasoned that God, who had given a son to a man and women past the years of childbirth, could raise the young man from the dead to make good on His promise (Hebrews 11:17-19). Knowing that, however, could not diminish the pain in Abraham’s heart as he tensed his arm for the killing blow; even if his son were to be raised from the dead, the act of killing him would still be hurtful beyond imagining.

At just that moment, God intervened. Abraham had proven his love and trust—he had come to the place where he would hold nothing back from God, not even the life of his son—and God was satisfied. Fulfilling what Abraham had said to Isaac, God did provide the sacrifice—a ram entangled in the brush. God gave a male lamb to take Isaac’s place as the sacrifice, and Abraham named the place "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." God blessed Abraham’s faith with the promise that the Savior would be one of his descendants, the Offspring who would be a blessing for the entire world!

Of course, there is more to this event than just the testing of Abraham’s faith; through this drama the Lord also foretold important truths about the Savior descended from Abraham through Isaac. Like Abraham, God the Father had only one Son, a Son whom He loved and treasured more than anything else—that Son is known to us by the name Jesus. Like Abraham, God the Father sent His Son to the mountainous region of Moriah where He walked the streets of Jerusalem, taught in the Temple, and carried His cross to the Place of the Skull. Like Abraham, God the Father arranged a personal sacrifice, a sacrifice whereby all human sin would be atoned for by the loss of just one innocent life. The sacrifice was provided by God—He provided His one and only Son, the Son whom He loved, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He sacrificed His Son, knowing that on the third day He would raise Jesus from the dead to live forevermore; nevertheless, the act of ending His Son’s life would still hurt God the Father beyond our ability to imagine. On Calvary’s holy mountain, Abraham’s inscription was fulfilled: "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." On the mountain of God’s choosing, He provided the sacrifice that has freed us from our sins and offered us life everlasting beyond the grave.

God the Father sacrificed that which was most precious to Him for your benefit. Abraham held nothing back from God, because he loved God more than anyone or anything else. Jesus said, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37-38). The most precious thing in our lives must be our relationship with the Lord; no one and nothing can be more important to us than loving and trusting in our God.

This being the case, what do you sacrifice for the Lord? He doesn’t ask you to offer up your firstborn child to Him, but He does look for evidence that He is more important in your life than anyone or anything else.

Do you hold anything back from God? Does He get your time ungrudgingly, time for weekly worship, time for daily prayer? Is time sleeping in bed more important than time worshipping in the Lord’s house? Is time spent fishing or partying or watching TV more important than time offered to the church as an officer, teacher, or volunteer?

Do you hold anything back from God? Does He get your money ungrudgingly, money for maintaining the church, money to support foreign missions? Is your giving based on how much money you have left over once the bills are paid? When you figure out how much to put in the plate each year, how does that total compare with your spending on vacation trips, recreational vehicles, cigarettes, or nights out with friends? How much money did you spend last year on clothing that you don’t wear or collectibles that only collect dust? When you analyze your spending habits, do you honor God with your gifts, or is your money lavished on yourself? Are you holding back from God?

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that God usually gets our leftovers, not our first and best. What this tells Him is that we love ourselves more than we love Him—and this means that we are not worthy of Him. We have just entered the season of Lent, the time of the year when we look long and hard at our shortcomings and drop to our knees beneath the cross, faces wet with hot tears of shame. God gave His Son for us, a costly gift we have in no way deserved. God arranged His Son’s death for us, a sacrifice that we don’t honor as we should. Lent is the time to admit the error of our ways, and ask for the opportunity to change things.

Thankfully, our Lord is gracious to us throughout the year, regardless of the season. Jesus carried that cross to the Place of the Skull willingly, and He allowed Himself to be put to death because He loves each and every one of us. Jesus bled and died in your place, that you might go free as Isaac did; Jesus suffered unto death so that you might have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

This season of humble contrition is a perfect time to ask God’s help in changing your priorities. Many people give up something for Lent—meat on Fridays, for example. I suggest that you give up being selfish for Lent—rather than using up your time and money for your own enjoyment, devote your resources to God. And not just for Lent—instead, let this season of contrition be the start of a whole new lifestyle where God gets your first and your best!

God gave His very best for you; it is time to consider how you can show Him your appreciation.