Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

19 January 2024

Reading From Genesis 22-24

“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.”

–Genesis 22:6-8

     Abraham had been called by God to leave all that was familiar and move to Canaan.[1]  He was also told that he and his wife would have a son even though they were old and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.  In all these things Abraham believed and trusted in God.[2]  Now the Lord was taking his faith to a whole new level by asking him to give Isaac back to God.  At first glance, this intense story seems horrific from the start, but I see clues here and there that Abraham not only trusted God, but also knew a little bit about His character and believed in the total goodness of Elohim. 

     Elohim is the Hebrew Name for God used often here in Genesis before He revealed His own proper Name, “Yahweh” to Moses in Exodus.  Elohim is both plural and singular and most Christians understand this to allude to the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Three in One.  We see this mystery in the beginning when Elohim said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…so God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”[3]  This tells us that God is plural and singular with masculine and feminine qualities all at the same time, not limited by human understanding of personhood.  He is God and we are not, therefore every detail of His nature is beyond our comprehension.  Abraham knows just enough about Him to realize that God is totally good,[4] thoroughly holy,[5] and completely trustworthy.[6] 

     I believe that Abraham heard from God and obeyed but knew that He would provide some other way, and so He did.  “Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  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.’”[7] 

  This story foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.[8]  All human beings have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.[9]  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.[10]  Sin leads to death and therefore, that would have been my destiny.[11]  But I have trusted in Jesus and believe that as God, He was the only One worthy to be that perfect sacrifice for my sins.[12]  The ram that Abraham found in the thicket is symbolic of Jesus, the One who makes a way where there seems to be no way.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to God the Father except through God the Son.[13]  God provided for our salvation on the cross of Mount Calvary and offers this miraculous gift freely to all those who will follow the example of Abraham to trust and obey.[14] This is how we are welcomed into the eternal family of God.

“God, pray that I would believe in You and follow You as Abraham did.  I ask that You give me the strength I need to put my trust into action and obey You no matter what.  Thank You for taking my sins upon Yourself, dying on the cross, and conquering death by rising from the dead!  I am so grateful for the new life that I have in You.  In You I live and move and have my being.  Inspire me with Your love to obey Your commandments.  Amen.”

Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

–James 2:21-24

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[1] Genesis 12:1

[2] Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3,

[3] Excerpts from Genesis 1:26-27

[4] Exodus 34:6

[5] Leviticus 19:2

[6] Hebrews 6:18

[7] Genesis 22:10-14

[8] John 1:29

[9] Romans 3:23

[10] Romans 6:23

[11] James 1:15

[12] John 3:16, Hebrews 9:14, I John 2:2

[13] John 14:6

[14] Mark 1:15, John 14:15, Acts 5:32, James 2:22-23