Week 2 / Patriarchs

Isaac

Read: Genesis 22:1-14

SOAP: Genesis 22:13

"Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son." (NET)

Into the Text

What thing or person do you value most in life? What would it take for you to give that thing up?

For Abraham, God called him to give up the one thing he had prayed for and waited on for twenty-five years: his son. After some time, God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Now, this is a hard story for us to read. We can't imagine what it would feel like to be told to kill our own child.

But Abraham obeyed God. Abraham knew God’s promise of many descendants through Isaac. He also believed that even if he really had to kill his son, God would raise him back to life in order to fulfill His covenant promise (Hebrews 11:17-19).

God used this experience to see if Abraham truly trusted Him, and God came through. At seemingly the last second, God intervened and provided a ram as a sacrifice.

And while God never again asked anyone to kill their child, He was willing to sacrifice His very own Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue and redeem humanity from their sin. He gave of His very self, perfectly paying the price we deserve.

Do you trust God to the point that you’d be willing to give up everything, even the things you value most? As God did not hold anything back for us, we, too, are to be willing to give everything to Him.

Prayer

God, thank you for giving your very Son for my redemption. Your love for me is far beyond what I can comprehend. May I not hold back what you’ve given me in order to serve and obey you. Amen.