Abraham was obedient and was on his
way to sacrifice his son, Isaac, because God told him to do it. He
didn't waste a moment and immediately acted on God's command. As we
learned last week, Abraham was obedient, because he believed that
even if he killed Isaac, that God can raise him from the dead.
Abraham's faith was unwavering and a wonderful example to
follow.
But one thing that I realised while
reading this is that Isaac wasn't that young here. We don't know
exactly how old he was, but some scholars believe that he might
even have been as old as thirty. We don't know. They believe that
he might have been older, because in the next chapter it tells us
that Sarah died at the age of 127. We know she was 90 when he was
born, so he was 37 years old when his mother died. So he could have
been somewhere in his thirties in Genesis chapter 22. The fact of
the matter is, Isaac wasn't a small boy anymore. He could easily
walk the three days journey to Mount Moriah and he could easily
ascend the mountain. And to top it off, he was definitely strong,
as Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's
shoulders to carry up the mountain:
"Abraham placed the wood for
the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried
the knife and fire." Genesis 22:6
So I think it is safe to conclude
that Isaac must have been a young man. Now what triggers me is how
Abraham, a very old man by now, was strong enough to tie up Isaac,
a young man, in order to sacrifice him? How was he able to do
it?
"When they arrived at the place
where God told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood
on it. Then he tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the
wood. And Abraham took the knife and lifted it up to kill his son
as a sacrifice to the Lord."Genesis 22:9, 10
The only way that Abraham could
have tied up Isaac, was if Isaac consented to be tied up. That is
the only logical explanation. And if that is the truth, we have
another hero of the faith, Isaac. If he consented to be sacrificed,
he must have had the same faith that his father had. He must have
respected his father's judgment so much that he was prepared to be
tied up to be sacrificed. Isn't that amazing?
Isaac is also mentioned in Hebrews
11 as one of the greats in the faith. In the Old Testament God
introduced Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Isaac's
name is still famous today. Isaac submitted his will to the
Father's will. Doesn't that remind you of Someone? Someone that was
willing to die according to His Father's plan? Yes, Jesus. Jesus
gave up His life willingly. He didn't die because He was helpless
and couldn't do anything about His situation. No, He died, because
He was doing the will of the Father, saving all those that He
loved. I would just like to share one instance that shows without a
doubt that Jesus gave His life willingly:
"Jesus fully realised all that
was going to happen to Him. Stepping forward to meet them, He
asked, "Whom are you looking for?" "Jesus of Nazareth," they
replied. "I AM." Jesus said. Judas was standing there with them
when Jesus identified Himself. And as He said, "I AM", they all
fell backward to the ground!" John 18:4-6
They all fell backward to the
ground when He used His title "I AM". They couldn't do anything to
Him. They were the helpless ones, walking in the presence
of the Almighty. No, Jesus gave His life for us willingly and the
outcome is freedom for us all. Freedom to walk above this world's
problems, because we are destined for a new world above it all.
Freedom from our sins and freedom to walk in the new life that He
came to give us. Isn't He just wonderful! May you walk in that
freedom and fall in love with our Maker all over again.
Thank you Father for Your wonderful
plan to save us. Thank you that Jesus is our Saviour and King.
Thank you that You came, Jesus, and offered Yourself willingly for
us all. We praise You, we love You and we adore You! Amen