GOD TESTS OUR FAITH

Pr. James Victor Lubwama

Genesis 22:1-2 (HCSB)

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2 “Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about”.

God Chooses the Sacrifice

God tested Abraham to confirm if he truly loved Him by requesting him to sacrifice his son - Isaac. Isaac was the son of the promise and the happiness of the family yet he is the one God desired as a sacrifice. Everyone has an “Isaac” (source of happiness) in his life and God might ask you of your Isaac in order to test your faith and examine your obedience, and ultimately bless you. God wanted Abraham to take his love away from the miracle and put it on the miracle worker; God hates idolatry and He desires to be the only one that is worshiped and exalted.  

Abraham with a lot of heaviness in his heart accepted to give up the blessing of the child that had canceled a reproach upon his family. There is a great lesson here; worshiping the God of Salvation is always accompanied by a sacrifice out of what He has given you, be it money, land, house, job, wisdom etc.  From Abraham’s experience, we learn that we have to come into the presence of God with what He has told us to bring, or not offer what we think. 

Abraham passed the test of faith because he knew the one true God who gives and takes away, and was certain He would give him another child. Abraham had many slaves, He could have sacrificed one of those, but he was asked to sacrifice nothing else but his only son; God himself chooses the sacrifice and it’s up to you to obey without excuses – for excuses is the first step to disobedience. 

Salvation is Personal

Abraham did not tell Sarah about the instruction to sacrifice their son neither did he make consultations. Do not reason with your mind or make consultations if you want to stay obedient. (Matthew 6:3). God loves godly ideas rather than good ideas. People will give you good ideas but those are not necessarily godly ideas. Abraham did not consult anyone but he just set off with Isaac and a few servants. We read this in Genesis 22:3-5 (NIV) that;

“Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded 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. 4“On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  5 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”   

From the scripture we also learn that whenever you are going to worship, you don't need to go the altar with everyone; some people should be left behind. We see that Abraham left his slaves at a distance and proceeded to the altar with Isaac. You need not to involve family or friends in spiritual matters like fasting, sowing seed, tithing etc. especially if they are not yet believers – Salvation is personal and it’s about having a personal relationship with Jesus. 

God Will Provide

Despite Isaac being a son of the promise and greatly loved, Abraham made him carry the firewood to be used to burn the sacrifice. There is a great lesson here from Abraham; we need to teach our children to be hardworking as a way of preparing them for a good future (Genesis 22:6). When Isaac asked his father for the lamb to be sacrificed, Abraham replied in Genesis 22:8 (NIV) that; “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son”.  

During this lock-down period, what you do not have, God will provide. God himself will provide for what He started - for the battle is not yours but God’s (Phil 4:19). We see further on that Isaac did not fight his father as he laid him down to be sacrificed. Isaac seemed confident that his father could not actually sacrifice him because of the lovely relationship both enjoyed. Genesis 22:9 (NIV) says;

“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”.

We learn from this that God cannot give us up to be consumed because of the blood covenant between Him and us. As Christians, God has brought us from very far and cannot leave us where we are. The way God has loved you and the things he has done for you so far, are a confirmation that He will not forsake you. The problem is that we tend to focus on what we have not yet received and ignore what God has done for us so far, and for you to be grateful and with gratitude, always compare yourself with your background and not with other people.

Our Saviour King is a God of action, as it is commonly said, actions speak louder than words. And when it was time to sacrifice, Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son, but God stopped him and provided a lamb to sacrifice instead of his son. Genesis 22:11-14 (NIV) says;

 “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. 12 “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”. 13 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. 14 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” 

Blessings Follow Obedience

Abraham’s experience was a shadow of what God would do later in the New Testament when Jesus cried with a loud voice at the cross, saying, in Matthew 27:46 (NIV) that; “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 
Similarly, Isaac saw his father forsaking him but the lamb appeared just before he could be killed. God chose a place where Abraham was to offer the sacrifice (Genesis 22:2) - God only works if you are in the right place. Some of you God bypassed you because you are in the wrong place. The presence of God surrounded Isaac and even fear disappeared - Isaac was not afraid or annoyed with his father because the presence of God was upon them; God himself was present to deal with the situation.

Abraham passed the test of faith God had set and after God spoke a blessing and multiplication. Genesis 22:15-18 (NIV) says;

‘The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 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, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me”.  

We later on see that Abraham returned from sacrificing and together with his servants they set off for Beersheba (Gen 22:19). The slaves knew nothing about what happened unless if Isaac narrated the story later on. Abraham must have told his son not to speak of what they had gone through; matters of the church should remain in church; we should therefore be careful and draw a line as one might make those who do not yet know God to blaspheme and attract a curse against them. Let us therefore endeavor to separate faith matters or church matters from family or office matters to avoid leading people astray.

I appeal to you to listen to the voice of God and be obedient; for when you obey and act in faith, you shall be blessed and take possession of the land.

God bless you so much!