Doubt. Contradiction. Worry. Trials. Misfortune. These things are challenges that are presented to us frequently. Peter reminds us of this in 1 Peter 1:6: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
Oftentimes, we are faced with circumstances that seem impossible to overcome.
Let’s look at Abraham. When we first met Abraham, then Abram, he had become very wealthy in all things, but lacked a child. He and his wife, Sarai, were considerably aged, and remained barren. Even though almighty God promised Abram that his descendants would be many nations like the stars in the sky and the grains of sand. He doubted this miraculous proposition and used sinful cunning to make his own way. He and his wife decided to turn to alternate plans to bear a child, thinking they needed to assist God in His plan.
After Abram’s stumbling, the Lord remained faithful and re-established His covenant changing Abram to Abraham. He then promises the couple that Sarai, now Sarah, would bear a child in the next year and they will name him” Isaac.” By the grace of God, this promise was fulfilled just as God had foretold.
After this Abraham was totally joyful and faithful. To test Abraham’s commitment, God calls Abraham to sacrifice his only begotten son. As any rational creature would surmise, this appears to be contradictory to the promise of Isaac bringing forth many nations as how could someone be dead and produce such fruit? I think that it is reasonable to attribute this suspicion to Abraham.
Considering the fact that when he was at the foot of the mount, Abraham telling his servants that he and the boy would return leads me to believe that something greater is at play such as resurrection or just not killing Isaac. So in the face of contradiction, Abraham puts his faith in God’s word and abides.
Then came the binding of Isaac. After telling his servants a brief, Abraham went up with his son and the supplies. Isaac was puzzled at the fact that they lacked an animal to offer but Abraham informed him that God will provide a lamb for himself. They got atop the mountain meaning the time had come. Abraham bound and placed Isaac upon the altar. Abraham then readied the knife in order to sacrifice him. Suddenly, the angel of the Lord appeared, stopping him and commending him for proving his fear of God.
To hark back to Peter ”so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.“ 1 Peter 1:7
The Lord might not command you to murder your offspring, but He will call us to follow Him through the fire. We must, therefore, persist towards the Lord through pain in fear and in trembling.
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