Abraham and Isaac: Obedience
Scripture Reading — Genesis 22:1-14
“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Abraham must have been heartbroken. God had told him to sacrifice his beloved son. Through this only heir, Abraham and his descendants were to be blessed (Genesis 17:19). It could not have made sense to Abraham, but he trusted God and responded in obedience. Isaac too knew the love of his father, Abraham, and trusted him enough to follow his instructions.
Abraham modeled obedience to God for Isaac to see. If his father said that God would provide, that was enough. They did not know God’s plan, but they trusted God to be in charge. By faith “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Hebrews 11:19).
It is hard to trust God when we do not understand his plan, when we cannot make sense of what God is calling us to do. Rather, we long to preserve the illusion that we are in charge of our life. We want God to work things out according to our plan, but that is not the way God works. God asks us to trust him and to obey.
Can we model obedience even when life does not make sense? Others look at our lives to see if we really live by the words we say. Do we model lives of obedience for others to see?
Lord, help me to know you more each day and to trust you to care for me. Let my life be characterized by obedience to you so that others may be drawn to you. Amen.
About the author — Steven and Deb Koster
Steven and Deb Koster have a passion for marriages, families, and spiritual growth in the home. Both are ordained ministers in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Steven formerly served as editor of Today and director of ReFrame's English-language outreach. Deb leads Family Fire, ReFrame’s family ministry at FamilyFire.com and on Facebook. The Kosters have three children.
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