“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; he who had received the promises was offering up his unique son..” Hebrews 11:17 (NIV)
Our Hall of Faith museum tour continues. We have visited the Faith Foyer (Introduction) and the rooms commending Noah’s faith to do the unprecedented and Abram’s faith to go where/when directed. After the latter demonstrated such faith, Abram was promised to be the father of many nations, prompting God to rename him Abraham. (Genesis 15:4-6 and 17:1-8). You will recall that he and Sarah were childless and used the surrogacy method to “assist” in fulfilling God’s promise. God reiterated his promise, clarifying that Sarah would be the birth mother. At long last, the promised son Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah.
Not many years later, God gave what seemed an impossible directive.
“’Take your son’ [God] 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.’” Genesis 22:2
What?!? Isaac was the promised son. Abraham and Sarah waited decades after first hearing the promise to see its fulfillment. They were both now far beyond child-bearing age. And, yet, God directed Abraham to do the pagan-like act of sacrificing his beloved son as a burnt offering. Surely this made no sense to Abraham. (The readers of the account are advised that “God tested Abraham” with this directive, but Abraham was not so advised.)
Nonetheless, “early in the morning Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac.” (Genesis 22:3). This act of obedience, this act of faith, was breath taking.
I trust you know the rest of the story. If not, please read all of Genesis 22.
Let’s review a few takeaways. First, when we get a sense that God is directing us, we must be duly diligent to confirm that the directive is indeed of God. Abraham’s account surely begs such an analysis, which he impliedly performed. Due diligence applies to any “divine” directive, even those that are not confounding and appear quite virtuous. The devil masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), so not every urge that seems godly is truly of God.
How do we make this evaluation? Some methods include praying for guidance, checking the directive against Scripture, seeking wise counsel from others, evaluating the circumstances, and assessing presence or absence of spiritual peace (despite emotional response). We are wise to use several of these methods to find either unanimity or a preponderance. If these are in our spiritual toolbox, resist always using to the same tool.
The second take away is this – once we determine that God gave the directive, we must obey immediately and fully. This will often be challenging and in some circumstances, such as Abraham’s, may seem quite agonizing. Yet, God has proven Himself trustworthy. Will we prove ourselves faithful?
Sometimes our faithfulness will need to be demonstrated in sacrifice. What might that look like in the context of a law practice? Perhaps you need to stop pursuing partnership so you can spend more time with your family. Maybe you need to accept a case that you find daunting or otherwise unappealing. Or, perhaps the opposite, declining one that looks quite lucrative but would involve questionable ethics or an immoral client.
Once he determined that the call to sacrifice was of God, Abraham did so immediately and willingly. May we seize the opportunities to so demonstrate our faith.
