Abraham sacrificing Isaac proved his faith to whom? (Genesis 18-23)

18:3

”And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant…” Abraham considered himself a servant to the Lord and to others. He really believes it. I would say he was service-oriented.

How would it help our progression if we had this same opinion of ourselves? As I’ve written before, I think that this life‘s purpose is to help us be teachable and help us be selfless. Considering ourselves servants boosts our development in each area.

18:12, 14

When the three men predicted that Sarah would have a son, she doubted. In fact, she laughed. (I think Sarah was a fun person to be around - she seems to have a good sense of humor…) “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

The Lord asked of Abraham “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” We need to constantly remember who is in charge and what power He has. He could command that this world be split in two. He can heal a withered hand by simply thinking about it. Nothing is impossible for Christ in this world. He has control of all the elements. He can certainly turn back the clock on Sarah’s body to make it possible for her to give birth.

We must keep this in mind in our lives. We should have faith that a miracle can happen. Sometimes I think we hide behind ”well, if it doesn’t happen then it wasn’t God’s will.“ I think that is often an escape hatch to stretching our faith. Of course, it’s a true principle that something must be God’s will. I’m just saying we should exercise faith first. Let’s not talk about God’s will before we have a chance to exercise our faith.

18:19

”For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” The Lord knew Abraham. He knew that the generations after Abraham would be blessed. Of course, Christ knows the end from the beginning in detail. But, He could predict the future based on his current knowledge of Abraham’s character. Christ knew that Abraham would teach his children well and it would help them become a great nation.

18:27, 30, 32

In these verses, Abraham is expressing empathy towards the people living in Sodom. He asks that God spare the city if there were 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally 10. Each time asking for more.

Two things: First, I think it’s interesting that Abraham is negotiating with the Lord. I didn’t know you could do that! Of course, I believe that the Lord was prepared to spare the city for ten people all along. There‘s a lesson here in asking for the full miracle and not something less. I had a friend whose grandson was born with something that created cysts throughout his brain. This friend wanted everyone to pray for him to be healed - nothing less. He didn’t want prayers to comfort the boy or help him to have a decent life in spite of his condition. He wanted a complete healing. The boy did experience a miracle where the cysts stopped growing and the boy is leading a normal life. It is pretty amazing.

Second, Abraham was very humble about his requests. He uses phrases like:

• “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes.”

• ”Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak.”

• “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once.”

He wasn’t demanding. He was requesting. He knew he was the father of a great nation in which all people would be blessed. But, he was a humble servant to the Lord.

19:8

I think it’s strange that Lot offered up his two virgin daughters to the mob outside his house. “Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” He was attempting to protect the two (JST says three) men. It just seems like he should have offered a cool coat or necklace first…

19:16

Lot takes his time leaving the city - to the point that they had to grab him and his wife and daughters and guide them out. “And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” It seems like Lot wasn’t fully committed to the program.

There have been times in my life where I could have used holy men dragging me away from something.

19:26

”But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” Lot’s wife wasn’t fully committed to leaving the sinful place behind. It wasn’t the fact that she looked that was the problem - it was that she longed for it. Who knows what she was longing for - what she would miss. How would that desire to participate in something worldly affect future generations? There was a reason she had to go.

When we give up something sinful, we can’t look back longingly for what was. We are meant to be progressing (repenting). If we force ourselves to behave but long for something else, how does that affect our future progression? It definitely does.

19:31-32

”And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.” This is weird to me. Obviously, the thinking about what was appropriate in a family has changed a lot since then. As it reads, the ends justified the means.

21:6

”And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” Again, I think Sarah was pretty fun to be with. Unless you sleep with her husband - then she gets a little agitated.

21:9

“And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.” I love the phrase “God opened her eyes.” We should all be open and willing to let God open our eyes. Sometimes we get kinda closed off to new ideas or seeing things in a new way. We spend our lives creating a bias that shapes what we see. Every event goes through a filter build on our own experience. If we realize that and stay teachable, God will be able to open our eyes.

22:2-3

”And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

First, Christ didn’t tempt him. The Hebrew word is actually test or prove.

Next, Christ knew the miracle of Isaac. He knew the promises he had made that would come through Isaac. It made no logical sense! Abraham didn’t understand why this was necessary. It might have appeared cruel.

How many times to we experience something horrible and start to have hard feelings for God? Have you ever asked God, “how could you let this happen!” If we can’t figure out why something is happening, we should remember Abraham. We should simply have faith that the trials of our life are for our growth and eternal benefit.

In verse three, it begins, “And Abraham rose up early in the morning…” Abraham didn’t spend time thinking about how unfair this was. He didn’t try to figure out why this would be asked of him. He was just obedient - not begrudgingly. We can really learn from Abraham.

22:12, 16-18

”And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” The question is: didn’t God know this before this? Didn’t God already know that Abraham would sacrifice his son if commanded?

So, whose benefit was this for? Was it truly a test for God to see something? I think not. I think that, like most things that happen to us, it was for Abraham’s benefit. How did this strengthen his obedience and faith and commitment to the Lord? How much easier were all the other sacrifices he was asked to make for the Lord? I’m sure every sacrifice after that was a peace of cake in comparison.

”And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” The Lord was saying that, because Abraham didn’t withhold his only son, he and all nations would be blessed.

Was this a transactional experience? Because of this, Christ will do that. It may have been. I think the more natural principle is that Abraham and his family would be blessed because of Abraham’s strength of character, faith and obedience. It is a natural result. I think this is how most blessings work.