Offering Your Isaac

by

Genesis 22:2 – And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…and offer him there for a burnt offering…


God wasn’t asking Abraham to give up his servant, Ishmael, or even his own life. He wanted Isaac: the love of his heart. Isaac: that thing that was threatening to rob God of His glory. Abraham had to make a choice between Isaac and the Lord.

This was a command not a choice. This was not a multiple choice, or an optional order. This was a decision that would define Abraham and the future of the entire Jewish race. It wasn’t an easy command to obey either. Christians today want the crown without the cross, a resurrection without a death, an upper room without Gethsemane, and power without sacrifice. Salvation is free, but sanctification comes with a price: it will cost you. God wants your Isaac; there is no other substitute.

Abraham exercised faith, not feelings. He didn’t rationalize and try to reason through this. He didn’t ask “Why?” either. Why doesn’t matter when the will of God is at stake! He set aside his natural reactions and his fear of losing Isaac by putting faith in what God said. Reason said, “If Isaac dies, your seed will not become a mighty nation.” Faith said, “If Isaac dies, then God will raise him from the dead (Heb. 11:19); God can’t lie!”

Many Christians are content to give God part, but not all. Abraham surrendered completely; he didn’t partially submit. At this point there was no compromise, convenience, or canceling out. He didn’t try to barter with God. He surrendered to the will of God in true worship (vs. 5).

In the end we understand that it was Abraham the Lord wanted, not Isaac (vs. 12). Abraham became, as A.W. Tozer would say, “the man who had everything but possessed nothing.” Have you given the Lord your Isaac?