A Father’s Love

“Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn,’ says the Lord,’ because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, in blessing, I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” –Genesis 22:15-18 (NKJV)

Abraham, first of the patriarchs, the one whom God chose to bless and to be a blessing, was a father obedient to the voice of God. Imagine this father’s personal feelings when God spoke to him, and as the Bible states, “tested him” (Gen. 22:1) by asking him to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.

Abraham had waited and waited for the son of promise. Finally, when Abraham was 100 and his wife Sarah was 90, they had Isaac. His name means “he who laughs.” And even the name of the son of their old age was a reminder that they laughed in unbelief when the angel of God told them Sarah would conceive and bear a son. Finally, when God’s promise was fulfilled, Isaac (laughter) made glad the hearts of these two very elderly parents.

And then God said, “Abraham, go offer Isaac as a sacrifice.” To offer up a firstborn lamb and even a son was a practice in the culture surrounding Abraham and Sarah. But how could God fulfill his promise through Abraham’s seeds when Isaac was dead? The heart of a loving father must have been heavy indeed as he and Isaac and their servants climbed up the heights of Mt. Moriah. Even Isaac was old enough to wonder and ask, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham replied, no doubt with a heart near-breaking, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

Then when the altar was set, with Isaac upon it, the Angel of the Lord called out and stayed the hand of the loving Father. Isaac was spared. Abraham’s obedience was rewarded. God’s covenant with Abraham was fulfilled. He did become the father of many nations through Isaac’s seed.

On Mount Golgotha centuries later, God did not stay his hand when the Lamb was being offered on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. His only Son was stretched on the altar of sacrifice and the Loving Father paid the ultimate price, all because of His love for us.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Tuesday, February 23, 2010