What about Isaac?

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
(Genesis 22:9 – ESV)

How would God fulfill His promise to Abraham that Isaac would have many descendants, one of these being the Messiah, if he was supposed to kill him? Abraham could only speculate, but he trusted God, because he knew God. Abraham drew a conclusion; "God will raise Isaac back to life" (Hebrews 11:17-19).

How did Abraham “know” that God would not allow the seed, Isaac, to be destroyed? God had promised a seed from Sarah, and God had delivered in spite of Abraham having gone against the plan of God, thinking he was going for the plan of God, in having Ishmael. God made it right even though Abraham had messed up, so that is why he could trust this time when asked to offer up Isaac. We make mistakes, we still sin, we think we are following God and we are not at times, but even when you have done wrong you can trust Him to make it right if you will walk on the right path now, and when you fall down again, you get back up and trust again.

Now we often look at the faith of Abraham, but what about the faith of Isaac? He must have known he was the promised seed. He must have been able to stop his old father from sacrificing him, but he went along with it. We cannot know for certain what age he was, but we do have some clues. Isaac was given the task of carrying the wood for the impending sacrifice, enough wood to consume a human body when set on fire. Joseph is called a lad at the age of seventeen (Genesis 37:2) and at the age of thirty (Genesis 41:12, 46). The men with him are also called by the same Hebrew word. It would seem he was at least a young man, and not a child.

Abraham didn’t know exactly what was going to happen but on he went anyway, as did Isaac. An altar was constructed, wood arranged, and Isaac bound, a process that probably took 2-3 hours. What discussion must have been happening? Isaac had heard his father tell the servants that they would return, and he had also asked Abraham, basically, “Hey, what’s going on here?” (Genesis 22:5-8). His father replied that God would provide a sacrifice, and Isaac had to trust his fathers, both heavenly and earthly, as he allowed himself to be bound on the altar of sacrifice. Like Isaac we need to have faith in our Heavenly Father even when it seems as if we are on the chopping block. Abraham’s trust that God will provide doesn’t reduce his agony, agony grips his every step up the mountain. Isaac also trusted that God would do what was right even if it meant he would be the sacrifice.

It is interesting that some Jewish commentaries state that Isaac with the wood on his back is like a condemned man, carrying his own cross! Of course we know it to be a type of the Messiah, Jesus (John 19:17). It is also interesting in that we also have a cross to bear so that we may identify with Christ. He does the work but we carry the name and bear the cross, and share in His sufferings, but also His comfort. Abraham had to have faith for the “long haul”. Isaac had to have faith right in the most intense moments. We go through both.

It is hard to stay committed to something we don't value. We might think we value God, but increasing trials point to the truth. Is God increasing in value to us? He must be if we are to face increasing trials. Is future grace and God’s glory more of a treasure to you than pleasure or temporal relief of pain, especially as the pressure mounts? Sometimes we aren’t certain about what is going on, but we can know for certain that God will make everything work to our own good even if we have to suffer the details while we are on the way (Romans 8:28). We must learn to value our relationship with God, and this will increase our spiritual vision.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©