DCLM Daily Manna 2024: DCLM Daily Manna 4 December 2024: The Biggest Test
Text: Genesis 22:1-14 (KJV)
1 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.
2 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.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 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.
13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
KEY VERSE: Genesis 22:12
“And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”
Sometimes, we use the expression, “acid test”, loosely, without contemplating its full ramification. The term originated during the earliest times when gold was widely circulated. Nitric acid was applied to an object of gold to see if it was genuine. If it was fake, the acid decomposed it; if it was genuine, the gold was unaffected. All sorts of things are tested to prove that they are real. When you go to a bank, for instance, and give a currency bill to the cashier, she holds it to a special light. She is checking to make sure it is genuine. Does our character survive the “acid test” of this world?
God tested Abraham to determine the genuineness of his faith. Having waited 25 years for Isaac, the son of promise, he must have found the demand to sacrifice the object of his love, as a difficult command to obey. However, Abraham took his son and went in the direction he was told. He knew God was in control. That was the reason, when Isaac asked the question about the lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham responded that, “God will provide.” When it was time to offer Isaac, the Lord brought a lamb as substitute. God commended his obedience and blessed him greatly. The greater the test, the bigger the reward.
Before we start singing ‘Abraham’s blessings are mine’, let us pause and ponder his obedience. Several obstacles confronted him on his path of obedience. Informing Sarah about the request could have botched the whole plan. And if Isaac himself had not cooperated and submitted, it would have been difficult for old Abraham to compel him.
What comes to us today as we read this is that our faith will be tested before it can be accepted. Our love must be proven to ascertain its genuineness. How deep is your love? And how genuine is your faith?
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The quality of love is determined when tested.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Isaiah 9-12
Daily Manna 4 December 2024
