Open Heaven 17 May 2022
MEMORISE: ““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;” – (Genesis 22:17)
BIBLE READING: Genesis 22:1-18
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the [b]lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 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— 17 blessing I will bless you, and 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. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
The God of Isaac is the God of laughter (Genesis 21:1-7). He is not just the God of laughter, but also the God of multiplication. Our Bible reading today tells us how God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice and how he (Abraham) was about to do so before God stopped him. God later on blessed Abraham:
… 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. – (Genesis 22:17)
How does He multiply? In Genesis 26:12-14, the Bible tells us that when Isaac sowed, in the same year, he had a hundredfold return. This therefore means that the God of Isaac is the God of a hundredfold returns. When you look at the last promise in Genesis 22:17, you see God saying that Abraham’s seed will possess the gate of his enemies.
In those days, the gate was the centre of a city’s economy. This means that when the God of Isaac is your God, you will become so prosperous that whether nations like you or not, they would have to do whatever you say.
It is unfortunate however, that many Christians are not this prosperous and this is because they are not like Isaac. When Abraham was going to offer a sacrifice to God, Isaac asked his father, “I can see the wood, I can see the fire, where is the animal to be sacrificed?” (Genesis 22:7). Abraham said God would provide the lamb. The moment Abraham started binding him, Isaac knew he was the sacrifice. Abraham bound him and laid him on the wood, yet Isaac cooperated all the way.
If he had decided to struggle just a little, he would have won because there is no way a man who is over a hundred years old can hold a teenaager down. However, Isaac was ready to give himself as a sacrifice to the Most High God. Only those who can sacrifice their all can enjoy the kind of multiplication that the God of Isaac gives.
Solomon sacrificed what no man ever did and God blessed him more than every other man. Sow a seed that will really cost you – a sacrificial offering. If you want to be prosperous so that you will control the economies and politics of nations, then nothing must be too big for you to give to God.
PRAYER POINT: Give a sacrificial offering to a Church, person or project that you are sure is for God.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nehemiah 2-5
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – The God of Isaac – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 17 May 2022
