Abraham's Faith, part 2

Hebrews 11:17-19
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

"Thank You, God, for Abraham's repeated faith in You, and for Your word, of all these stories of people's faith in You. Father, may we learn something from Abraham's faith in You, and what You did to reward him, and find encouragement in it. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

Abraham again! Last time we heard about him, Abraham was called to go out to the desert. This time, he's on a new adventure: God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham showed that he was willing to do even this, killing the most important thing in His life, for God. At the last minute, God told Abraham that he didn't have to sacrifice his son.

But why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Loving God, killing kids. Don't seem to go together, right? No, actually, wrong. God was testing Abraham. Isaac would never been in danger. If Abraham refused God, Isaac would never have been sacrificed. God told Abraham not to do it at the last minute, something God had been planning. God was just trying to test Abraham's faith.

Why would Abraham offer his son as a sacrifice? Because God told him to. And Abraham knew that God was going to continue his blood line through Isaac, because that had already been promised to him, so he had faith that God would fulfill His promise. And God did.

Abraham rested back on God's promises, and did what God told him to do, trusting that everything would turn out for the best in the end. But how is this encouraging?

God kept His promise to Abraham, again, because Abraham had faith in God and did what God said.

In His Service,
Joyce