AFTER THESE THINGS

In Chapter Twenty-one, God instructed Abraham to listen to Sarah and cast out Hagar and Ishmael. Please note that God did not take Ishmael from Abraham, but called Abraham to send Ishmael away. Ishmael may have satisfied Abraham’s desire for a son, but he fails to fulfill God’s promise. In view of this, it should not surprise us that God commands Abraham to send Ishmael away (2:10-12). It was a hard thing to do, but it is not shocking. We should not be surprised when God rejects our forms and the product of our programs. We should not be taken by surprise when God commands us to cast out the bondwoman and her son.

THE TEST BEGINS

I am not surprised that God commanded Abraham to send Ishmael away, but I am totally shocked when God asks Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. Isaac was the son of promise; a product of God’s power and ability. He was God’s gift to Abraham. The sending away of Ishmael must have been difficult, but God does not call it a test. On the other hand the Isaac event is introduced to us with the words "God tested Abraham" (22:1).

A MATTER OF VALUE

God did not allow Abraham to choose what he would offer as a burnt offering. He did not ask Abraham to sacrifice his prize lamb. What He does ask for is of greater value than all the lambs that Abraham owned—"Take now your son, your only son Isaac, your son whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering" (22:2). Each phrase in this verse magnifies the worth of Isaac in the eyes of Abraham.

All of Abraham’s affections and his future were tied up in Isaac. Isaac was Abraham’s greatest treasure.

PREPARATION IS NOT THE ACT

The Materials

Abraham, aroused from his sleep, rose early and began preparing to obey God. First, he prepared his transportation by saddling his donkey. Next, he took two young men and Isaac. Finally, he split the wood for the burnt offering. The order of these events suggests the emotional state of Abraham. Either he wasn’t thinking clearly or he saved the most difficult task until last. Perhaps he hoped that God would call it off before he left the camp.

The Journey

Sometimes obedience is a prolonged event that is consummated at the end of a period of time. In this case Abraham’s act of worship is a series of events lasting three days. I can only imagine what Abraham was thinking as he journeyed toward the appointed place and the commanded event. After arriving at the mount of sacrifice Abraham commanded the young men to remain with the donkey and informed them that after he and Isaac had performed the act of worship, they would return.

The Climb

With the wood laid on his back, Isaac, a type of Christ, willingly accompanies Abraham up the mountain. As they journey up the mountain together Isaac asks his father where the sacrificial lamb is. Abraham’s response is, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burn offering."

The Altar Constructed

Upon arriving at the place of sacrifice Abraham built the altar and placed the wood on it. This meant that he and Isaac would have collected stones and piled them until the altar was large enough to hold the wood and the sacrifice.

THE FINAL ACT

All of this, though essential to Abraham’s obedience, could not be considered the fulfillment of God’s command. The final act was the actual slaying and burning of the sacrifice. Abraham lifts the knife over his head and was in the process of slaying his only son when the Angel of the Lord stopped him.

A NEW REALIZATION

What joy must have filled Abraham’s heart as he offered up God’s provision, the ram caught in the thicket, in the place of his son. It is here that Abraham comes to know God as Jehovah Jireh—The-LORD-will-provide. It is here that God’s promise is restated. This is the place of complete obedience and fresh revelation.

FINAL THOUGHTS

God could have stopped Abraham while he was chopping the wood. He could have shown him the ram as Abraham began to bind Isaac or when he placed Isaac on the altar. Why does God wait so late in the event to stop Abraham? Surely He knew Abraham’s heart enough to know that Abraham would actually offer Isaac up as a burnt offering. Why then does He wait until Abraham has the knife in motion before He stops him and shows him the ram in the thicket?

The event begins and ends with God calling Abraham. The first command was "offer him there as a burnt offering" (22:2), and the final command was "do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him" (22:12). From verse 2 to verse 12, Abraham felt every emotion associated with his full obedience to the command of God. Had God stopped him while chopping the wood Abraham and we readers would have always wondered if he could have obeyed God. By stopping him in the final act of obedience the issue is settled once and for all—Abraham would have butchered and burned Isaac if God hadn’t stopped him.

Obedience is more than chopping wood. Chopping wood cost Abraham nothing. Riding the donkey to the place of worship cost Abraham nothing. Carrying the wood and the fire up the hill didn’t require much from Abraham. Building the altar and placing the wood on it cost Abraham nothing. These were merely preliminary acts necessary to full obedience, but none of them individually or combined together constituted a burnt offering. The command of verse two demanded the sacrifice of Isaac and that cost Abraham!

Failure to fully fulfill God’s command is full failure. There is no such thing as partial obedience. When God commanded Saul to attack Amalek (1 Samuel 15:3), he ordered the total destruction of every Amalekite and all that they owned. When Samuel found Saul, Saul was in Carmel setting up a monument to himself. In his mind Saul had performed the commandment of the LORD (1Sam. 15:13), but Samuel brought a sobering word to this errant king. (See 1Samuel 15:14-23.)

God has not given us permission to do His will our way and neither does He allow us to do His will until it is inconvenient. Incomplete obedience is disobedience.

The God who issues the command is Jehovah Jireh, but only to those who are obedient to His command.

If it is true that we cannot embrace our Isaacs until we’ve sent our Ishmael’s away, then it is equally true that we cannot know God until we’ve offered up our Isaacs. (See Matt. 16:24-25.)

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(C) Copyright 1998 by Louis Bartet -- All rights reserved.

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