I was reading last night about the story of Abraham and Isaac. It’s a story I’ve ready many times. I grew up in Sunday school hearing this story. I have probably read and heard the story of Abraham and Isaac a few hundred times over the years. For those who haven’t heard of it, let me give you a brief recap on what happened.

From the moment Abraham is called by God, he is promised that a nation would be born from him. In Genesis 15, God tells Abraham, “Now look toward the heavens, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” God then promises Abraham, “So shall your seed be.” We then read in verse 6, “Then he (Abraham) believed in Yahweh; and He counted it to him as righteousness.” In Genesis 17, an angel visits Abraham and his wife Sarah, and tells them they’re going to have son. Abraham is now one hundred years old, and Sarah is ninety. Well past the age of childbearing! Having twins at forty-one years old, I can see why both Abraham and Sarah laughed at the idea of a son being born to them!

Sure enough, just as the angel had promised, Isaac is born a year later. But this is when the whole story of Abraham and Isaac takes an interesting turn. But let’s pause for a moment and think about everything that has taken place up to this point.

Abraham was promised by God years before that his children and descendants would be as numerous as the stars. God didn’t say when this would take place. All Abraham was told to do was look at the stars, try and count them, and if he could, so would be the number of his descendants. And Abraham trusted in this promise and believed that God would bring it about. But years have passed since that promise and still no children.

My wife and I tried for several years to have more children. It was exhausting and discouraging when it didn’t happen. Each month we would wait in expectation; hoping this would be the month our sadness was turned into joy and our wait was over. But each month proved just as emotionally painful as the previous months. This only went on for seven years and I can recall the emotional and mental rollercoaster we went through. Now imagine how Abraham and Sarah felt.

Just like my wife and I, Abraham and Sarah’s time came, and Isaac was born. The promise from God had been fulfilled! All the years of trying, waiting, and being let down were now over.

When we get to Genesis 22, we don’t know exactly how old Isaac is. We can read and come to the conclusion that he is old enough to walk, speak in complete sentences, and discern. So, he is at least beyond the age of a toddler. And God shows up again and has a talk with Abraham.

Now it happened after these things, that God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only one, whom you love, Isaac, and go forth to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

Genesis 22:1-2

If you have never read this portion of Scripture and you come across it for the first time, you would probably have to read those verses again. You’d probably say, “You mean, God, who promised this guy a son, gives him one, and then tells him to go and kill his only son on top of a mountain? And not just kill him, but offer him up as a burnt offering? That’s sick!” And the answer to your question would be, “Yes.”

I want you to imagine Abraham now and the emotions he must have been feeling. Imagine him packing his bags for the trip he would take with Isaac. What food did he pack? It would be Isaac’s final meal. As a parent, I cannot imagine what Abraham was thinking, but I am almost certain he was remembering the years of watching Isaac grow; his first steps, his first words, his laughter, the moment Abraham and Sarah first found out they were pregnant, and all the smaller moments in between. His heart must have been torn apart! How many times did he contemplate just saying, “Absolutely not!”?

The three-day journey to the mountain must have been emotionally and mentally agonizing. When God showed Abraham the mountain where he would slay and offer up his only son, the climb must have been a slow and excruciatingly painful one. How slow do you think Abraham walked, prolonging the inevitable? I just cannot imagine.

We then read the question that must have cut Abraham to the core. “My father! Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

What questions must Isaac have asked as Abraham was tying him up? What was the look on the boy’s face as his dad lifted him up and placed him on the altar? Was Abraham weeping uncontrollably as he held the boy much like he did when Isaac was a baby or small child?

And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the boy, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me.”

Genesis 22:10-11

In the final moments of his life, Isaac is spared. The promise from God given years earlier isn’t broken. But why we ask, was Abraham tested to begin with?

The gift became greater than the Giver. God needed to test Abraham. Abraham needed to remember his first love and who his devotion really belonged to.

You see, when we allow the things of this world to replace God in our lives, we are crossing into extremely dangerous territory. We must never allow the gifts in our life to replace the Giver. When we begin to allow that to happen, we can expect God to show up and begin to strip those things away from us. Whether it be family, friends, a home, car, latest smartphone, or whatever else has taken God’s place on the throne in your heart, we must remember the words of God in Deuteronomy 10:12, “So now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God ask from you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all His ways and love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” God will often bring circumstances about in our life that will shake our foundations. It is through those foundations being shaken that we once again focus on those things which are eternal – God’s love, His Word, His promises, and His kingdom.

So we will be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us; just one and an alternative, but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make.

A.W. Tozer