April 14 Edify Devotional

Today’s Devotional Theme      His Only Son   Daily Scripture Genesis 22:2 “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.” Encouragement  We reared one son. He was a happy child, but something happened as he progressed through adolescence. In his late teens, he walked out the door. We didn’t know when we might see or hear from him again – if ever. We sought God with many tears, in figurative sackcloth and ashes. God answered. Eventually our son returned and is now happily married and embarking on a promising engineering career. God answered our prayers as he did Abraham’s. That patriarch had but one son, a special son Isaac who was the firstborn of the nation of Israel. (Abraham had fathered another son, Ishmael, who was to become the father of the Moabites, but Ishmael wasn’t “the one and only” that Isaac was.) Now God was instructing Abraham to slay Isaac as a burnt offering! Bewildered, heavy-hearted but obedient, Abraham journeyed toward Moriah with Isaac, who probably was a teenager now. The parallels with the Father’s offering up His only Son Jesus are unmistakable. Both carried the wood onto which they were to be sacrificed up the hill. The major difference, of course, is that God stayed Abraham’s knife-wielding hand just as he was about to carry out the sacrifice; while Jesus died as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins and those of the whole world. Apply God’s Word God’s instructions to Abraham in Genesis 22:2 are explicit and crystal clear, allowing for no misunderstanding. Five specific elements are mentioned: 1) Take your son; 2) your special son Isaac; 3) the one you love (Talk about rubbing it in!); 4) journey to a place I’ll show you; and 5) offer him as a burnt offering. “But God, Isaac is the son of Your promise to make me a father of a chosen nation! Is this really what you want?” I don’t know if Abraham actually protested, but as loving father, he must have thought it. God finds His friend Abraham to be faithful right up to the point of carrying out the sacrifice. After the substituted ram is offered, God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham to bless him and multiply his progeny (verses 17-18). Come into His Presence Lord God, I know that sometimes what You ask us to do makes no sense to us. But I admit that my faith in You constrains me to do what You ask, whether or not I understand – even to the point of death! In Jesus’ name amen. Mark Bacon Teacher & Mentor Email Mark

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