Passing The Faith Series

Then Isaac said, “My father.”

And [Abraham] said, “Yes, my son.”

And Isaac said, “Father, here is the fire and here the wood, but where is the lamb?” He called him father and was [concerned] lest he had overlooked something.

And Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb, my son.”

When they [came] to the mount, Abraham built the altar and laid on the wood. Then he was forced to tell Isaac. The boy was stupefied. He must have protested, “Have you forgotten: I am the son of Sarah by a miracle in her old age, that I was promised, and that through me you are to be the father of a great nation?” And Abraham must have answered that God would fulfill his promise even out of ashes.

Then Abraham bound him and laid him upon the wood. The father raised the knife. The boy bared his throat. If God had slept an instant, the lad would have been dead. I could not have watched. I am not able in my thoughts to follow. The lad was as a sheep for the slaughter. Never in history was there such obedience, save only in Christ. But God was watching, and all the angels. The father raised his knife; the boy did not wince. The angel cried, “Abraham, Abraham!” [and stopped him from sacrificing his son].

Then Luther concludes: See how divine majesty is at hand in the hour of death. We say, “In the midst of life we die.” God answers, “Nay, in the midst of death we live.”

Historian Bainton adds: “Luther once read this story for family devotions. When he had finished, Katie [his wife] said, ‘I do not believe it. God would not have treated his son like that.’”

“‘But, Katie,' answered Luther, ‘he did.’” (Martin Luther in “Martin Luther – The Later Years and Legacy,” Christian History, no. 39; www.PreachingToday.com)

God did NOT spare His own Son, Jesus, who died on a cross for our sins. But God DID spare Abraham’s son, because He was testing Abraham, and Abraham passed the test! Abraham nearly sacrificed his own son in obedience to God, but how could he do it! How could Abraham offer his son to God like that? It’s because…

Hebrews 11:19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (ESV)

Isaac was as good as dead in Abraham’s mind. So, in a sense, Abraham received Isaac back from the dead, and that’s what he expected.

You see, Abraham was able to offer his son to the Lord, because he believed God. Abraham believed in the power and promise of God, knowing that God would have to raise Isaac from the dead in order to keep His promise.

By faith, Abraham gave his son to the Lord. And if you want to create an atmosphere for faith in your children and grandchildren, you must do the same thing.

BY FAITH, GIVE YOUR CHILDREN TO THE LORD.

Offer your sons and daughters completely to God for His use. Present them to the Lord, relinquishing all control of them to Him.

I’m certainly not telling you to tie them down and slit their throats. God expressly forbids any kind of child-sacrifice, and God stopped Abraham from doing it to his own son. You don’t give your children to the Lord by killing them. You give them to the Lord by relinquishing control of them, letting God have His way with them. This is especially true if your children have strayed away from their upbringing.