Journey to Greatness- Genesis 22:1-18
After these things.. After what? In Chapter 21 Abraham had been forced to send his 'other son' Ishmael out with Hagar. Ishmael, though was not his child of promise, was still his son. Sending him out with the mother was a saddening experience for Abraham but he had to do it because God told him to. Ishmael represented that which Abraham birthed outside of God's will. Have you ever birthed something and you know it is not from God? Ishmael was good but was not from God! What is it that looks perfect in your life but down in your spirit you know it is not of God? I would not bother to tell you in details how for 12 years Abraham would have believed that God would change His mind about Ishmael. Some of you are living with your Ishmael hoping that God would change His mind and drop His standard someday.. Well!
After these.. Abraham was just recovering from the pain of losing Ishmael then..after these..Have you ever had an" after these" experience? You just survived a shipwreck and here comes the viper, Paul! After these! You have just lost your grand father, father, and your princely position and bang! you get dropped and become lame, Mepheboseth! After these! Ok maybe these were bible characters and you can't relate to them, how about you, yes you! Lost your job and you've got more bills than you've got money in your account, and then your house is about to be repossessed because you can't keep up with your mortgage and here comes your teenage son telling you they don't believe in the God you've taught them about for more than 16 years! After these!
And it came to pass after these that God did tempt Abraham.. ESV,NKJV and NIV says "God did test Abraham.." Whichever version you read from, the common factor was that it was God that supervised this examination. Now the difference between God's test and the test of the devil is that God test you to lift you or promote you whilst the devil test you to bring you down. I know new age Christianity has taught us that your troubles should disappear if you're in Christ but some of the things you're going through are not necessarily from the devil.
Take now your son.. Your OWN son! Not my own! Not another person's son! Your son, not your servant! Your son! It is easy to sacrifice another person's son. When it's my own son then he is useless, rude and a disgrace to the community and should be stoned to death but when it's your son then he is just misunderstood! He didn't mean to smoke, steal or stab! Your son!! Not your servants, your son!! Most of us would sacrifice everything else in place of what God is asking us.
.. Your ONLY son, Isaac.. It is easy to give one when you have ten but much more difficult to give one when that's all you've got. That was why Jesus said the widow who gave her mite was more blessed than all the other givers- she gave her ONLY! What is your ONLY? God has a way of asking for our ONLY. He is ONLY Himself (there's no other God besides Him) and any other ONLY in our life that we cannot give up is contesting with Him. Your only son, Isaac.. I must quickly point out that Isaac was a child of promise. God promised Abraham when he was 75 and the promise did not manifest until he was 99! He had to wait patiently for this son but just when he was about to enjoy the fruit of his patience.. Here comes God! Why didn't God ask for a sacrifice before Isaac was born? Have you ever had something God Himself gave to you and just when you're about to sit back, kick off your shoes and enjoy the fruit of your labour, here comes God! Mary had kept herself and been faithful to God. Just when her joy was about to burst out for all to see, here come God! Isaac means laughter. Laughter comes with a merry heart, satisfaction, fulfilment etc. These were feelings that Abraham had to sacrifice with Isaac. There are times when God would ask for those things that give you a feeling of fulfilment just to check where your heart is.
..Whom thou lovest.. Abraham apparently loved Isaac so much. God had to prove where Abraham's heart was. Who or what do you love? Is your love for your husband contesting with your love for God? Is your love for your children standing between you and God? Have you abandoned the giver and fallen deeper in love with the gift? Yes, God gave you the vision and the ministry but are you sure that the ministry is not taking over your love. Do you still sit quietly in His presence, not for a message but to love your first love? Who do you love? Thou shall love The Lord your God with all thine heart and all thine soul!
Note that the fact that Abraham obeyed God in sending away Ishmael did not stop him from facing another test of obedience. Every test or temptation you pass is a preparation for another one.
And offer him there a burnt offering.. Offer.. Offering.. That swear word! Abraham had a choice whether to give Isaac or not hence giving Isaac was an offering. Whatever you have control over yet decide to relinquish your control voluntarily is an offering. I don't know why Christians have a problem with offering but everything in life takes an offering from you! If you go to the night club or wherever you go these days the girls dance half naked for you and if they move well enough you give them something. They didn't force it out of you, you gave voluntarily. It's an offering! Your wife cooks you your best meal and makes you feel like a king so you give her something! It's an offering!
Abraham's response to this request was to me, absolutely amazing! This guy is cool! You ask me to kill my son, my only son( my laughter, my satisfaction), whom I love and you expect me to wake up early and do it! Hmm.. Imagine this man still remembered to take all the correct equipment! If you're looking to employ someone that can work well under pressure Abraham is your man! Definitely not Segun Omole! Nahh! If this was me!! I wouldn't even sleep again after the request in the first instance. My man still slept!! I will just go to Mummy Sarah's room and wake her up. I'd start like this "Sarah Sarah imagine some funny dream I had tonight! I dreamt that God said 'we' should kill our son, our only son that we adore so much. The one we waited all these years to have. The devil is a liar!" And trust women- Sarah would jump up and shout at me and run to look for her son never to allow me near him again. That would have been the end of the story. I'd then turn to God and say "you see, I would have done it but for Sarah". Forgive me, I know you're a very obedient child of God..but I wouldn't start the journey to kill my own child early! I would take my time to be sure i heard right or even hope that God would change His mind. I would definitely forget the knife at home.. Any excuse would help.. But no, not Abraham. He woke up early, saddled his donkey took the wood.. He was even properly prepared and organised considering the fact that he was about to lose the most precious thing in his life. Your grieve, pain and circumstances are not enough excuse for you to come before God unprepared.
So now here begins Abraham's long journey towards greatness. At this time he did not know it but this was the journey that changed his life for good. I can't imagine what was going on in his mind all through this journey. 3 days! Travelling with his beloved son knowing that the return journey would be without him. 3 days to consider this terrifying decision to obey God! This is a proof that Abraham's decision to obey was not a fluke. This was a premeditated obedience! Remember Job, he had several opportunities to deny God and save himself all the pain and misery he was going through but he said "thou he slays me yet shall I trust him!" Walking with God has to be deliberate and determined. Many started their journey with God on a very high but after few challenges and hardship along the way we chose the easy way out. Paul said of the church in Galatia "O foolish Galatians, you did run well who hindered you". It is folly to allow anything distract or hinder you on this great journey to greatness. How many people have stopped serving God because the pastor was mean to them? How many people have abandoned their post because church didn't help them whilst they were going through hardship. I didn't hear God speak words of comfort to Abraham on this journey at all. Walking with God requires that we carry our cross daily and follow Him. Infact Jesus told us to first count the cost before we follow Him. Many of us were moved to following Christ by our emotions and what we saw. If you count the cost you'd know that opposition and persecutions are all part of the deal on this great journey. 3 days! The man of God carried along his heavy broken heart not for once murmuring or complaining about the severity of his Lord's request. 3 days!
As soon as he 'sensed' that he was close to the place of his appointment he told the men traveling with him to stay back whilst he and the boy would go yonder and worship. Doesn't this remind you of our saviour Jesus who went to gethsemane with Peter, James and John his close friends but asked them to wait and pray with him whilst he went further to speak with His father. On your journey to greatness you would have to leave even your closest friends behind. Separation is key for you to enter into a deeper walk with God. If you're someone that cannot afford to be on your own you might likely not experience the best of God. I believe Abraham told these men to stay back so that they would not disturb what he was about to do. I'm not sure they would stand back and watch Abraham kill Isaac, they'd probably want to intervene and 'save' the boy from his lunatic father. Most of us have carried along people to where we are not supposed to. People have hindered you from doing what God has asked you to do with their 'good judgment'. You know God has asked you to fast but your friends 'love you' so much they want to make you eat by force! You go to God's house but your family and friends want to help you stop being 'anti-social'.
Abraham tired his son, his only son Isaac, whom he loves to the altar ready to kill him to proof his love for God. Raised his knife to finish their love story. In his mind the boy he loved so much was already dead! Killed by love! Have you ever had to sacrifice what you love so much to proof your love for God? This boy was the best gift that Abraham ever got in his life from God but the same God was asking for this gift. What is your Isaac? Given to you by the providence of God but you've come to love it so much you cannot give it up. I know the boy was saved just at the nick of time but I'd like to point out,brothers and sister, that something changed at this altar! The relationship between the father and his son can never be the same again. Abraham would leave this place of encounter a different person and so will Isaac. I'm not so sure Isaac would follow his father to another sacrifice again after this near death experience. I'm not sure Abraham's relationship with mummy Sarah would be the same again. I'm not sure Sarah would feel comfortable leaving her only son alone with this man again. I know Isaac was not killed but I'm sure the reactions of even the servants would change towards father Abraham. If he can kill his own son how much more servants. They would definitely be weary of this their good master from now on. Abraham in obeying God sacrificed his horizontal relationships for his vertical relationship. Abraham Sacrificed his great relationship with everyone around him (that he can see) for his relationship with the one above (whom he cannot see)! This must have been a very great prize even for someone like Abraham. God is still asking the same thing of you and I. Luke 14:26- 26 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. " Are you really ready to pay the prize? How far are you willing to go to proof your love for the Master?
This thing that Abraham did touched God so much that The Almighty God swore! I swear I'd bless you !! You know you can swear and not be able to perform but not the All sufficient one! To swear is to take an oath to do what you said- till date Abraham is one of the most blessed man that ever lived!
This message was inspired by a teaching at the Divine Iconz Youth Retreat 2013 @ Marchant Hill, PGL adventure centre.
