11/09/2020 - THEY WENT TOGETHER

• 
• 
• 
• 

So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. Genesis 22:6

We cannot judge the apparent coldness of Abraham, who at no time revealed the truth about the divine order about the lamb to be offered at the altar in Moriah. He remained secret, remaining very calm and giving tranquility to his son and servants. Otherwise, they could make the consummation of the Lord’s work unfeasible. What an ordeal! What a struggle!

Upon seeing the mountains, Abraham felt the divine touch and knew at what point the altar should be built, sure that that mission really had God as a planner, as he believed until then. Why did he transfer the load of firewood from the donkey to his son? Why couldn’t the servants go along? They would witness from afar that sacrifice where it was determined. Strangers must not always participate in such an intimate act.

The fact that the Scriptures again record that Isaac was the son of Abraham, shows that, in this father’s heart, there was an intense struggle. Although the Lord never made a similar request to anyone again, the trials we endure are difficult to endure, even when we are firm in the faith. Imagine, for example, the feeling of a faithful believer when he hears that he needs an operation urgently?

Abraham never thought that God’s request was evil, something out of the question. He understood that the Lord is good and would never do any injustice to a worker of His, especially to someone who has always trusted Him. Abraham also believed in the promise that all mankind would be blessed from his seed (see Genesis 12).

Why sacrifice your own child? Would God approve of that? Obviously not. However, even so, the patriarch took the fire to light the pyre where Isaac would be lying, as well as the cleaver that would take his life, as if it were the lamb that God needed to bring peace with fallen man. Even if this happened, Abraham believed that the Lord was able to bring his son from the dead. Now, there is not the slightest possibility that this type of sacrifice is necessary today, because the Father sent us the holy Lamb.

Abraham and Isaac had perfect fellowship and trust between them, and these feelings remained until the end. Isaac did not suspect his father, and that was a good thing. But why use your child, and not another individual? This must not have occurred to Abraham, who only believed in God. After all, the Lord brought his son to be born at one hundred and Sara at ninety. The Most High knew what he was proposing!

So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:6-7). What a question!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares