One of the things that struck me in this reading was the length of time it took for God to fulfill His promise to Abram (was renamed Abraham later...I'll just use Abraham). Abraham was 75 years old when God told him he would bless him and cause him to become the father of a great nation. Isaac was born to Abraham when he was 100 years old. But before that because God didn't act 'fast enough', Abraham took matters into his own hands and tried to "help" God by sleeping with his wife's servant (at his wife's insistence). Didn't turn out well, as you can imagine. Just as things never turn out well for us when we try to "help" God out.
We should never be surprised when either God allows testing (as He did in Job's case), or when He Himself tests us:
22:1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
If you know the story, Abraham obeyed, even to the point of tying Isaac up, placing him on the altar and raising the knife to kill him. He rationalized that God could bring Isaac back from the dead if necessary. This was the faith that God saw in Abraham. This was the faith that was willing to obey and do what God told him, even if it didn't make sense. And this is what God says about obedience:
16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
And later, we see that Abraham's obedience had long lasting effects:
26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. 3 Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”
One of the other things that stands out is the symbology of Isaac living as a 'foreigner in this land'. That is exactly what the New Testament tells us to do - live as foreigners here on earth, looking for a 'better country'.
There were a lot of other great lessons in these chapters, but I will have to leave it at that. That's one of the main reasons I need to blog daily....
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