Genesis 22:1-19 KJV 1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. 15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

When do you sacrifice your own offspring. If you live among mountain people long enough you know quickly how important their children are to them. How important the family unit is to the people. The value of life as being a treasure. To think of sacrificing anyone just in cold hearted murder seems like a cold request from God. Abraham was a friend of God. Abraham had many talks with God and yet on this one occasion, God asked Abraham to sacrifice is only blood heir through is first marriage. He was old and his wife was old. She could bear no more children and really could not bear children at the age when she had Isaac, it was a miraculous conception from the Lord. For Abraham to give up Isaac on an altar would mean he would give up the bloodline that would inherit Abraham's possessions after he was gone. It was important to have a male heir. Ishmael was not a legitim son in marriage. Hagar was not even classified as a second wife but the maid of his wife. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham took God always at his word without questioning. He only questioned his word only question on protection of God's people in the story of Sodom and Gommorah, but this time Abraham did not even ask why or if there was any protection for his son. Because God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah but Lot(Abraham's nephew) and his family was saved who lived in Sodom. Abraham obeyed God. Isaac his own son even asked about the sacrifice that was missing and Abraham said God would provide a lamb. Abraham unafraid of what was taking place as far as what God told him to do, he was obedient. After a three day journey Abraham took his son up the hill to worship God and to put his own son on an altar he built. He took no one with him but his son. There Abraham bound and laid his son on the altar. I can not imagine what Isaac was thinking. Did Isaac believe his father that God would provide. The story does not say. Yet we do know Isaac worshipped God from scripture. God requires the son of Abraham only as proof of Abraham willing to give up his blessing for Him. As Abraham goes to kill his son, an angel stopped him and there was also a ram caught in the thicket for sacrifice. The angel of the Lord repeats the blessing the Lord originally gave Abraham of the promise of offspring for obedience to the Lord. Are we trusting God fully for his promise. Abraham would not see all the children of his inheritance, but the promise seed of faith he would see. To cling to hope of faith. To cling so greatly to trust God despite common sense. To trust God's provision or ability to raise the dead. To trust God to fulfill his promise despite how crazy it sounds takes faith in God. A living God that communicated to Abraham of the hope and faith of salvation afar off. God one day would give up his only begotten Son to be sacrifice though he could prevent it. He would raise His only begotten Son Jesus back up to demonstrate his love for the people. Giving the people hope of the return of his Son one day. Taking God at his word his promises, seems impossible when impossible needs possibility. Yet if God said so, you can believe it and trust the Lord for He is able to do what he says he will do. Dear Heavenly Father despite our circumstances let us trust fully in your word that you will do what you say. In Jesus precious name, Amen. Continual Scripture Study for Devotion: John 3:16 KJV 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. http://www.turtle30cshell.com