I was sitting at home relaxing today when my son, Isaiah, came in the living room to ask me a question. I was pretty tired and was somewhat groggy, but that would soon change with the question he would ask. He often comes to my wife and I when he is wondering about something. Usually it is something about a video game or a toy he has, but sometimes he knocks you right off balance. He walked in, sat on the couch and asked, "Dad, would you give me up if God asked you to?"
"What?" I asked back in a bit of shock. "Where did this come from?" I further questioned.
"I was just thinking about it and wondering." He replied with great innocence.
I took a deep breath. I knew the answer that I would want to give, but how on earth do I explain this to my 8 year old son? How do I explain to him that the answer was yes?
Then it hit me. "Buddy, come sit with me and let's read a story from the Bible." He jumped in my lap and we read Genesis 22:1-14.
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
“Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.
Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
We took our time as we went though it, me stopping to ask questions to make sure he understood, as well as explaining words he didn't know. He fully understood what God was asking Abraham to do. He almost cried a time or to. So did I as I read this account to my son. I can not fully express the joy I had as I read the next few verses.
But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said: “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”
Talk about Scripture coming alive! I felt such a weight lifted as I read that to my son! I then plainly told him, "Isaiah, if God asked me to give you up for Him, I would say yes. But I also believe my God is so great, wonderful, and loving that He would provide a way for us to keep you, just like He did with Abraham and Isaac!"
My son hugged me and I hugged him back. Hard. He asked some more questions about God and Jesus which I was happy to answer. Then my wife and I tucked him in, prayed with him, told him we love him, told him Jesus loves him, and told him goodnight as we turned out the light.
Thank you, God, for the instructions. How lost would we be if we didn't have them? I thought of how hard that question would be to answer if I didn't know that example from the Bible. I would have been dumbfounded. Thank you, God, for Your Word.
In Christ,
jon walton
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