Day 15 · Faith and God’s Promises · (NET2)
God tests Abraham concerning the son through whom his promises will continue. This is a unique event in the biblical story, not permission to harm a child or follow a supposed command that contradicts God's revealed will. God stops Abraham and provides a ram. Abraham's costly trust directs our attention to God's faithfulness and provision, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Request
Father, help me trust your character when obedience is costly. By your Spirit, keep me attentive to your Word and grateful for your provision in Christ. Amen.
Read
1 Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. 2 God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac —and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.”
3 Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about.
4 On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place in the distance. 5 So he said to his servants, “You two stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go up there. We will worship and then return to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father?” “What is it, my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.
9 When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. 12 “Do not harm the boy!” the angel said. “Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” It is said to this day, “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “I solemnly swear by my own name, decrees the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the strongholds of their enemies. 18 Because you have obeyed me, all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.”
Scripture: NET Bible, Second Edition (NET2).
Reflect
- How do God's intervention and provision resolve the tension between the command and his promise concerning Isaac?
- What good gift are you tempted to trust more than God himself, and what would faithful dependence look like?
Restate
Describe how this passage reveals both Abraham's trust and God's provision.
Respond
Let the passage guide your prayer. Use these prompts in your own words:
- Praise: Praise the Lord who provides and keeps his promises.
- Thanksgiving: Thank him for giving his Son for our salvation.
- Confession: Confess clinging to God's gifts as though they were your ultimate security.
- Intercession: Pray for someone facing a costly but clearly biblical act of obedience.
- Petition: Ask for discernment, trust, and willingness to obey God's written Word.
Carry it into today: Entrust one cherished concern to God in prayer without trying to dictate how he must resolve it.