GENESIS 22 THE OFFERING I watched in my mind a small group of men traveling from the south, heading northward toward a specific place God had in His mind, that would be suitable for the greatest act of faith the world would ever know. A foreshadowing of a future world-changing event was going to happen there. No one had been tested before in the life of faith like was to happen there. For three days Abraham must have been reviewing his whole life with God, while walking beside him was his unsuspecting son. Abraham had acted in faith before. God had proved faithful in every case. Could he trust God to do what had not happened before? Can God raise the dead? There was no precedent to follow. Would God raise the dead? The promise of seed through Isaac was made by God Himself. Would God raise Isaac from the dead? Now faith, his faith, was given the supreme test. After three day's journeys, Abraham was confident that God was the true God. He could trust Him to give life back to the son He gave life to in the first place. Abraham has faced the supreme test, and was willing to act according to faith, not according to reason.
The actual act of obedience is a result of faith that has already acted contrary to a father's love, to nature, to human laws, even to the law of God. There was no dragging of the feet, no second guessing, no signs of indecision. "God will provide Himself a lamb," were not idle words. He was giving God what He asked for and was giving it as an act of worship. To give what one loves most to God, is what true worship is all about. To watch the father and son, just the two of them alone, on top of Moriah, setting stones one on top of the other, in obedience and faith in God alone - is to watch the acme of worship.
To see a strong, young son submit himself to be bound by his aged father, indicates that both knew what was about to happen. The father was going to give God his son. The son was going to yield himself to his father's will. The first mention of love in the Bible is significant in that the father's love for his son did not take the place of his reverential fear of God. He was able to rise above the immediate normal fear a man has, and trust completely in the word and promises of God. The obedience of the youngest son to his father is a wonderful type of the perfect submission of the Greater Son to the Greater Father, when He said in obedience, "Not my will, but Thine be done." The knife (death) and the fire (judgment) are in the hands of the father. The communion between them as they climbed that mountain, built that altar and then when the son was laid on that altar looking into his father's eyes, is a testimony to the submission of them both to the will of God. Truly, he was "led as a lamb to the slaughter."
As that heart-stopping scene unfolded to my mind, I wondered at such faith on both the part of the father and the son. Abraham must have in some way, passed on to Isaac the reality of his trust in God. What would I do if put to such a test of faith? The measure of my faith experiences is very small compared to that man's faith. And yet, he was a mere, mortal man too. He had his failings, but when the test of true faith came, he did not falter or turn aside. No wonder he is called the "father of the faithful."
Watching in my mind and emotions, I stood in my place of observation and watched the flame envelop the ram that took Isaac's place, and saw that burnt offering go up to the Lord God. Father and son would have stood there together watching the same thing God saw. The son may have been experiencing the emotion of one seeing a substitute dying in the place where he once lay. The father in an attitude of heart-felt worship to the Lord he had come to trust without question would have watched God accepting his sacrifice the same as if it had been his son. And then the Lord spoke again to assure His friend of the promises he had claimed, even when the knife was in his hand. "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
The returning journey from the place where he had been called to go and offer his son, must have been a journey of joy and fellowship. Perhaps during that three-day journey home, the father would have taken time to review all the path of his life of faith for the benefit of his son. The high spots and low spots of life are often the times we learn most about ourselves and our God.
Our human failings keep us from pride and self-satisfaction. In those times we experience God in a very humbling way, learning that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. His grace is truly sufficient to meet every need. In the high places, like the mountain of Moriah, we are taught to never take credit for what God alone can do. Worship is real when that which is most dear to us is taken away and all we have left to us is God.
As I turned from that place of holy ground and looked for the shoes I had taken from my feet, I wondered at the emotions and the faith in me. I needed to go to the place of worship and remembrance to consider the Father, "Who spared not His own Son," and the Son of God, "Who loved me, and gave Himself for me." And I also wondered if I could ever casually look at the sacrifice of Christ, or would it always be as overcoming to me as it is at this moment.
He loved me and gave Himself - for even me!
What is it about this place that makes it so singular? It is not just that the ground is higher here - perhaps a bit irregular - But it has to do with who is here - myself, the Father and the Son. We meet here on this holy ground and hearts and minds are blended as one.
For here in this place God reveals to me His thoughts - His mind. And I am here because God bids me come that here He might find If there are things that I treasure more than His holy mind and will. And the Son of God is there to hear my voice answer Him, "Lovest Thou Me still?"
I find myself by this altar of burnt sacrifice in a state of holy fear and trembling. There are lines of scripture, hymns of worship, and I am here remembering - God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself - All that finds it way to this place is worth more than the world's wealth.
There is love here at this altar, not only God's love for me, but mine for Him. And worship is not complicated here looking for a time and a way to begin. The evidence of grace is real to me, for I find myself here. Mercy and truth are both evident too, for God Himself is near.
There is no prescribed formula to maintain, obedience is the key. To many who would wonder what I am doing, there isn't much to see. For what is happening in this high spot is based on simple faith. The dimension of worship does not depend on the time or place.
God is here and He has commanded me to come and meet Him, and so I do. I do not have to wait for some emotional experience to tell me when I'm through. He is my Lord, He knows what I mean, what I say and what I have to give. And from the fullness of the storehouse of grace, He gives me what is His.
"O Lord, this hilltop may not be called Jehovah-jireh by people around, but to me this is the place where Thou hast provided me with some of the high spiritual experiences of my life. Many would not likely see even an altar here, but I do, and I treasure every thought, and every opportunity to give what I love to Thee in worship. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."