Preschool
He staggered not at the promise of God (Romans 4:20).
God Tests Abraham
Memory Verses
Primary
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith (Romans 4:20).
Junior
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).
Background Scripture: Genesis 22
Lesson Scripture: Genesis 22:1-13
Introduction
The Bible says God tempted Abraham, but it was not a temptation commonly known to man by our flesh being drawn away through lust and Satan’s allurement. God’s tempting of Abraham was pure and righteous as only God can be. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). God was testing Abraham, proving whether his faith would stand or fail. God’s testing of his children today is not for his benefit so He can know the strength of our resolve but rather that our faith would be confirmed and our obedience exercised. Our faithfulness in time of testing will result in God’s unmerited blessing upon us.
Key Verse
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep (John 21:17).
Lesson Scripture
Genesis 22:1 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.
Studying the Lesson
The setting of this lesson comes after the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s escape from that complete destruction. “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt” (Gen. 19:29). Following that event, we read of Abraham having to separate the bondwoman, Hagar, and her son, Ishmael, from his household. This was another severe test for Abraham. Abraham did not weaken in such circumstances but stood firm. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). Abraham’s faith in God was simple and yet so outstanding; he believed God when human reasoning cried out in opposition to his faith in God. “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3).
Reliable Bible scholars believe Isaac was about twenty-five years of age at this time, and Abraham’s age was that plus one hundred. Such a test is all but impossible for us to imagine. What feelings of contradiction must have clouded his mind. The practice of human sacrifice may not have been unheard of at this time, but no rationale could justify giving up the son on whom alone hung the promises of God. Abraham’s believing God triumphed over reason. “Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure” (Heb. 11:19). This surety was no doubt the strength in Abraham’s steps as he climbed the mountain. His confidence in God enabled him to give clear answers to the accompanying young men and Isaac when their questions were asked.
Years before this test, God had called Abraham to leave his home country and go into one that was unknown. Now again, Abraham was being asked to go into the unknown with God’s word as his sole security. God was pleased with Abraham because of his simple belief in his word and acting thereon. God rewarded Abraham in the receiving again of his son, Isaac. The beauty of Abraham’s faith was in his withholding nothing, and at the end of Abraham’s test was blessing without measure. “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:18).
Abraham’s faith in God caused him to look beyond his surroundings and embrace the unseen and eternal. We consider Abraham to be perhaps the greatest among exemplars of faith in God; his faith can be described as believing God without evidence of the visible.
Practical Truths for Today
Faith is believing and walking without seeing ahead. Is it true that our faith is tested every day? What circumstances make up a test of faith? Christian living is a continual exercise of faith. There are times, however, when we face a great test in obedience, and our faith in God is proven whether it will hold or fail. When the Lord asks something of us out of the ordinary, or if a responsibility is given us that looms large before us, faith and obedience will be needed to reach the desired end. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Faith is not believing we are capable of ourselves but rather knowing that God is working through us and enabling us.
Faith is believing God is always just and right in all that He does or asks of his children. Had Abraham doubted God, he likely would have faltered and failed to perform God’s will. If we question God in his rightness, we will surely fall short in the test. All that we have is given us by God; therefore, whatever God asks is but reasonable and within his right. God has his own way of compensating his children for whatever is perceived as a personal loss. Abraham’s experience on the mount is thought to be extraordinary, but it is all the while experienced frequently by God’s children. We need to sacrifice all that we have, even that which we count most dear. In the time of testing, we move in obedience to God without knowing the outcome. If we were to know the end result, even then we would not be justified in drawing back. Staggering, defined as delaying or halting in obedience, will prevent God from accomplishing what He has planned.
Abraham’s prompt obedience is a clear example for us. A simple faith in God will eliminate arguing or negotiating, hoping for an easier way. There is value in conferring with others when confronted with a test of faith. However, this should not be done in the desire for conventional wisdom or seeking advice that negates what God is saying or asking. What God does or how He moves will not always seem sensible to our thinking. God did not ask Abraham for his opinion on sacrificing Isaac. “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counseller hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?” (Isa. 40:13-14). God’s ways are best, and He is worthy of our trust.
God supplied a substitute sacrifice in place of Isaac—not one that Abraham discovered, but one that God supplied. There are various applications that can be made concerning this substitute, but we are blessed in knowing Christ has been offered in our stead. Carrying the burden of our sins, we were under the condemnation of death and without hope. As our sinful flesh is put on the altar and sacrificed, God reveals his Son, Christ, as our substitute. The ram was caught in the thicket and unexpectedly became the needed sacrifice. In like manner, Christ appeared for us outside of our timing and in the absence of any merit of ours. This act of mercy does not free us to satisfy the desires of our flesh, but the manifest love of God binds us in devotion and obedience to Him. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Our childlike faith in God has been rewarded many times as we cast ourselves into his arms and let go of all that comes of self.
Illustration
When the apostle Paul was in Miletus, en route to Jerusalem, he called for the church elders to come join him. The apostle had matters pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ and his doctrine to share with the assembled group. Paul’s future lay before him, cloaked in uncertainty and danger, but his faith in God was firm as he addressed his brethren. “And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:22-24). Paul expected hardships in his journey, but he was not dissuaded from his heavenly mission. Faith in God helps us in facing life’s difficult situations and brings Him into our close company. Here we find a place to rest our fears.
Questions
- Do Christians have a blind trust in God? Is all trust blind?
- Is everyone’s faith tested at one time or another?
- What might be the greatest test of faith in a young Christian’s life?
- How does living within the church of God contain a test of our faith?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).