“NOW I KNOW!”

Genesis 22:9-14                                            (ESV)

“9 When they came to the place of which GOD had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

12 HE said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for “NOW I KNOW” that you fear GOD, seeing you have not withheld your son, YOUR ONLY SON, from ME."

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

14 So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

The book of Genesis hasn’t always been my favorite book of the Bible.  Now when GOD “reveals” TRUTH to me, it doesn’t matter what book of the Bible I am studying, for that moment it becomes the dearest to me “for such a time as this”!  I have previously written about Genesis 25:12, acknowledging that GOD already KNEW that Abraham would offer Isaac as an offering on the altar on Mount Moriah.  Now Abraham was known as a “friend of GOD” (James 2:23), so why would GOD put him through the torment of thinking he was going to have to sacrifice his only son as a display of his obedience???

Most of us want to Believe that GOD would “NEVER put more on us than we can handle”?  The interesting thing is, Scripture indicates that GOD allowed Job to go through exceeding torment to display the grace of GOD.  Saul/Paul was promised that he would SUFFER GREATLY for the sake of CHRIST.   In Genesis 22, Abraham was being taught a lesson that GOD was in control, even at his advanced age.  We are never too old to grow in the LORD.  Abraham dies three chapters later in Genesis 25:8, so we don’t need to except GOD to take it easy on us just because we are getting older.  We are here to Glorify HIM, not to be glorified!

Isaac was not the only male offspring of Abraham.  Ishmael was born before Isaac, but he was not the CHOSEN of GOD.  Being CHOSEN by ALMIGHTY GOD is a wonderful privilege, but we mustn’t take the privilege lightly.  There is GREAT responsibility in being a CHILD OF THE KING.  Royalty has it’s freedoms, but it also has its constraints. We can’t “do whatever we want”, rather we must act appropriately.  We must be set apart!  We have to do things differently than “this world”!  

Yes, “NOW I KNOW” is what GOD told Abraham.  But GOD already knew how Abraham would respond.  HE already knows our response to the trials we will face.  But we need to SEE that GOD is the ONE working ALL THINGS for HIS Glory, in HIS TIMING!  GOD is saying to us, “NOW I KNOW”, but do we know???