Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Genesis 22:13-14, NKJV

The story is very well-known. It is one of the most significant events in the life of Abraham. Imagine God speaking to you and giving you the command to sacrifice one of your children to Him as an act of obedience and worship. Imagine the emotional upheaval this would cause as you sought to be obedient to Him while at the same time trying to make sense of a command that stood in stark contrast to everything you had been taught about God.

The Old Testament made it clear that child sacrifice was part of the ritualistic practices of pagan peoples. They would sacrifice their children to their gods in times of difficulty as an act of pleading with their god for intervention. In 2 Kings 3 we have the record of the Moabite king Mesha offering his son as a sacrifice to his god because the battle with the Israelites was not going in his favor.

However, the Old Testament made it just as clear that this act of child sacrifice was an abomination in the eyes of God. Therefore, it makes this command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac all the more astounding. Isaac, after all, is the son of promise: the son through whom God had promised Abraham that his seed would be blessed, and ultimately be a blessing to all other nations. How could that be true if Abraham was to offer Isaac? Abraham’s bloodline would be cut off! God’s promises would be destroyed.

It is there, on Mount Moriah, that Abraham has now taken Isaac to fulfill this command of God. The altar has been prepared. The wood for the fire has been put in place. Everything is ready. Everything, that is, except the most important element: the sacrificial lamb. A few verses earlier Isaac had turned to his father, and the following exchange had taken place:

But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

Genesis 22:7-8, NKJV

Was this reply Abraham gave Isaac a desire to set Isaac’s mind at ease? Was Abraham trying to conceal from Isaac what was about to happen his attempt to keep Isaac from running away? Or, was this a sincere statement of faith on Abraham’s part? I guess no one can know for sure, but there is a pretty solid hint that this was indeed a statement of faith because earlier in the narrative, Abraham had given his servants who were traveling with them the following command:

And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

Genesis 22:5, NKJV

Again, is this a statement of faith, or did Abraham think that if he told them what was about to happen, they would try to forcefully intervene on Isaac’s behalf? And again, I choose to believe this was a statement of Abraham’s faith in God. He truly believed that he and Isaac would return from the place of worship.

And God honored Abraham’s faith. As he was about to drive the dagger into the flesh of Isaac, God graciously intervened!

But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” And Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.

Genesis 22:11-13a, NKJV

In the most horrific situation Abraham could have ever envisioned, God proved Himself to be the LORD who provides. And please, make sure you get the significance of the tense of the verb in this name of God. It is not, The-LORD-Did-Provide. This name of God is not only filled with importance for this event in Abraham’s life. It was not a one-time act of God providing. Rather, the name is, The-LORD-Will-Provide. It is the same tense of the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses: I AM! He is always and forever the present tense God. Yes, in the story of Abraham and Isaac the LORD did provide. This is an event that transpired in the distant past. But He is still The-LORD-Will-Provide for us today,

What difficulty are you facing today? Do you believe that right now, in your present situation, He is The-LORD-Will-Provide? He is with you, working on your behalf, providing your every need. He may provide for you by taking away the problem, or by giving you grace to live with the problem. But however He chooses to act, rest assured that He is still, and shall always be, The-LORD-Will-Provide.

Do as Abraham did: choose to believe.

Until next time;

Blessings!