TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

[Abraham desired earnestly to know about the mystery of redemption; and needed God, to instruct him in the UNLIMITED DIVINE GOODNESS TO MANKIND, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all! Abraham needed to feel, by experience, what it was to lose a beloved son, his son born miraculously when Sarah was past child-bearing, as Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin. Here is what happened…] “On the THIRD DAY Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.” (Gen. 22:4) […was the same as that between Christ’s death and resurrection!] “…so the Son of Man will be THREE DAYS and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:40) “Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love–Isaac–and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” (Gen. 22:2) [Nothing can be regarded more tender, affectionate, and moving, than the question of the son and the reply of Abraham, his father, on this occasion. To try to summarize it would spoil the meaning; nothing can be added without injuring the expressions of affectionate submission on the one hand, and dignified tenderness and simplicity on the other.] “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but WHERE IS THE LAMB FOR THE BURNT OFFERING?” (Gen. 22:6-7) [Abraham answered his son:] “GOD HIMSELF WILL PROVIDE THE LAMB for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.” (Gen. 22:8) [Abraham was willing to be obedient to the very end!] “When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. THEN HE REACHED OUT HIS HAND AND TOOK THE KNIFE TO SLAY HIS SON. Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he [God] said. “Do not do anything to him. NOW I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering INSTEAD OF HIS SON.” (Gen. 22:9-13) [GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES; oh, how our Abba Father loves us today!]

Be blessed as you praise The Lord, knowing that OUR ABBA FATHER LOVES US TODAY, AND WILL PROVIDE FOR US!
-Bill Stockham