My Son, My Only Son

When you read Genesis 24, do you see in Abraham’s faithful following of God’s commands concerning Isaac something beautiful?

If an unbeliever reads this portion of Scripture, most often they will come to the conclusion that only a barbarous God would command of His servant the sacrifice of that servant’s son to prove his faith to His God; however, was Abraham proving his faith by his works, or did the faith the Lord had imparted to Abraham produce works in concert with that faith?

The unbeliever sees a barbarous command, yet fails to see the faith of Abraham demonstrated before he ever arrives at the mountain with Isaac.

We have the fact that Abraham never questioned God in all this; we also have the facts of his statements, which of themselves reflected and shone forth that faith of God Abraham was given, before the fact of his actually preparing to perform this seeming command to human sacrifice.

Consider: we have verse 5, in which Abraham tells his servants that he and the boy will go and worship, and that they will then return to them.

We have Abraham’s certain statement to his son, Isaac, that God will provide the burnt offering for Himself in verse 8. Consideration of these two statements together certainly does not sound like Abraham thought he would lose his son of the promise, yet looking at his absolute trust in God is often seen only as his being willing to offer his only son as a burnt offering to God, without even bringing these preceding statements into play.

If any have a doubt that the faith exercised was not from God, we have the wonderful lens of God’s unfolding revelation in the New Testament from which we are able to look back upon this narrative.

In Romans 4:18-21 we have both the responsibility Abraham exercised – an active faith – and how this faith was unwavering, growing in strength and fully convinced that God was able to do that which He promised. Interestingly enough, three aorist passives (the subject is being acted upon by an outside agent) are contained in these verses: waver and grew strong in verse 20, and fully convinced in verse 21. These are framed with aorist active indicatives in the context, regarding how Abraham exercised his faith, but there can be no mistake that it was God who kept him from wavering, caused him to grow strong in that faith, and gave him to be fully convinced that God was able to do that which He had promised Abraham concerning Isaac (one can read of the promise regarding Abraham’s offspring in Genesis 17-23).

In other words, Abraham’s active faith was based in that which had been imparted to him by God, and was strengthened, kept from wavering and made to be fully trusting in God for all that He has promised.

We know that God uses that which seems foolish to the world to confound the wise of the world (1 Corinthians 1:17-2:6), and this is one of those things that the world cannot comprehend, for it does not have – nor can it receive – the Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 1 Corinthians 2:14).

Which brings us to the final point: Who, among those who name the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, can fail to see the love of the Father for His only Son in this Old Testament type?

How much more love can any have than the Father did for His only Son; yet He sacrificed Him freely to bring to Himself many made just by the righteousness of His Son.

We are told that this is because of that great love with which He loved us (Ephesians 2:4).

The richness of God’s mercy in Christ Jesus our Lord is thereby pictured in this narrative of Abraham offering his only son, and the faith that responds to God without wavering – the faith that grows in strength, and remains fully convinced in the promises of God – is seen to be that gift of faith which accompanies salvation; indeed, is inherent in the saving work of our God.

Those who know the beauty of this wondrous type of God in Abraham’s trusting obedience to God was faith placed in God, fully convinced that God was able to do all that He had promised, by the action of God Himself in believing Abraham’s heart, see in it their hope of that Life in which theirs is now hidden – the very life of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we are hidden in God.

The words of the Scripture remain a closed book to those who know not God, regardless of how much such an one studies these words; it takes the power of God’s Spirit to make us realize these spiritual things.

May we all see and understand that, as we search throughout the Scriptures, they speak of that which is truth: God gave His only Son, who was delivered up for our trespasses, and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25).

May we never look upon the Scriptures as other than that body of divine Writ which testifies and bears witness of the One who created us for Himself, and search them with this truth in mind: God gave His Son, His only Son, that we might live, and having been given life, live unto Him.