12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he 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.”
God knows what is most important to us. He knows our every thought. For Abraham, this son who arrived as a result of a miracle was at the top of his list. Abraham had lived with the promise of this son for years. It took years for the promise to be fulfilled. And now the Lord knows that this son is less important that obedience. It could have been easy for Abraham to answer “No!” to the Lord’s request. He could have said, “This son is the fruit of Your promise to me. It doesn’t make any sense to kill him. I must be dreaming. This can’t be Your voice.” He could have blamed the request on the food he ate. But Abraham didn’t. He obeyed and now stands with knife raised to kill his son. It is at this moment that the Lord intervenes through His messenger. It wasn’t enough to leave his home. It wasn’t enough to gather the materials needed for the job. It wasn’t enough to travel with his son. It wasn’t enough to build the altar. It wasn’t enough to tie up his son. It wasn’t enough to put his son on the altar. He had to raise the knife before God knew he would obey. All the other actions were precursors of obedience. Abraham could have backed out at any time before raising the knife. But when Abraham raised the knife, God knew he was obeying to the full extent needed. It would not have been enough for Jesus to be born. It would not have been enough for Him to teach with wisdom or perform miracles. It would not have been enough for Him to raise the dead or pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. It would not have been enough to endure the beatings and the mocking. It would not have been enough to be nailed to the cross. Jesus had to be willing to not call those legions of angels to rescue him from the cross. He had to be willing not to answer back to his accusers and the mocking crowd. He ultimately had to be willing to give his last breath without sin. And that is what obedience looks like. Obedience doesn’t stop half-way down the road. Obedience carries through to the end. And that is what God saw in Abraham that day. Will God see obedience in you today?
The Arnold Journey 