“And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering:’ so they went both of them together.” (Genesis 22:8)
Dear Ones:
Nothing speaks to us like a good story. Such is the case when we consider Abraham, a man of over a hundred years old, who is commanded by God to take his only son Isaac, whom he greatly loved, to the land of Moriah, there to offer him as a burnt offering. It was on the third day that Abraham saw the place where God had told him to go. Why three days’ journey? What was going through the heart of this father towards this beloved son? There is no doubt that Abraham was tried beyond measure, as the thought of sacrificing this son of the promise, the very choice and provision of God, was almost too much to bear. Also, there is no doubt that he could not work out in his mind and heart the answer to the question of “why,” or, “does it have to be this way?” It is thought by some commentators that Abraham did not see, or understand, that God was seeking to save him from himself. Abraham’s affection for Isaac may have bordered on a love for him that was greater than that for God, holding him in such esteem that it encroached upon his devotion to God. We see this later, when the Lord, in sparing the child, would tell Abraham, “…for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:12) What is the great underlying teaching in this story? It has to do with what the Lord Jesus told His disciples: “He that has seen Me has seen the Father.” (Jn. 14:9)
In the book of Hebrews, we learn that the story of Abraham, specifically with regard to the offering of Isaac, was a picture of something greater, more extraordinary. Since the Lord Jesus in the flesh was the reflection of the Father’s nature, we learn many things about the heart of the Father in looking at the Son. In a very real way, Christ explains the Father. And so we ask the question, what was going through the Father’s heart when Christ was being offered on the Cross? We can only begin to understand the suffering, and yet, love of the Father, when we look at the love and suffering of the son. Abraham was a wonderful father. The keenness of his love for his son Isaac, caused terrible suffering to himself. If we should try to grasp the magnitude of that sorrow and suffering of our Heavenly Father, when He looked upon His Son on the cross, we might just begin to understand a very small part of the love revealed by what it cost HIM to make a sinner whole.
In our worship of the Father, in Spirit and truth, we might want to reflect upon the words of a hymn by Fredrick William Faber: “No earthly father loves like Thee; No mother, e’er so mild, Bears and forbears as Thou hast done, With me, Thy sinful child. Father of Jesus, Love’s reward, What rapture will it be, Prostrate before Thy throne to lie, And gaze, and gaze on Thee.”
Dear Father, we have just begun this quest to know the love of Your heart. And though we have wonderful examples of the love of fathers towards their sons, like Abraham, nothing can compare with Your love, first of all for the Lord Jesus, Your Son, but also for us, because of Him. How we praise You for the truth of the words of the Lord Jesus: ” (You) …have loved them, AS You have loved Me.” (Jn. 17:23) Give us grace to love in like manner, by the Spirit, to the praise of Your glory. We thank You, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad