“Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am’ ” (Genesis 22:1).
Mensa is the oldest and largest high-IQ society in the world. To apply for membership, you must take an approved IQ test and score in the 98th percentile or higher. Amazingly, there is no age bar for joining. The oldest member is 103, and the youngest is only twenty- eight months old.
Perhaps the world’s hardest test is not an exam that measures brain power, but one that probes the heart. The Bible says that God tested Abraham. Actually, the future father of many nations had already taken many tests and failed. The friend of God did not always believe the Lord would give him a son from his own body, yet when he was 100 years old, Isaac came into the world.
Then came the test of all tests. God commanded Abraham to sacrifice the promised child. It was a heartbreaking request. To take the life of his only son was unthinkable and nearly impossible. With great anguish, but determined obedience, Abraham obeyed the Word of the Lord. Before the final stroke of death extinguished the life of Isaac, God stopped his servant and said, “Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Genesis 22:12).
No other story in Scripture reveals to us the deepest recesses of the heart of God the Father as does the test of Abraham. It portrays the agony our heavenly Father experienced when He gave up His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. Tears well up in our eyes as we think of Abraham’s horrendous experience of giving up Isaac, yet how much more did heaven weep over God’s one and only Son who died a cruel death on Calvary?
Abraham passed the test and, in the process, revealed to us the deepest colours in the plan of salvation.
Heavenly Father, you provided Abraham a lamb so that Isaac could be set free. Thank You for the Lamb of God that sets me free.
For Further Study: Gen. 22:1–19; Romans 8:32; Hebrews 11:17–19