Abraham and Isaac

Genesis 22:1 to 19

If someone came to you with a knife and told you to kill your son and burn him, what would we think? What if it was a friend, a close family member? Would we see the Pastor, the Police? We would find it distressing. What if it was a loving God? Here is the God of Abraham telling him to take his only son whom he loves, to Moriah and sacrifice him.
We love our children. The world often does not love family. There is readily available abortion, family breakdown. Christians love family, perhaps too much - no family planning, home educate, children stay subject to their parents till they are married, perhaps to 40 or never marry. This shows a lack of faith in what God can do.
How much do we love the Lord in comparison to our family? Abraham was elderly - a veteran. This was the worst trial of his life. He had left his family and journeyed to a foreign land. He had been threatened due to Sarah, twice. He had known famine, been childless for many decades. He had been overjoyed at Isaac's birth then been told to sacrifice him. Abraham would have been astounded. He loved his son dearly. He would have given all he had to save Isaac. We give greatly for our children, they are precious to us. To the Jews sons were especially precious, the line went through them. He was the only son he and Sarah had. There would be no more. He was an only child. David wept over the son of his adultery and a wicked son - Absolom. But to lose his only son......... Isaac meant 'laughter'. Sarah and Abraham were overjoyed to have Isaac and how that he should die!
God knew Abraham was a loving, spiritual father, he loved his son. He was to take the son, build an altar to put wood on, take that son and bind him and kill him with a knife. It was horrific! This was the son of promise - Genesis 17:19 - he was the one through whom the covenant was established. God was breaking his promise, wasn't he? This causes the foundation of our faith to crumble away. In Isaac all the nations would be blessed - the Messiah would come from him so this affected the world - didn't it?
God was going against his law - Genesis 9:5 to 6. God expected an accounting of blood for the life of a man. Isn't this tyranny? Infanticide? Would Sarah think she had a monster for a husband? He probably didn't tell her. God was going contrary to his law, covenant and character. What would we think?
Secondly we see the character of Abraham - he obeys immediately, in every detail and without question. Given human nature, we would expect him to say 'why Lord?' or accuse him but he does not. God plunges the sword of his word into Abraham. Early the next morning he cuts enough wood, loads up his donkey and sets off with Isaac and two servants. He sets off without question. He doesn't question in any way what God has told him. He did question the birth of Isaac but not the death of Isaac.
On the third day he saw the place. What went through his mind? Did he get assailed by Satan? He certainly thought. He told his servants to stay with the donkeys, probably because he thought they might stop him. Then Isaac spoke up - verses 7 and 8. He knew about sacrifices. Abraham answered, God would provide. Abraham then gets to the place, he builds the altar then binds Isaac. Isaac is laudable in his behaviour. He was in total submission. He was in his prime but does not struggle. It was his finest hour.
How did Abraham feel? 3 days of though, he binds his own son, had the knife. How did he feel? Abraham obeyed God, we do not know what he thought. We see the control of God: Abraham, Abraham, God called to him. and told him to stop because he had not withheld his son. God was testing Abraham but did not tell him or it would not have been a test. James 1:13, God does not tempt us but tests. Satan tempts us to do evil. This is what God was doing - testing. He tests us in many ways . God saved his greatest test for his last days. He tested his greatest servant in his greatest way. Hebrews 11:17 - 19 tells us that Abraham reasoned that God would raise his son from the dead and figuratively speaking he got him back from the dead, it was faith to take our breath away. Abraham had assurance at the start of the story - verse 5, we will come back.
There is a picture here - God had a son, an only son, Jesus whom he loved infinitely and he gave him up for the salvation of unbelieving people. God took that son and sacrificed him on the cross. God headed for mount Calvary and did everything needed. God's knife fell on the Lord Jesus and God's fire burned on his only son.
Do we weep at this? We ought to. Why should he go to such lengths? Jesus went into the fires of eternal punishment willingly and gave himself - verse 8, God will provide the lamb and do in the Lord Jesus. He was himself the lamb. Jesus was our substitute on the cross, he took the fire, the punishment that we might live. Our sins are dealt with by the sacrifice of Jesus.
Abraham received Isaac back. God received his son back - death could not hold him. Our infinitely eternal death could not hold him. It all took place on Mount Moriah = Mount Calvary, it is the same place. It is a precise shadow of what was to come. Moriah means 'what God makes me see', do we see this?