Thankful Relief!
“Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heave, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’
“And he said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’
“Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place ‘The Lord Will Provide [YHWH-jireh], as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.’
“Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son., indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall posses the gate of their enemies, and in your seed all the nations of the earths shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’” Genesis 22;9-18
How could a good and loving God ask such a horrific thing! Abraham loved Isaac. Though this passage we can identify a little of the pain and confusion Abraham had to feel in that moment. How thankful he would have been to discover that ram caught in the bush!
Yet, it is because he trusted God and prepared to obey that we can get a little understanding of the immenseness of God’s pain when He willingly sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, to pay for our willful disobedience. Though none of us will be confronted with such a dramatic choice, every day we do come face to face and heart to heart with the choice to obey or not.
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Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTES: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
The Five Solas: Individuals are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone to the glory of God alone!
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com