I went through Genesis 20-23 today, and again we see both sides of Abraham. In chapter 20 he again puts his wife in jeopardy, this time as well as the household of Abimelech, another king who Abraham was afraid of. God saved the day, but it's a good reminder that the choices I make will affect those around me. I need to be wise, and make them godly choices. Contrary to our culture's belief, I don't get to do whatever I want if it only affects me, because there are no such choices. What they don't know can hurt them.
Oh my goodness, I just had a thought that I have to write down! I was thanking God for the work that He's doing in my life, and thinking about 1 John, and how when I walk in the light I won't sin, and then it hit me: Darkness has no power over light. The only way it can even exist when light is around is if something gets in the way. In my life I need to stay in the light, and not get in the way, so that there will be no darkness in me. It seems so simple now, but praise God for clarifying that to me!
In chapter 22, God tests Abraham, asking him if he is willing to give up everything God has promised him to be obedient. Abraham must really trust God, , because he gets up early the next morning to do what God has asked. He tells the servants when he and Isaac head up the mountain that they'll both be coming back, and he tells Isaac that God will provide the sacrifice. Is Abraham lying to them, or does he know God better than we do? Let's take a look - God has consistently been in communication with Abraham, confirming His covenant to him over and over, and God had told Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Isaac. Hebrews 11:12 says that Abraham was as good as dead when Isaac was born, and yet God brought life from that, so if God had Abraham sacrifice his son, could He not bring about life from death again? Abraham had faith that one way or another, he would be walking back down that mountain with his son.
The beauty of this passage is in the foreshadowing of Jesus. We see Abraham's commitment to God, so much so that he wouldn't even hold back his own son from Him, even if his son had to die... and that is the kind of extreme commitment that God has toward each of us! Imagine how important we must be to Him!
Then also, there was a replacement sacrifice, another foreshadowing of how when we were sentenced to die Christ stepped in and took our place, allowing us, so to speak, to walk back down the mountain alive, free, and unharmed. Abraham got it right when he called that place The LORD Will Provide.
Thank you God that You provided a way for me to be saved, a replacement sacrifice of Your own Son to satisfy both justice and mercy. Your plans are magnificent, and Your ways are beyond my comprehension, and I'm glad. Any plans that I could fully understand every facet of would be unworthy of an all-knowing, all-powerful God. All honour and glory is Yours, I merely give You what is Yours. May I make use of this gift of life You give, rather than squandering it. Amen.
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