Written by Elise Siklosi, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas
Think of a time when you had to sacrifice something or give it up. Was it an event? A nail appointment or an important dinner? Maybe you had to give up the urge to snag that Snickers bar from the checkout aisle or – as I like to say – the impulse-buying aisle. Or maybe it was something bigger, like a job offering or interview. It wasn’t all that easy, was it?
There’s always that small tinge of discomfort in surrendering something that you have no desire to give up. Perhaps the thing you’re surrendering is much bigger than a Snickers bar. Maybe you’re currently in the process of surrendering an expectation of something that you had very high hopes of. Perhaps you’re surrendering a relationship, the potential for marriage, a loved one… the list could go on. People are, without a doubt, much more difficult to give up than just about anything. Abraham, a faithful follower of God, knows – all too well – what it means to surrender something incredibly close to him: his own son.
Abraham, like the rest of us as believers, was chosen, hand-picked by God, to be the father of many nations to come. There are multiple accounts throughout Genesis when God promises Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they will have many descendants. In chapter 12, The Lord says to Abraham (Abram at the time),
“... I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing…” (NASB, v. 2).
The funny thing about Abraham and his wife Sarah, is that this particular couple is very old when they are promised these things. In fact, Sarah was even barren. In other words, there was, supposedly, no possible way that she could have a child. With this, Abraham had plenty of doubts and questions. With an impatient and unbelieving heart to God’s promise for children, he even conceived a child with Hagar, Sarah’s maid, because he was so desperate for His promise to be fulfilled. But God, in His faithfulness, was unwavering from His promise.
In Genesis 17:2, He, again, reminds Abraham of this sweet guarantee by saying, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” In response to this, Abraham “fell on his face and laughed” in disbelief (17:17), for he was one hundred years old at this point in time. Even still, God responded with assurance, saying “I will establish My covenant with [your son] for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him” (17:19). To no surprise does God fulfill His promise to Abraham in chapter 21. It reads,
“Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.”
What a beautiful statement! Isaac, the promised son, has finally been born. This just goes to show how unshakeable the faithfulness of our God is. It reminds me of Isaiah 55:11:
“So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
I mean, wow. The words of God hold such power! While Abraham, with his unbelieving heart, slept with another woman and even laughed in the face of God, the Lord’s faithfulness was unmoved. He provided Abraham with security and safety with His very words. Here’s the simple truth: they do not “return to [Him] empty.” As sweet as this is, the story of Abraham’s son doesn’t end here. In chapter 22, God asks something quite unexpected of Abraham, commanding him to “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and [...] offer him there as a burnt offering on the one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (NASB, v. 2). I’m sorry… what? Did God not just fulfill His promise of a child to Abraham? He even makes sure to mention the fact that Isaac is Abraham’s “only son” that he loves dearly.
Oddly, Abraham responds to this command with obedience. There is no recorded complaint from him, compared to the previous chapters where there was an evident lack of trust in God. If anything, the way he reacts shows that this task of surrendering one of his most beloved relationships is of great importance to Abraham. Genesis 22:3 says that he “rose early in the morning” to prepare for the offering before setting off to the mountain to sacrifice Isaac. As someone who is absolutely not a morning person, this mission seems to me like it was insanely important to Abraham.
After tying Isaac to the altar, he raises his arm, knife in hand, to proceed with the sacrifice. But God interrupts in chapter 22:12, sending a messenger to command him saying, “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.” He then rewards his faithfulness by providing Abraham with a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac. I have tears in my eyes as I write this! To reflect on such a deep and resilient love for God absolutely boggles me. What kind of faith surrenders a human life for God? What kind of faith surrenders the one son that had been prayed over for years to God?
Let’s reflect on Abraham’s change of heart throughout his lifetime: He started off as a man whose heart was hardened. With his unbelief, came a lack of trust. And with a lack of trust, came an unwillingness to surrender anything to God… including his own expectations for God to uphold His promise to him.
He slept with Hagar because, to Abraham, “God is not a faithful God worth trusting.” Therefore, he took his own initiative with hopes of fulfilling a divine promise with a human “resolution.” A God-sized guarantee being satisfied by flesh? Never! By witnessing God’s faithfulness displayed through the birth of a son, Abraham’s heart went from hard and unbelieving, to soft and surrendered.
He was so confident in God’s unshakeable power that he was willing to give up anything for God… including Isaac! He found rest from turmoil in the power of God and in the fullness of His satisfaction. Abraham knew that God would sustain him and fulfill every need. Even when he couldn’t see what God was doing in the future, he could still trust God’s deep-rooted and secure plan. If a relationship with the Lord is worth diving this deep into, then surely it must be worth surrendering to with complete trust and confidence!
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