Insight
The author of Hebrews provides us with one extraordinary, key insight into the mind of Abraham that is never mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, including within the original story as told to us in Genesis, Chapter 22. Hebrews 11:19 (NLV), “Abraham believed God was able to bring Isaac back to life again.” Wow! What faith!
You see, Abraham trusted his God 100%. He knew, without doubt, that God had blessed him with a son who would receive the future promises. He also knew, without doubt, that God had commanded him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham had such complete confidence in God and His Word, yet these two promises seemed to be contradictory. How could he rationally synthesize these two opposing truths? 1. Isaac is the seed through which God would fulfill His promise of a countless nation of people, and 2. He is to sacrifice that same son, Isaac.
The only way to reconcile these two statements is to believe that God will raise Isaac from the dead after he is sacrificed! Brothers and sisters, this is faith! This is incredible, mind-blowing, radical trust in God! Even when we do not “see” how a situation can possibly resolve for God’s glory and my best…even when we do not appreciate God’s plan…even when God’s word to us seems just short of ludicrous…we trust God. We trust Him because God is good. God is perfect love. God is merciful. God is powerful. God is all-knowing. God is compassionate. God is forgiving. God is just. God is holy. We trust Him because God is God…and we are not! This is faith!
The author of Hebrews provides us with one extraordinary, key insight into the mind of Abraham that is never mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, including within the original story as told to us in Genesis, Chapter 22. Hebrews 11:19 (NLV), “Abraham believed God was able to bring Isaac back to life again.” Wow! What faith!
You see, Abraham trusted his God 100%. He knew, without doubt, that God had blessed him with a son who would receive the future promises. He also knew, without doubt, that God had commanded him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham had such complete confidence in God and His Word, yet these two promises seemed to be contradictory. How could he rationally synthesize these two opposing truths? 1. Isaac is the seed through which God would fulfill His promise of a countless nation of people, and 2. He is to sacrifice that same son, Isaac.
The only way to reconcile these two statements is to believe that God will raise Isaac from the dead after he is sacrificed! Brothers and sisters, this is faith! This is incredible, mind-blowing, radical trust in God! Even when we do not “see” how a situation can possibly resolve for God’s glory and my best…even when we do not appreciate God’s plan…even when God’s word to us seems just short of ludicrous…we trust God. We trust Him because God is good. God is perfect love. God is merciful. God is powerful. God is all-knowing. God is compassionate. God is forgiving. God is just. God is holy. We trust Him because God is God…and we are not! This is faith!
