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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Stern Obedience to the Father
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [test] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (Genesis 22:1,2)
Here is the third death and resurrection, the trial of obedience, the test that is more demanding and difficult than striving against the bondages of sin.
The calling of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees is a type of salvation. Then, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and required a walk of sanctification.
In the offering of Isaac we witness a much more severe demand—the offering up to God of Abraham's son, the promised heir, his inheritance in the Lord. Isaac was the only means of obtaining the abundant fruitfulness that God had promised Abraham. Abraham's righteousness was based on the fact he believed the Word of God concerning that fruitfulness.
Wasn't this an exceedingly difficult trial?
Notice that God was testing Abraham. God reserves the right to test any one of us at any time He chooses. Our part is to pray and serve the Lord to the best of our ability in as cheerful and uncomplaining a manner as possible. Sometimes the tests of the Lord are quite difficult to endure. The test we are discussing now was extraordinarily difficult, but an eternal issue was being decided.
God said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest."
"Thine only son Isaac." God had promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations and his seed would be as the stars of heaven. Abraham had proceeded to attempt to work out the fulfillment of God's promise by using Hagar, a servant of Sarah.
God would not accept Hagar's son, Ishmael, as the heir of promise. God commanded, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac." At this point, God did not regard Ishmael as a true son of Abraham. Ishmael had not been given to Abraham by the Lord.
Much of our striving in Christian work is not even recognized by the Lord. It will prove to be wood, hay, and straw. All that God will accept in the Christian Church is what He Himself has accomplished in us.
"Thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest."
If God had called for Ishmael the test would not have been nearly as difficult. Isaac was the fruit of the promised miracle. There was no doubt in Abraham's mind that it would be through Isaac the end would come to his lack of fruitfulness and the promise of the Lord would be realized.
If God would require us to sacrifice only those things we have accomplished in the appetites of the flesh it might prove to be a difficult trial of our faith in Him.
When God begins to demand of us what truly is our gift from Him, our acts of obedience bring forth the kind of character that is able to receive successfully the fullness of the fruitfulness and strength God desires to impart to us. (from Three Deaths and Three Resurrections, Volume 3)