17 By faith Abraham offered Isaac when he was tested. The one who received the promises was offering his only son. 18 He had been told concerning him, Your legitimate descendants will come from Isaac.[a] 19 He figured that God could even raise him from the dead. So, in a way he did receive him back from the dead.
20 By faith Isaac also blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future.
21 By faith Jacob blessed each of Joseph’s sons as he was dying and bowed in worship over the head of his staff.[b]
22 By faith Joseph recalled the exodus of the Israelites at the end of his life, and gave instructions about burying his bones.
23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months when he was born, because they saw that the child was beautiful and they weren’t afraid of the king’s orders.
24 By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he was grown up. 25 He chose to be mistreated with God’s people instead of having the temporary pleasures of sin. 26 He thought that the abuses he suffered for Christ were more valuable than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking forward to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt without being afraid of the king’s anger. He kept on going as if he could see what is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, in order that the destroyer could not touch their firstborn children.
Reflection
Asking, why do we think God won’t save us is not a question about God, it is a question about us.
When I read the many examples of faith in our scripture, I wonder what causes faith? I went to Genesis 22:1-14 to see if that would help answer the question. That story suggests that a deep relationship with God brings about great faith.
The story begins with God commanding Abraham to take his only son, Isaac, to a foreign land and once there, to offer Isaac as a burned offering on a mountain top.
Three days after the journey begins Abraham sees the mountain and tells the others traveling with them to wait while he and Isaac go to the mountain top to worship. As they go up the mountain Isaac notes to his father that they have the kindling to make the fire, and the fire, but asks, where is the lamb for the offering? Abraham responds, “The lamb for the entirely burned offering? God will see to it,[a] my son.”
They arrived at the place God described. Abraham builds an altar, arranges the wood on it, and then ties up his son Isaac and lays him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham then takes the knife he carries and raises it to kill his son for the sacrifice.
At that very moment, God’s messenger calls out to Abraham from heaven saying, “Abraham? Abraham?” Abraham says, “I’m here.” The messenger responds, “Don’t stretch out your hand against the young man, and don’t do anything to him. I now know that you revere God and didn’t hold back your son, your only son, from me.”
Suddenly Abraham looks up and sees that God has provided a ram, stuck in a thicket, and takes the ram and offers the ram to the Lord in place of his son. Abraham named that place “the Lord sees.”[c] That is the reason people today say, “On this mountain the Lord is seen.”[d]
The command to sacrifice Isaac seems very hard to understand in a vacuum. Our Hebrew’s scripture tells us of the deep faith that Abraham and those who followed had. For me at least, that does not explain where, and how, Abraham found such great faith that he could honor and obey God and believe all would be well.
I went back to Genesis chapter 12 and read forward and the stories such as Sodom and Gomorrah in chapter 18 and the birth of Isaac in chapter 20, when Sarah was 90 and Abraham 100, helped as they showed the interaction and history of between God and Abraham.
Each of us is unique and our relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is also unique. For me a lesson is that faith becomes stronger as our relationship with our triune God is active, always in use, and growing.
Pastor Joe referenced in his Sunday message that we need to trust what cannot be seen right now but in faith know that God is always at work and creating new reality.
by Clarence Beverage
For Pondering and Prayer
You may have noticed that I occasionally mention the Tony Evans Study Bible. This short video speaks to faith and reality and ends with encouraging words from Isaiah 79:23b “Those who hope in Me will not be disappointed”.
https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/qrpage/natural-disaster
What things would you like to thank God for today?
Are there things that you hear God calling you to do?
Prayer: Help us to be seekers of truth and sound judgement, seeing and acting on opportunities to help others, and behaving with consideration for others. Through the power of your Spirit, help us to be in relationship with each other so that the strength of loving, caring, community may foster positive change that you have told us is your desire for your creation. We thank you for hearing our prayers and pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
