Scripture
When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.
At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:9–14, NLT)
Thoughts
No matter how many times we read this, it is an incredible story! So what did Abraham believe that made him willing to offer his own son as a sacrifice? Let’s see what Paul said Abraham believed:
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8, ESV)
So is there more than one Gospel—one in Genesis (centuries before Jesus) and another in the New Testament? Nope, there’s only one.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul defines the Gospel as Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and reappearance. Abraham believed the same Gospel as Paul did:
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, made a sacrifice of Isaac. Yes, the man who had heard God’s promises was prepared to offer up his only son, of whom it had been said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’ He believed that God could raise his son up, even if he were dead. And he did, in a manner of speaking, receive him back from death. (Hebrews 11:17–19, PHILLIPS)
According to Hebrews, Abraham believed in death and resurrection. Abraham simply believed it for his son.
Application
Do you believe in the Gospel for your daily life? Do you believe God is in the business of resurrecting dead things? There IS hope for you and your walk with God. And there is hope for that relationship that has died. Certain areas of your life may appear hopeless, but God can resurrect anything to bring about his will.
Prayer
Lord, help me have faith like Abraham. I want to believe in your Gospel. Give me faith to believe that you’re able to resurrect the deadness in my life. . . Continue praying.