Sacrificing Sons

So I have been using the Professor Horner's Bible-Reading system for my Bible study and today I read Genesis 22. Chapter 22 is when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. I have heard many things said about this passage and how many different ways you can look at it.

When I read it this time, firstly I was blown away by Abraham. God had just asked him to kill his son, and Abraham not only obeys, but he obeys to the best of his ability. Verse 3 says, "so Abraham rose early in the morning..." I don't have a child, but I can't imagine having to kill a son. If I had been Abraham, I don't think I would have gotten up early to kill my son. I would have stall and delayed as much as possible (that's if I obeyed God in the first place).

Abraham really shows trust in God. Genesis 17:19 says, "God said, 'No, but Sarah your wife shall bear a son, and you shall call his name. Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.'" So God had promised a covenant with Isaac's descendants before He told Abraham to kill him. Even so, Abraham was holding the knife, preparing to kill his son, when an angel stopped him.

The second thing I thought of was God sacrificing His Son. Not only was the bond of Father and Son crushed at that point, but Christ had to experience what it was like to have God forsake Him. Christ experienced the worst part of Hell in that moment. It wasn't about the pain, shame, or mockery. The reason the cross was so horrible was because His intimate connection with God was broken.

Christ went through that for us. He made the biggest sacrifice to save those that spit on Him, mocked Him, and bitterly hated Him. Despite our wickedness, He gave up His life and bond with the Father to save us. When I consider my self (and am honest with myself about how sinful I am), this blows my mind. I don't know why Christ did it. All I know is that I want to spend my life thanking and promoting Him for his love and grace.

Lord, I want to thank you for making the sacrifice that saved me; the sacrifice that I cannot begin to understand. Make me humble, Lord. Show me my sin, and how much I need you. I never want to lose the price of the cross in my life. The payment that you made and what you went through to make that payment should overwhelm me, Lord, and too often it doesn't. I pray that you would soften my prideful heart, that likes to give the credit to Luke. Thank you again, Lord. Amen.