Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV)
¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Hebrews 11 is filled with people who had a type of faith that was willing to suffer, sacrifice, and surrender to God. At the top of the list was Abraham. He was willing to do anything for God, even sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. We have already seen him give up his homeland, his family, and his friends (ver. 8), but that paled in comparison to what God was now asking him to do, that is, to sacrifice the son whom he loved (Genesis 22:2). This command severely tested, not only Abraham’s love for God, but his confidence that God would keep his word. God promised Abraham that his descendants would be numbered like the stars of heaven (Genesis 15:4-5). Those descendants were promised to come from Isaac (Genesis 1:12; Romans 9:7). So, if Abraham obeys God by killing his son, God would not be able to keep that promise. This must have puzzled Abraham. It seemed like the promise of God was in conflict with the command of God. It must have taken Abraham a little while to figure this out, but it did not cause him to hesitate. Abraham got up early the next morning to do what God commanded him to do (Genesis 22:3). It took him three days to get to where he could see afar off the place where he would offer Isaac as a burnt offering (ver. 4). By the time he got there, though, he had figured out what God was going to do. He told the men that traveled with them to stay with the donkey while he and Isaac went to worship God and then they would return (ver. 5). Take note that Abraham fully planned to come back to them with Isaac after he had offered him as a sacrifice. What does this tell us? It tells us that Abraham concluded that if he killed Isaac, “God was able even to raise him from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19). Now, that is faith! Had Abraham ever seen someone raised from the dead? No! Had Abraham ever even heard of someone being raised from the dead? Probably not. But, he knew it was the only way that God could keep His promise if he obeyed Him and killed Isaac. One thing Abraham knew was that God’s word would not fail. Do you have that much faith in the word of God? True faith believes God no matter what. True faith believes that all the promises of God will be fulfilled. I know that God will supply all my needs because he said He would (Philippians 4:19), and I believe Him. Do you? I know that God will hear my prayers when I pray according to His will because He said He would ( I John 5:14), and I believe Him. Do you? I know that when Jesus returns God will transform my lowly body to be like His glorious body because He said He would (Philippians 3:21), and I believe Him. Do you? Faith knows, and Abraham knew that if he offered Isaac as a burnt offering, God would raise him up.

As always, Abraham proved his faith by showing that he would do what God commanded him to do. God never had any intention of making Abraham offer Isaac as a human sacrifice, it was just a test. Abraham, by a strong, unwavering faith, passed the test. He bound up Isaac, took out his knife, and raised it up to plunge it down into the son that he loved in compliance with the command of God. However, the angel of God stopped him, saying, “…now I know that you fear God.” Abraham was justified by works (James 2:21). Not meritorious works, but by the works of faith that caused him to obey God even when it involved doing something he did not want to do.

Do we have faith? We have not even mentioned the faith of those like Sarah, Moses, Joseph, and others. However, their faith was all the same. It always obeyed. It always trusted. It always feared. I pray that our faith will be like theirs and pass any test that God gives us.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.