Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
This passage of scripture reveals to us God in His role of sole provider, in this instance as providing a substitute lamb for sacrifice, instead of Isaac, Abraham's only son with his wife Sarah. When the command came from God to Abraham, for him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he became startled at God's request and he prayed like he never prayed before for a confirmation that such a strange command really came from God. However, after receiving the verification that this was indeed the case, he decided to obey, even though his paternal instincts would have obviously pulled him in the opposite direction.
The lamb that was provided instead of Isaac was an object lesson for Abraham and all future generations, that The Lamb of God, even Jesus Christ would die in our place, and in order for Abraham to get a faint understanding of how this felt to God the Father, He was given the instruction to take his son's life with His own hands. What is worthy of note is that Isaac also complied with the command of God by willingly submitting himself to be slain, even though at his age he could have easily ran away.
This entire experience contains very valuable lessons for the Christian, for there are some commands that come from God to us which at times may seem very difficult to fulfill on our part because of the consequences and sacrifices involved, and it is at times like these that we are sorely tempted by the devil to believe that an alternate route will be acceptable to God, even though this is never to be the case.
For instance one of the sticking points that some of us sometimes stumble on is the command to return a faithful tithe together with our offerings, an instruction that is not always easy to comply with. There are times when in obedience to this command we may have to choose between our mortgage and utility bills, and the tithe and offerings, and at these instances satan often sits on our shoulders whispering words of doubt and pessimism, in order to get us to choose evil instead of doing that which is right. When we are sorely tempted to deviate from the path of duty and integrity, let us always remember that sacred name, Jehovahjireh, for the Lord will certainly provide for those who choose to trust in His unfailing word.
On one occasion when we were not doing too well financially, this temptation came very forcibly to us, in that we were brought to the point of deciding either for or against compliance with God's requirement pertaining to returning our tithes and offerings. Our utility bills and rent needed to be paid, but like Abraham, God's command was also ringing in our ears, and so we decided that day to trust God and obey His word anyway, for He has given us profound promises we can certainly stand upon. The following morning when counting our meager funds we found to our surprise that all the money that we needed together with some extra was placed inside my wallet by an angel, because there was absolutely no one in our apartment that night, and no one else had known of our plight.
When we are faced with trying circumstances that test our faith to the core, let us remember that the same God who provided for Abraham and Isaac, will also provide for you and me if we comply faithfully with the conditions laid down. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which contains a mega promise on this very point, and it is the will of God that we all exercise a living faith in Him, for faith that is not tested cannot be trusted. Let's read:
Proverbs 3:9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
May The Lord add His blessing to the doing of His every word, for His promises fail not, and we will reap in due season if we are patient and humble enough. "Good night: and God bless!