Abraham's Unconditional Love for God - Genesis 22

In Genesis 22, we read where God commanded Abraham to “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2 ESV).  The first time I read this scripture as a child, I probably thought, “Boy, I’m glad God never told my dad to do that to me.  As a father, however, EVERY TIME I read this scripture, I think “Boy, I’m glad God hasn’t asked me to do that.”  I imagine every parent reading this scripture has had the same thought.  Even today, after experiencing both tragedy and joy in so many ways as a parent and relying on God to get me through those situations, I’m still not sure I would have the faith to do what Abraham did. Most of us know how the story plays out in Genesis 22.  After receiving the command, Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, took two men and Isaac and cut some wood and started off on a three-day journey to Moriah. Abraham then gave the wood to Isaac and took some fire and a knife and traveled with Isaac up a mountain.  Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb for the sacrifice was (22:7).  Abraham told Isaac that God would not only provide the lamb, He would provide the burnt offering as well (22:8) then built an altar and tied Isaac to the altar (22:9).  As Abraham raised the knife to kill Isaac, an angel stopped his hand and told him “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (22:12).  God then provided a ram for the sacrifice. After the sacrifice was over, the angel returned to Abraham a second time and told him ““By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” *(22:16-18).
 
I think we can all learn something from this passage, and on Sunday morning, we’ll go into detail about some of those lessons.  I believe that Abraham’s actions showed a faith that we, as Christians, should all emulate.  Abaraham’s willingness to offer his son Isaac demonstrates a willingness to obey God:
1.         With Exactness and Without Question- God told Abraham what He wanted (a burnt offering), whom He wanted (Isaac), and where He wanted the sacrifice to occur (Moriah).  The scriptures don’t give us insight into Abraham’s mind at the time, but I believe he wondered why God gave him the directions to sacrifice Isaac. Nevertheless, he obeyed EXACTLY as God had commanded him, without questioning God as to why God gave Abraham those directions.
2.         When Obedience was Inconvenient- We don’t know exactly how far Abraham traveled from his home to Moriah, but we do know it was a three-day journey.  Abraham could have asked God “Why can’t I just build the altar here? It probably will work just as well in my homeland as on Mount Moriah.”  But he didn’t. It had to be inconvenient to load up the donkey with the wood and travel three days, the whole time expecting that he was going to have to kill his son Isaac, but Abraham did it. Because that’s what God told him to do.
3.         Regardless of the Cost- Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son because that’s what God told him to do.   I’ve always heard “Parents should outlive their children” and watching my mom grieve over my brother’s death has reinforced that statement in a lot of ways. I can’t imagine a greater sacrifice for a parent than having to kill their child because God told them to. But Abraham was willing to do it because that was what God commanded. Think of all the inconveniences Christians let get in the way of their obedience to God in 2025 (jobs, hobbies, sports).  Can you imagine Abraham letting anything get in the way of his obedience? I can’t.
 
God loves each one of us unconditionally (which will be the topic of our sermon Sunday evening).  He wants us to respond to that love- by loving Him back and living our lives in a way that will please Him in all we do.  Abraham did that. We should all strive to do so as well.
In closing, as I read this passage, I can’t help but think about how Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son foreshadows God’s willingness to offer His son for our salvation. Abraham was spared that sacrifice by God; God didn’t spare His own sacrifice of His son because He wanted to give us all a chance to be saved from our sin. His unconditional love for us (as his children) is something that all of us that are fathers should try to achieve. In our Sunday morning class for parents over the last two weeks, we’ve established that parents can only do their best to help guide their children along the path to heaven and show them a path they can follow long after the parent is dead and gone. Modeling God’s unconditional love for us by showing that love to our children is an important part of that task.   Modeling Abraham’s obedience to God might be just as important.

— Dave May