| Abraham towers over
everyone else in the Old Testament.
There is not one Sampson, one Elijah, or one David that does not call him grandpa. God called Abraham to be the father of the whole bunch. God also called him to be His friend. And in Isaiah 41:8 God says, "Abraham, my friend..." God also gave Abraham an awesome promise. In Gen. 12, God tells Abraham to "Go forth...to the land I will show you. And I will make you a great nation. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Abraham obeyed and their covenant began. The friendship between God and Abraham became strained, however, when Abraham's wife, Sarah, grew closer to ninety. For those of you that don't know, ninety is a little past child bearing years. How could Abraham be the father of a nation without a child? No problem, said God, I will bless you with a son! When the son was born, he was named "Isaac," which, appropriately enough, means "laughter." God pulled off a miracle that made a joke out of time. When God makes a promise, He will keep it. God is the original "Promise Keeper." Isaac became Abraham's pride and joy. And I'm sure Abraham was glad that Jehovah was not like "Molech," the local god, who demanded child sacrifices. So you can imagine the shock Abraham felt when God said, "Go to Mount Moriah and sacrifice Isaac.. How could Abraham comply? How could he go and do this? Could you? Perhaps Abraham's experience had taught him that Jehovah knows what He is doing. With complete trust in God, Abraham trodded up Mount Moriah. Isaac was getting a little nervous by this time. "Yo Dad, I see wood, a torch, and a big knife, so...where's the lamb?" Abraham just looked back, "God will provide, son." Isaac probably wasn't living up to his name. Abraham's trust that God would intervene had to be stretched to the breaking point. As he built the altar, placed the wood, bound his son, and placed him on the altar, you can imagine the tear stained face of Abraham, as he looked into Isaac's terrified eyes? But at the very moment Abraham raised the knife, the angel called out: "Abraham! Abraham!" Abraham froze and looked up. "I'm all ears." "Don't hurt the boy Abraham." said the Lord. "For now I know that you fear me." Suddenly, Abraham heard a sound behind him. A ram was caught in a thicket. A sacrifice was provided. It was then that Abraham named the place: Jehovah-Jireh, which means "The Lord will provide." "Because you have not withheld your son..." said God, "I will bless you." God is able to bless those who love Him more than anyone else. And then we discover with amazement what Abraham discovered: God loved Isaac more than Abraham did. He didn't want Isaac's blood, only Abraham's commitment. God wanted Abraham to put God first. Everything else, including his son Isaac, was a secondary blessing. Yet, what God did not require of Abraham, he required of Himself. He gave His only son. And here's the point: ANYTHING WE RECEIVE IN ADDITION TO SALVATION WE HAVE RECEIVED IN GOD'S SON IS ICING. IT IS ALL SECONDARY BLESSING. It's when these secondary blessings become the primary source of our security, the primary purpose in our lives, the primary reason we do what we do, that sooner or later we go through a storm caused by our distorted priorities. These secondary blessings can become our Isaacs. Who or what is your Isaac? It can be a person: a spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, child, or friend. Who or what commands the attention of most of our waking moments or restless sleep, is a potential Isaac. And all of us a capable of several Isaacs. These are the idols of our hearts. Few storms in our lives are more upsetting than the ones caused by worry or anxiety over Isaacs. Whatever threatens our Isaacs causes lightening in our hearts. God wants us to know that He loves our Isaacs more than we do. All he asks is that we worship Him and not them. He wants us to take them to Mount Moriah, where we will meet Jehovah Jireh, my Provider. Surrender your Isaacs, God will step in and say,
"Because you have not with-held your Isaacs |