THE MYSTERY OF SACRIFICE
GENESIS 22:1-18
The word sacrifice is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is the act of making an offering to God or any deity on an altar. It also refers to something offered as the offering. It is also an act of giving up something especially for the sake of someone or something else. As a verb it refers to the process. One can say “I will sacrifice my time to be with you. In the context of this series on offering, sacrifice refers to that type of giving that cost you your all.
In today’s passage, we see God asking Abraham to offer his son, his only son as a sacrifice. The emphasis here is on the word only. Now let’s look at Isaac. He was what in today’s parlance is called “precious baby”. He was born to his parents in their old age! He was an only son. And he was the son of promise. In him was to be the fulfillment of all that God had told Abraham. If he dies, the fulfillment of the promise flies out the window. Yet God demanded that Isaac be sacrificed unto him.
Well, it is not a new story to you. We all know how sweet it ended. But then have we considered the agony of that decision to obey God? Who can imagine the pain and the emotional trauma Abraham went through? The bible did not record whether he discussed with Sarah or not. If he did, one can imagine the mother’s emotions of losing an only and precious child, her only hope and answer to her mockers! Yet they chose to offer the sacrifice.
In this matter of sacrifice, we refer to you offering not just your best, but in most cases your all to God. In some cases, the sacrifice may be demanded by God himself as with Abraham here, or it could be your personal decision. In both instances, something dear, something precious and perhaps something costly is the object. If it is monetary, it has to be substantial (to the giver) enough to be a sacrifice. Remember, what is substantial to one may be pittance to another. But then, it must cost the giver. It may also be material. We have seen individuals giving up their vehicles and household items for the sake of the ministry.
Sacrifice has a way of provoking God to do the unusual. In the scriptures, God never failed to respond to sacrifices offered with the right heart and motive. This was the case in today’s text.
And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou has done this thing and hast not withheld thy son, thy only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, as the sand which is upon the sea shore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, Genesis 22:15-17
Can you see? Unusual sacrifice provokes unusual blessings. You can bring God into your situation through your sacrifice.
PRAYER: Help me Lord to love you more than my possessions.
