Lessons from the Altar

^{Genesis 22:9} When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. ¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Hebrews 11: ¹⁷By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." ¹⁹Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

It is not often that I get to experience the agony of laying something I prize on a sacrificial altar. I’ve come to realize there simply are not that many things in my life I cling to with such a fervor that releasing them would equal sacrifice.  Recently, however, I’ve had that opportunity.  After wrestling for far too long with something very valuable to me, I laid it down.  And, I’ve learned just a few things already in the process of surrender.

First, while I could have told you all day long that Jesus is enough, it’s entirely different to make that claim when your hands are still full.  There’s nothing like the moment you let go of all your other prizes and realize He is still enough. Jonah 2:8 says it like this, "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." 

Second, there is great comfort in the character of God.  Sacrifice hurts.   But, there is great comfort in knowing that He is good.  And, He is trustworthy.  He does not call me to painful choices without grand purposes.  I am resting in His good character.  As David Platt says, “God’s sovereignty is our safety.”

Finally, the fear of the Lord means that all other fears must bow to my desire to please Him.  All the wrestling with and clinging to the things I must ultimately lay down comes from a fear of things other than the Lord.  Scripture is replete with promises for those who fear the Lord, and I want to be someone who can claim those promises. When Abraham laid Isaac on that altar, God said, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”

I hope I will not sound heretical if I hypothesize for a moment.  Based solely on my own experience, I do wonder if Abraham’s experience at the altar was not so that God would know for sure where Abraham’s allegiance lay, as much as it was for Abraham to know.  I suspect the Omniscient knew Abraham’s heart, just as I am confident He knows mine.  It is unlikely to me that God learned anything new at that altar.  But, Abraham?  Abraham was probably still unpacking the lessons from that altar on his dying day. 

Romans 4: ²⁰Yet [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²²This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." ²³The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone,²⁴but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.