December 6th - Isaac

Isaac:

Isaac was a long awaited child. Abraham and Sarah were old, and despite God's promise of descendants, they struggled to believe they would ever become parents. When Isaac was born there must have been absolute delight and happiness - his name means laughter, after all. So when we read in Genesis 22:1-14 how God asked Abraham to sacrifice his precious son, it's impossible to understand how Abraham was able to trust God in that situation. He must have believed God's promises so strongly that there was no doubt that God would provide in some way, which He did with the ram in the bush.


I am certain that I do not trust God anywhere near as much as Abraham must have - even if I believed that God was asking me to kill my child for Him, which seems completely out of character, then I wouldn't be able to do it. The desire in a parent to protect their child is overwhelming, so I struggle to understand how Abraham could have been willing to go through with it. But then, God only asked Abraham to do what He Himself would do millennia later - sacrifice His son.

Jesus was also a long awaited child, though it was not His parents who spent a lifetime waiting for Him, but the Jewish people. He was the expected and hoped for Messiah, the fulfilment of God's promise. We do not know if Isaac was a willing sacrifice or not, but Jesus was willing to give up His life for us. As Christmas approaches, we wait to celebrate the birth of this man who was foretold, who will bless us all, and we remember that God does keep His promises, and He will provide.

"Dear God, help me to trust your promises."