Tuesday, February 21, 2006

An Act of Sacrifice. The Heart of Worship.

Jehovah Jireh - place name meaning, "Yahweh will provide" (Genesis 22:14). The name Abraham gave to the place where the Lord provided a sacrifice in place of Isaac.

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, " Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." Genesis 22:1-2 NKJV.

And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." Genesis 22:5 NKJV.

Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Genesis 22:9-10 NKJV.

But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Genesis 22:11-12 NKJV. Abraham's faith was made complete by what he did (James 2:21-22) NIV.

When the music fades, and all is stripped away, and I simply come.
Longing just to bring something that's of worth, that will bless Your heart.
I'll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within through the way things appear, You're looking into my heart.
I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about you, it's all about You, Jesus.

From the song "Heart of Worship", lyrics by Matt Redman.

God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, the son whom Abraham loved. The son who was a promise from God, born to him when he was 100 years old and his wife 90. A promise that was fulfilled after 25 years of waiting. How did Abraham respond? He woke up early the next morning and prepared meticulously for it. In Genesis 22:3, we read that he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering (NIV). He wasn't slipshod about it. He didn't procrastinate.

God commanded that Isaac be offered as burnt offering. Abraham's trusting response when his son asked him, "where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" , was that, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." Genesis 22:7-8 NJKV. While God had commanded an act of sacrifice, Abraham responded with a heart of worship (Genesis 22:5). The LORD's intention was not to deprive Abraham of his son, Isaac. The LORD's intention was to test the substance of Abraham's faith. How would Abraham respond if He had asked him for the biggest part of his life? How would we respond if God asks us for the biggest part of our lives? Would we put it on the altar? Would we carry out the act of sacrifice with a heart of worship?

Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said, "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son - blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:15-18 NKJV.

He cares, Sv ".+

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