This was not a test designed to produce faith but to reveal faith. God had spent years shaping Abraham into a man who trusted Him completely. From the initial call to leave his homeland, to waiting decades for the promised son, to witnessing God’s faithfulness again and again, Abraham’s life had been a slow, divine apprenticeship in faith. Now came the moment of revelation. When God asked Abraham to offer Isaac, his beloved son, the very embodiment of God’s promise. Abraham obeyed. He did not argue or delay. His obedience demonstrated that his trust in God had matured beyond human reasoning or emotion. He believed that even if Isaac died, “God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” [Hebrews 11:19]
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 a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:2).
Abraham’s faith was no longer about understanding how God would keep His word. It was about believing that He would. This is what mature faith looks like, trusting God when His commands seem to contradict His promises, knowing His character cannot fail. Faith grows in seasons of waiting but is revealed in moments of testing. Abraham’s story reminds us that God develops our faith through everyday obedience so that, when the great tests come, our trust in Him will be unshakable.
God’s merciful reprieve
Some Jewish commentators suggest that Isaac may have been around thirty-three years old when he accompanied Abraham up Mount Moriah, the very age at which Jesus Christ would later carry His own cross to Calvary. The parallel of both sons, loved deeply by their fathers, carried the wood for their own sacrifice. Both submitted willingly. Both were bound by obedience, one to his earthly father, the other to His heavenly Father. But there is one vital difference, Isaac was spared; Jesus was not. The ram caught in the thicket became Isaac’s substitute, foreshadowing the ultimate Substitute, Christ, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world [John 1:29].
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” (Genesis 22:13, 14).
When the ordeal ended, Abraham named the place “The LORD Will Provide” (Jehovah Jireh). Notice, he did not call it Mount Obedience or Mount Sacrifice, though those would have fit the occasion. Instead, he focused not on what he had done, but on what God had done. His faith turned the mountain of potential loss into the mountain of divine provision. The phrase “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided” became a timeless testimony, that in the place of surrender, God’s provision always meets His promise.
Abraham’s experience reveals that provision often comes after obedience, not before. When we release what we love most, trusting God’s purpose, we discover that He never takes without providing something greater in return.
The listing of Nahor’s family
After Abraham’s obedience and God’s miraculous provision on Mount Moriah, Scripture includes what might seem like an ordinary family record, the genealogy of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Yet, tucked within that list is a name that changes the course of history: Rebekah, the future wife of Isaac. At first glance, this verse may appear like a simple genealogical note. But spiritually, it is a sign of God’s ongoing faithfulness. While Abraham was climbing Mount Moriah, facing the test of surrender, God was already preparing the next chapter, arranging the birth of Rebekah, through whom His covenant promises would continue.
And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother (Genesis 22:23).
God’s provision does not end with one miracle; it unfolds across generations. Even as Abraham proved faithful, God was at work behind the scenes, ensuring that Isaac’s future, and the fulfillment of the promise, were already secure. Nothing in God’s plan happens by accident, not even a birth in the distant household of Nahor. Faith does not always see the whole picture, but God is always at work connecting the pieces in His timing, His people, and His promises, to bring about His redemptive plan. Therefore, we should trust God’s Timing, even when life seems silent or confusing, remember that God is already preparing what comes next. What may look like a small or insignificant part of your story may be a key thread in God’s greater design. Seek to look beyond your Season. God’s promises are generational, what He starts with you, He often continues through those who follow.
George G. Ruheni, PhD.
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