God told Abraham to take his only son Isaac, the son of promise, and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. This was a serious thing. Sara probably sensed something. Here we find a lesson that we all need to be reminded of. “My Father.” We hear a child calling out to his father. “Here am I, my son.” His father answered him immediately.
Genesis 22:6 “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.”
- We need to stop here and take notice of togetherness. It’s important for a family. I’m afraid that many of us don’t appreciate our dad and mom like we should. Just as Abraham and Isaac were going up the mountain together, our parents go up the hill of life with us. Even if we fail to appreciate them, they still keep their eyes on us. Even though my parents have been gone for decades, I can still feel the bond.
Verse 7: “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son,: so they went both of them together.”
- Take note that verse 6 has Abraham and Isaac starting up that mountain together, and the end of verse 8 we still find them going together up the mountain.
It’s common for a child to ask his father questions, but sometimes he or she puts it on the line. We did. When we were young, we turned to our fathers. We assumed they had the answer. Why wouldn’t they know? They took care of us. We had confidence in them to ask our questions.
Outside of things like “why did you do that?” my daddy didn’t ask many questions. There come times when dads ask their adult children a few questions. My dad asked me how to be saved. All of his life he’d been a good man. Finally he realized that wouldn’t save him. It scared me. Although I had led many people to the Lord, I felt urgency in really getting it right this time. Leading a person to the Lord cannot be done lightly or offhandedly. God saved my daddy. I’d never heard him pray before, but he asked the Lord to forgive him of his sins. I still had questions for him, and he still had questions for me about the Lord.
Isaac had a simple question. He saw the knife used to kill the sacrifice. He saw the fire and wood. He didn’t see the animal. He looked at Abraham and said “my father.” He didn’t have to say “father,” “father,” “father, are you listening?” We forget that God always, always hears us. Sometimes we want to do all the talking. We start our prayer with “Father” and keep on going. Isaac called one time and immediately Abraham said “here am I, my son.”
In the simple, curious way that kids do, Isaac said “behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” What a tough one for Abraham. What could he say other than what he did? He knew he was to sacrifice Isaac. He couldn’t tell him; it would have scared him. His simple response was “God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” Isaac was satisfied. His father had responded.
Things don’t always add up. We can say why? Why? Why? Why, Lord? We have questions. We look ahead and around us. Do you ever want to say “what in the world is going on?”
The important thing to remember on this father’s day is that even though Isaac knew Abraham was there, he called for him. Communication was established. It’s not the questions we have or the answers we get that are important. We can call on our heavenly Father, and he’ll look down. What questions can we have for a God that actually looks down and says “here I am, my child?” That means God will provide. The most important thing in life is knowing our Father is on our mountain with us—together. It makes all the difference in the world. What matters in time and eternity is that HE’s there. When I didn’t get that toy I wanted, daddy and mommy were still there.
And I had something far better than the toy.
The important thing is WE HAVE A FATHER!
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 