LESSON 12

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YOU’RE THOUGHTS: Who else in the Bible did God test?

Did they pass or fail?

Do you think you’re tested at times?

How do you think your doing?

MY THOUGHTS: How are you in handling tests? In school are you, or were you good at taking tests? I was terrible. I don’t know if I was intimidated by them or just wasn’t fully prepared. As horrible or senseless a test may seem to be to you, they were essential in school then, and are equally essential today, not only in school but out of school. In the Bible, God allowed many tests to prove that His people were sincere in their walk with Him. In this lesson I would like to talk about one particular test that God put on the shoulders of a very faithful man and his son, who was equally faithful, Abraham and Isaac.

In our scripture reading for this lesson, we are told what Abraham’s big test would be and we see how he reacted to this test. When I first became acquainted with our God and was familiar with His love for us, I was shocked by this story. How could God the Father, tell another father that he must kill his son? Then when I gave my life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit started showing me through His inspired word, Gods personality. To this day I’m learning how God works and that everything He does is for our own good. I believe Abraham, through many years of learning to trust in God’s way of doing things had no reason to question God and in turn immediately obeyed Him. I’m not saying that he liked what he was supposed to do. I’m sure he shed many tears during this whole ordeal, but I’m confident enough to say that he showed no signs of tears when he was with his son Isaac. He was confident that God was with him and he wanted to share that confidence with his son. I don’t know what went through Abraham’s mind as to how this test ended but I can tell you two possibilities that he could have been thinking about. The first possibility is that he believed that God would raise Isaac up after he sacrificed him. The second possibility, which really happened, is that God would provide a substitute so that Abraham would not have to use his son. I believe this second concept and the fact that it did happen shows us how merciful our Lord is. If Abraham had to sacrifice his son he might have accepted Gods will, but I think he would have had trouble living with himself, not to mention living with the rest of the family.

I can’t ignore touching briefly on Isaac’s reaction to his father’s strange behavior. There is not much to say except that Isaac showed a true love and respect toward his father. I believe that Abraham earned that respect by being a strong example of a man that really loves his Maker. I think Isaac also believed that if his father wasn’t concerned in what was going to happen that he didn’t need to be concerned either.

What did we learn from this story? That God has a plan and that plan was portrayed in this story. Abraham, without knowing, represented our Heavenly Father. Isaac, without knowing, represented our heavenly father’s only begotten son. The lamb that was substituted for the sacrifice represented Jesus as the sacrificial lamb that shed His blood once and for all. I learned that Abraham is a great role model on how a father should be. I think we all learned that being tested is not a bad thing. I’d like to add one more thing, so that you’re not discouraged like I get when taking a test. God knows you more then you know yourself, so when He gives you a test, that test will be designed just for you or me. So let’s strive to make whatever test comes your way, an opportunity to grow closer to the God that knows best for you.

Scripture Ref James.1: 2-3, 1:12,

Rom.8: 28, 8:31, 8:34 Rom.12: 12

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