Testing and Teaching: Judges 2:20-3:6

Four years ago, my wife began her career as a high school English teacher. As a result, we see education from a unique perspective. We have had many discussions on teaching, testing, grading, and classroom management. Several times standardized testing has been a discussion.  

A standardized test comprises a set of common questions for students to answer with the purpose of assessment.  For example, the reading part of the test will help teachers understand what the reading level of a certain grade is at the time of the test.  The results enable them to adjust what they are teaching so that the students can improve on a particular subject. When I was in school, standardized tests didn’t bother as much as tests that determined my grade. 

During my college and seminary days, I had professors that tested every class. I will confess, I spent most of my time cramming for a test about fifteen minutes before class. I didn’t really enjoy tests, but I understood their purpose. If a professor or teacher didn’t test, I don’t believe I would pay attention unless the subject captivated my attention. Tests also reminded me that the class has purpose and meaning.  

If you think about it, we can’t limit teaching and testing to the realm of education only. Teaching and testing characterize every aspect of life. This is especially true of the Christian life.  Open your Bible, Old and New Testaments, and you will find God causes and allows teaching and testing in the journey of faith. In the believer's life teaching and testing that takes place daily.  

The daily teaching and testing experienced by believers are not purposeless or meaningless. If they were, God would come across as a cruel God. We find a highly explicit text concerning the purpose and meaning of such experiences in chapters two and three of the book of Judges. Unfortunately, the text takes place in a period of Israel’s history that reveals the apostasy of God’s people repeatedly.    

The book of Judges comprises two introductions. The first introduction starts at verse one of chapter one and ends at verse five of chapter five. The second introduction begins at verse six of chapter two and ends with verse six of chapter three. Why two introductions? The writer introduces the book from two perspectives. The first is from the perspective of Israel, and the second from the perspective of God.  

From God’s perspective, we are able to see the outline of the book of Judges. It’s a downward spiral that begins with God’s people turning from God, followed by God’s judgment upon his people, resulting in God’s people crying out, and God answering the cries with mercy by providing a judge to deliver them. This pattern runs to the end of the book.  Interestingly, this pattern of God’s judgment of mercy is best understood when we look at the cross of Jesus Christ, for it shows the judgment and mercy of God in the death of Jesus Christ.  

In setting the context of our text, we will need to understand God’s people have entered the Promise Land through the leadership of Joshua.  Unfortunately, they did not remove all the inhabitants of the land, as God commanded, resulting in God allowing the inhabitants to live among the Israelites. Leaving the inhabitants was the consequence of their sin. You could say that their sin became their reward.  God would not waste this tragedy. He determined to use the enemy in the land to test and teach his people. 

Notice verses twenty through twenty-two of the second chapter of Judges, “So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them.” God will use the inhabitants to test Israel. Again in verse one of chapter three, “Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them.” And again in verse four, “They were for the testing of Israel.” 

How do the enemies of ancient Israel in the Promise Land translate into our modern-day experiences? Every day, we face enemies that attack our faith, our finances, our families, our relationships, our courage, and the list goes on and on.  These enemies come to invade our lives from the inside, the outside, and the unseen, usually through circumstances, situations, and struggles, which God uses for teaching and testing. Therefore, it is important for us to understand these enemies and their purpose and meaning in our lives. As we look at the chosen passage, we notice how the Lord tests us to teach us. 

The Lord tests us to teach us.  

In verse one of chapter three, we read, “Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.”  We see some purpose for tests in these two verses.  There is a connection between “test,” and “know.”  Testing is used to teach.  Here, the lesson was about how to fight in a war.  

However, the lessons taught were more than just tactical procedures for war. I’m reminded of the four-week training that they required me to take when I became a chaplain in the correctional setting. I spent the time learning how to defend myself when a situation called for it. The greatest lesson I learned is the fact that I’m a chaplain, and if a riot breaks out in the prison, I’m running.  The lessons were for protection only, and a way for the state to avoid lawsuits.  God’s training for war was much more theological than tactical.  What God wanted to know from the wars with the inhabitants was a greater knowledge of his person.  

His person

By this, I mean his character and nature.  God left in the land as a judgment for the Israelites’ disobedience.  Every war they fought with these inhabitants would be a reminder of God’s judgment upon their sin. The reason God judged their sin is his holy nature.  

God is without sin, holy. Therefore, he must deal with sin. Tests that come as discipline for sin remind us of God’s holy nature. We never sin and get away with it. God disciplines his children, which is a display of his loving nature.  

God disciplines his children for our own holiness. You might be one of those parents that don’t discipline your children, but God is not. If you don’t discipline your child can you say you love your child? God loves his children, and he disciplines his children because he loves them.  God’s love puts our ultimate and greatest good at the top of his agenda.  God tests us so we can know his nature and character, but God is not wanting us to have just head knowledge of who he is. No, at the heart of these tests is God’s desire to teach us about his presence.  

His presence

God’s desire for his children is a close and personal relationship with them. It is all about relationships and constantly walking and enjoying his presence. God was to teach us so we can know, experientially, his presence in our lives. Some of the greatest tests God has allowed me to experience have been the greatest moments of experiencing his tangible presence in my life. Yes, he teaches us to know him more intimately through the invasions of the inside, outside, and unseen enemies in our lives.  And while we experience his presence, we also experience his power.   

His power

God wanted Israel to know war, not in the traditional tactical way, but his way.  When we fight God’s fight we don’t rely on our own power, but his power.  We don’t trust in our abilities, but his abilities. God allows tests to teach us to trust in his power to overcome the trials that the test brings.   

When Pharaoh and the Egyptian army had Moses and the Israelites up against the Red Sea, God said, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” Trust the Lord, for it is his fight and his battle. 

When an elite army came against King Jehoshaphat and Juda, the king and Judah poured out their hearts to God. There was no way they could beat this army with their own resources or resolve. They cried out to God, and he told them to stand firm and watch.  The next morning, Jehoshaphat and his army stood before the enemy and worshiped, and while they worshiped God destroyed the army.  

We learn through tests we don’t fight with our own abilities or strengths but by the power of God.  We learn to cast our concerns on the Lord and watch him sustain us, knowing that he will not allow his children to stumble. We learn through tests that we when battles not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.  

I wonder how many times God has brought events into my life for the purpose of teaching me something? Do I look at teachable moments as chance, or do I see them from the providential hand of God?  I imagine when I stand before God and he replays my life he will probably show me some teachable moments that I missed.  

As a father, I have learned that everything I try to teach my children won’t always be accepted by them. The many times I have warned them of a dead-end road, but they took it anyway.  It causes me to sit back and think about my relationship with the Lord, and I imagine he feels the same way I do when I miss his teachable moments he brings through tests, and how I try to do things in my flesh, and not his power. 

How is God working in your life? What methods is he using to test and teach? Are you learning more about his person, his presence, and his power? If we are not careful, we will miss out on a teachable moment that God uses for our ultimate good.  Next, we notice how the Lord tests us to assess us.  

The Lord tests us to assess us. 

Earlier, I spoke about standardized testing and how its purpose is to assess the students.  Likewise, God tests us to assess us, not for himself, he already knows what’s in us, but for ourselves.  The one thing God wants to assess is our allegiance to him. 

Allegiance 

In chapter two, verse twenty-two, we read, “in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” Notice also in chapter three, verse four, “They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.” What does God want from us? He wants obedience, faithfulness to our relationship with him.

True worship of God demands exclusive allegiance.  It’s amazing how tests will often reveal where our trust lives. When we lose our paycheck, where is our trust? When a pandemic hits, where is our trust? It’s stunning how a test reveals where our allegiance lies. Do we trust in God’s promises? Or do we act like spiritual illiterates? Do we believe God exists and believe in his promises? Or do we act as a functional atheist?   Tests have a way of showing where our allegiance is.  

Unfortunately, verses five and six reveal the Israelites failed to pass the test. Instead of fighting the enemy, they slept with the enemy.  Literally, they intermarried with the inhabitants and started serving their gods.  They received a big F. 

Our stories don’t have to end the same way. In fact, there is another test found in the Old Testament, one passed with flying colors. It’s found in Genesis chapter twenty-two, verse one, “After these things God tested Abraham and said, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take you son, you 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 on which I shall tell you.” 

What a test! God wanted Abraham to take the promised child, Isaac, and offer him up as a burnt offering. The rest of the chapter reveals that he passed the test. And because of his exclusive allegiance to God, the Lord provided a ram to replace Isaac as the burnt offering.  He passed the assessment.  How? Abraham in obedience trusted the Lord and drew upon the resources of his almighty love.  

How can we pass the tests that come our way every day? Daily, we have to take our lives to the altar of God and offer them up to God as a holy and acceptable sacrifice to him, giving him our full allegiance. When we do, God will bless us beyond what we ever think or imagine.   

Recently, I observed an interaction between a little girl, around five years old, and her father.  The girl wanted to carry an enormous box.  She said, “Daddy, I want to carry the box.” She could pick it up, but it was too big for her to walk with. Her father responds, “No, you will fall trying to carry it.” She kept on insisting, saying that she had a plan.  The father gave in and she picked up the box.  She then told her father, “Okay daddy, now you carry me.”  

God, doesn't just want to take our burdens. No, he wants to carry us and give us all we need from his resources. All we have to do is give our allegiance to him.   Will you come to the altar today? 

   

Defining Moments

One of my favorite books is 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck. In it, Osbeck shares the inspiring stories behind many of the hymns we know and cherish. What strikes me about many of these inspirational accounts is that many hymns were written out of defining moments in the life of their authors.

Take for instance the hymn It is Well With My Soul. Haratio Spafford wrote this great hymn after he lost his four children in an accident at sea. Frances Havergal wrote many of her hymns out of defining moments in her life. Havergal’s hymn I Gave My Life for Thee was written after she saw a picture that had been painted by an artist named Sternberg. The painting was a picture of Christ wearing a crown of thorns before Pilate and the Jewish religious leaders. Beneath the painting read the words, “This I have done for thee, what hast thou done for me?” Frances Havergal was so moved by the picture that she swiftly wrote a poem, but when she got home she was not pleased with the words, so she threw them into the fire. The paper did not make it into the fire. It is said to have floated out onto the floor, her father later picked it up and encouraged her to put music to it, which she did.[1]

Defining moments are everywhere we look. We have defining moments in history, one such moment being the cross of Jesus Christ. We have defining moments in the history of the church, the great Reformation being one. We have defining moments in the world of sports. I must admit that I cried when Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys broke Walter Payton’s all-time rushing record. As we look at Genesis 22 we come to another defining moment, a defining moment in the life of Abraham.

Those who have any knowledge of the life of Abraham most likely know what took place in Genesis 22. It is by far a defining moment for Abraham and ultimately the high point of his journey of faith.

When we see and experience defining moments in the life of faith, we notice that these moments come in different forms such as trials, tests, and tasks. Defining moments in the life of faith are moments that God uses in the life of his people for a purpose; often that purpose is to mature us.

In our study of Abraham we have seen many defining moments in his life. The first came from his initial call to the life of faith back in Genesis 11 and 12. Another defining moment came when Abraham was faced with a famine in the land that God had promised him. Then there was the promise of a child and the patience needed to wait on God to act. What is interesting about the defining moments in the life of Abraham is that they consist both of failures and victories. The Lord has a way of turning even our low points into defining moments.

The defining moment in Genesis 22 is definitely a high point in the life of Abraham, but only because Abraham faced the challenge and responded to it in a manner that was pleasing to the Lord. And just as Abraham was faced with many defining moments in his journey of faith, so are we who have started on our own journey of faith.

Defining moments usually challenge our faith, our trust, and our obedience to the Lord. All God’s people will face these tests. When we face those defining moments in our journey of faith, we need to remember that these moments are divine.

Defining Moments in the
Life of Faith are Divine

I want you to imagine for a minute where Abraham was in his spiritual journey up to this point. Abraham had been walking with the Lord more than twenty-five years. He had seen the Lord do many great things. He has seen the Lord faithfully protect him even when Abraham’s faith faltered. Most importantly, he had seen the Lord provide for him something that he thought he would never have, a son. Abraham and Sarah were able to have a child in their old age. This child would fulfill a promise of God to Abraham and become heir to the promises of God given to Abraham. Abraham was quite comfortable at this time in his life. He lived peacefully in the region with king Abimelech, worshipping and witnessing for his God.

It is almost as if Abraham had arrived in his journey of faith. God had blessed him with land and with son. But what we will notice is that the journey of faith has a final destination and that destination is not experienced this side of heaven. As long as we make our pilgrimage, challenges will come our way, challenges that are our defining moments in our journey on this side of heaven.

We become aware of this truth in Genesis 22:1. “Now it came about after these things….” This points us back to the previous chapters in Genesis to remind us of what has taken place up to this point. It also points us forward to another defining moment in the life of Abraham and reminds us that Abraham is still on his pilgrimage and that the Lord is still developing him as a man of faith. The defining moment about to take place in Abraham’s life comes as a divine test in the form of a divine task and is a test of Abraham’s faith in the Lord.

The Divine Test

Here’s more of verse 1, “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham.” The author, who was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as he wrote, indicates to the readers that what is taking place in these verses is a test that comes from the very hand of God. The Lord put this truth here for our benefit because if we did not know that this was a divine test of Abraham’s faith we might misunderstand what the Lord asked of Abraham. The Lord wants us to know that this is a test, but Abraham does not have a clue. His unawareness makes this a monumental moment in Abraham’s journey of faith.

But the Lord lets us know immediately that what took place was orchestrated by the very hand of God. The Hebrew word “nasah” is best translated as our English word “test.” Some Bible translations use the word “tempt,” but the Hebrew word “nasah” has a different meaning than our English word “tempt.” The word “tempt” has the connotation of “enticing one to do wrong,” whereas the Hebrew word “nasah” has the idea of testing something or someone for the purpose of proving the quality of that someone or something. In this context “nasah” has the meaning of God testing Abraham for a purpose, to refine Abraham’s character so that he may enjoy even closer fellowship with the Lord.[2]

It is very important that we differentiate between test and tempt. One person has rightly summarized the difference when he said, “Satan tempts to destroy, but God tests to strengthen us.”[3] Some defining moments in the life of faith come on account of the failure of our faith. Others God never intended for us to experience, but because of our faltering faith God uses our failures to define us. This is not one of those moments in the life of Abraham.

Divine tests that come from the hand of God come in different forms, but for the most part they come in the form of troubles, trials, and tribulations. The New Testament equivalent that helps us understand these divine tests is found in the epistle of James. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4). Defining moments in the life of faith are divine moments that the Lord has us experience for the purpose of growth. That is exactly what took place with Abraham; God tested Abraham through a divine task.

The Divine Task

The final part of Genesis 22:1 says that the Lord called out to Abraham and he responded, “Here I am.” The Lord then gave Abraham the divine task, his divine test. The Lord said to Abraham in verse 2, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which I will tell you.” As you can see, this divine test of Abraham’s faith was also a disturbing task.

Had the Lord not told us from the start that this was a test of Abraham’s faith then we might misunderstand what God asked of Abraham. When we realize the implications of what the Lord asked Abraham, we realize that this divine task is, from our human perception, contradictory and illogical. What makes this task contradictory is that the Lord asked Abraham to do something that seems contradictory to the Lord’s character. The Lord abhors human sacrifice in pagan religions elsewhere in the Scriptures; why would he demand it here? We must remember that this is only a test of Abraham’s faith, of which Abraham is not aware at this time.

This task that the Lord asks of Abraham also seems illogical from the standpoint of God’s promises to Abraham. Two great promises were given to Abraham, the promise of a son and the promise of a land, both of which helped fulfill God’s promise to Abraham becoming a great nation. The more important of the two was the promise of son because through Abraham’s descendants would come the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Seemingly, God was now jeopardizing his own plan of redemption with this task. All of God’s plans for Abraham and his descendants are now about to be sacrificed on the altar to God. This seems illogical.

The divine task is a test in the sense that the Lord asked Abraham to do something illogical. But even more telling about the type of test is found in who the Lord was asking Abraham to sacrifice, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac.” You will notice that the Lord emphasizes Abraham’s son, “your son, your only son.” This is a test of commitment and love to the Lord. Abraham could not weasel out of this command by offering up his servant or even offering up his other son Ishmael. He had to offer up the son he had waited twenty-five years to be born. He had to give up the son that his precious wife was able to conceive and give birth to through supernatural means. Even more telling of the type of test is the phrase “whom you love.” This reveals that Abraham’s defining moment was a divine test concerning his affections and who had first place in his heart.

The defining moment for Abraham was a divine test of whether he loved the blessings more than the one who blesses. Whether he loved the gift more than the giver. The defining moment for Abraham was whether he was willing to give up the blessings of God for God himself. Whether he was willing to follow the Lord when all that was in it for him was the Lord himself.[4]

Defining moments in the life of faith are moments when God pushes us out of our comfort zone to see if our affections are for the blessing rather than for the one who blesses. Our Lord Jesus Christ never hesitated to have those who wanted to follow him count the cost of discipleship. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus how he could have eternal life, Jesus did not hesitate to tell him that he had to sell all he had and give it to the poor and follow him. Jesus, hypothetically speaking, spoke about hating one’s own family to be able to be his disciple. Jesus did not mean that we must literally hate our families, but what he did mean is that he must have the preeminent place in our affections. We must be willing to sacrifice and surrender all to follow him.

We need to be careful to limit these divine moments to the spectacular. That is, we should not think of these divine moments only as consisting of a call to the mission field or full-time ministry. Everyday occurrences that come our way, when God calls us to move outside of our comfort zone, can be divine moments. This can come in the form of making a phone call to someone who needs to know Christ and telling him or her how Christ has made a difference in your life. Your divine moment could be a call to teach a Sunday school class or help your church in their visitation program or some other ministry in your church. Our own perceptions and comforts are usually at stake with these divine moments.

In 2002, I experienced one of the roughest years for me in the ministry. What I came to learn was that this was a divine moment in my life. The Lord was testing my affections and seeing where they were placed. For several months I contemplated leaving the ministry. I wanted to get out because I did not want to deal with all the heartache that can come from being a pastor. It was during this time that the Lord was saying to me, “Patrick, I know you love to pastor and preach and you love the enjoyment that can come from your calling, but will you serve me only when there is joy? Will you serve me only when things are going well? Or will you serve me when things are discouraging? Will you serve me when the only thing in it for you is me?”

Is there a defining moment you are being challenged with? Remember that these defining moments are divine moments orchestrated by the hand of God to mature you in your faith. Defining moments in the life of faith are also deciding moments.

Defining Moments in the
Life of Faith Are Deciding Moments

As the Lord dealt with me in my divine moment of testing in 2002, I had to come to a decision. Was I willing to follow the Lord and do as he commanded and called me to do, or was I willing to forsake the Lord so that I could enjoy his blessings but not he who blesses? Defining moments in the life of faith are deciding moments, a time when a decision must be made. And as we will see with Abraham he made a decision to obey the command of God.

Decision to Obey the Command of God

Unmistakably, God shows us Abraham’s obedience in Genesis 22:3. “So Abraham arose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”

What amazes me in this verse is the absence of any discussion on the part of Abraham. All we see is swift and certain obedience. This is a great contrast when we compare other occasions in the Bible where God called men to a specific task. Take for instance the story of Moses. God called him to serve, and Moses made every excuse as to why God should not use him. Gideon’s behavior also contrasts Abraham’s obedience. When the Lord called Gideon to fight, Gideon did not immediately obey; instead, he insisted twice that God send him a sign.

Abraham of all people knew how to “help God out” in situations such as this. When famine came to the land he helped God out by going to Egypt. When Sarah grew tired of waiting on the promised son, Abraham helped God out by sleeping with Hagar. When Abraham found himself in trouble with Pharaoh and Abimelech he helped the Lord out by deceiving the two kings. In those instances, Abraham was not helping, but disobeying the commands of God. But that is not the case this time. God gave him a command and Abraham did not question, discuss, or offer suggestions. He made no attempt to “help God out,” but he submitted in total obedience to the command of God. By Abraham not trying to rationalize his way out of this divine moment, he showed his total affection for the Lord.

How would you respond to such a request? I imagine many of us, myself included, would have rationalized our way out of this divine moment. How many times does God ask us to do minimal things compared to what he asked of Abraham, and we fail to obey. You see, divine moments are deciding moments, moments where we as God’s people have to decide whether to obey the command of God.

I was once asked by a colleague in ministry, “If God reveals something to you in the Scriptures are you willing to obey it?” Another way to ask that question would be, “When God sends a divine moment of testing in your life through means of a divine task, are you willing to obey the command of God no matter the cost?” Abraham revealed his willingness to obey the command of God. Abraham’s decision to obey the command was founded in his decision to trust the character of God.

Decision to Trust the Character of God

Getting back to Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac arrived at the place where the Lord commanded them to go. They left behind the servants that went with them and they made their way to the place of sacrifice. On their way, Isaac asked his father an obvious question. “Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, ‘My father!’ and he said ‘Here I am, my son.’ Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ ” (Genesis 22:7). Isaac carefully observed that his father made sure that everything else was taken care of, but he wondered about the sacrificial animal.

In Abraham’s response to Isaac’s question we see the foundation for Abraham’s obedience to the command of God. “Abraham said, ‘God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son’ ” (Genesis 22:8). Here we witness Abraham’s trust in the character of God. Now, this verse does not do justice to what Abraham is trusting in when he makes this statement. But thanks to progressive revelation we learn exactly what he was thinking about from a New Testament writer who revealed that Abraham, “considered that God is able to raise people from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19). Abraham knew God’s character and that God was faithful to his word. Therefore, even if the Lord had him sacrifice his son, he believed that the Lord could raise him from the dead. Abraham trusted in the character of God and that was the foundation for his obedience.

Abraham might have thought that the command was contradictory, irrational, and just outrageous, but he made a decision to love the Lord even when all he got out of it was the Lord. He made a decision to obey the Lord, knowing that he could trust in the character of a good and gracious God. Defining moments are deciding moments for the life of faith, and when God’s people obey the commands of God and trust in his character, they find that these defining moments are decisive moments in the life of faith.

Defining Moments in the
Life of Faith Are Decisive Moments

The obedience and trust of Abraham to this divine moment unfolds in verses 9 through 10. “Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” All of Abraham’s hopes and dreams are about to be slain on the altar, but what happens next reveals that this divine moment was a decisive one. This moment was decisive in three different ways.

Decisive in What It Accomplished

First, it was decisive in what this divine moment accomplished. In verse 11 we are told that the angel of the Lord called out from heaven to Abraham and he responded, “Here I am.” In verse 12 the angel said to Abraham, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

God tested Abraham, who passed the test with flying colors. At the heart of this divine moment was the matter of whether Abraham feared the Lord. At the heart of this divine moment was the fact that Abraham loved God more than he loved his son. This is a significant moment in the life of faith, that moment when God says, “Do you love me even when there is nothing in it for you?” When those moments come in your life, will they accomplish what the Lord desires?

Decisive in What Was Learned

Second, this divine moment was decisive in what was learned. Notice what took place in verse 13 after the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.’ ”

The Lord substituted a ram in the place of Isaac, and Abraham responded to the Lord’s faithfulness by naming the place “The LORD Will Provide.” In Hebrew it reads “Jehovah Jireh.” Abraham had learned the faithfulness of God throughout the years, but never to the degree he experienced in this divine moment after he made the decision to obey the command of God and trust in his character.

Decisive in What God Did

Third, this divine moment was decisive in what God did for Abraham after he provided the ram. In verse 15 we read, “Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed.’ ”

Do you see the result of Abraham’s willingness to give up the blessing of God for God? God blessed him. This should dispel the notion that God is our enemy. The life of total surrender to the Lord is a life that God blesses. When we put God before his blessings he blesses. The greatest blessings are found in the life of surrender and sacrifice.

I shared with you earlier how defining moments in the lives of many of our great hymn writers were the sources of their inspiration. Frances Havergal, who wrote the hymn I Gave My Life for Thee is probably more known for another hymn that she wrote, Take My Life and Let It Be. Havergal was known as the “consecration poet.” These two hymns deal with our total sacrifice and surrender to the Lord. When she wrote the words to Take My Life and Let it Be, Havergal did so after a divine moment in her life. She was led by the Lord to visit a house that was occupied by five people; some of those people were unbelievers and others were believers who had strayed from the Lord. She spent five days with these people praying for them and pleading with them to come to Christ. By the end of her visit, the Lord was faithful to bring those who did not know Christ to him and those who did know Christ back to him. After leaving the house and reflecting upon the faithfulness of God in that situation, she penned these words as a prayer of consecration unto the Lord, “Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.”[5]

God’s people are faced with defining moments every day. We are faced daily with decisions about whether to give our best to the Lord or to save it for ourselves. We are faced every day with the decision to love God more than we love ourselves.

I would be remiss if I did not show you how this chapter of the book of Genesis is a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary. For it was at Calvary that our heavenly Father would not spare his own Son, but would sacrifice him on the cross in our place so that we could have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, through his Son’s blood.

Christians, after all that God has done for us, how can we not surrender all and follow him, trusting him to take care of us? What divine moment in your life demands a decision? Will you show your love to the Lord and put him before yourself?

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[1]Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 Hymn Stories (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publishing) 102.

[2]Archer, Harris, and Waltke 581.

[3]Waltke 304.

[4]Walton 519.

[5]Osbeck 239.