Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
God’s Plans of Provision
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I usually know when one of my children has a test coming up because of the way they spend their afternoon. They may be a little bit worried or preoccupied about the test because they want to do well. You know, the hardest tests in life are not the tests for which you prepare just a week ahead or about which you are nervous just one day ahead. The most important tests of life are the events of life. They are tests for which you prepare every day, all day in your normal life.
Genesis 22:2 tells us about a test that God gave to Abraham. He told Abraham to offer his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. What follows is amazing. As Abraham is trudging to the place where he intends to sacrifice Isaac, Isaac asks his father, “Father, you’ve got a fire, a knife, and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” In verse 8 Abraham says, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb.” That is an extremely powerful and telling verse. It means more than just the lamb that God would provide that day, as you well know.
What did God want from Abraham? Did He want his son? Did He want money, livestock, or some of Abraham’s many servants? No, God wanted Abraham. A person who has given self has nothing more to give and nothing more to withhold. God does not want what you have; God wants you. Here is the wonderful truth: whenever God asks something of you, He has already planned for your provision.
In the end, God did not take Abraham’s son. God gave His own Son. God gave Abraham a promise, and Abraham offered God a son. Abraham’s obedience was an act of faith.
Something else indicates this idea of God’s planning our provision. Genesis 22:20 says, “And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor.” You can’t help wondering why this list of kids is in this chapter. Then you get to verse 23 which says, “Bethuel beget Rebekah.” Rebekah would become Isaac’s wife. Even as Abraham plotted Isaac’s death, God was planning for Isaac’s future.
God’s Son came through Abraham’s son. Abraham’s family was part of God’s plan. There is a sense in which Abraham had literally tied his destiny to the omnipotence of God. You don’t need to know God’s grand design to know that there is one. Trust, obey, and tap into God’s plan. Remember that whenever God asks something of you, He has already planned for your provision.