NOW I KNOW

NOW I KNOW

When Abram was 75 years old, the Lord spoke to him and told him to get up out of the Ur of the Chaldees to a land that He would show him. The Lord told him that He would bless him and make of his seed a great nation.

The record tells us that Abram obeyed the instructions of the Lord and started journeying, not knowing whither he went.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

The days grew into weeks, and the weeks into months, and the months into years. Finally Abram reached age 99 and his wife 90, and still no promised seed had come along. The "promise of seed" was getting old also, for that had been 24 years ago. But Abram was still believing that God was ABLE to do what He had promised He would do. That was his part of the bargain.

Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

The Hebrew word that is translated "perfect" is also translated "upright" in other places. I prefer to use it in that sense, for the present word "perfect" has a somewhat different meaning. Abram was certainly NOT FLAWLESS. But he was certainly walking uprightly before the Lord in response to the original call.

It might seem that the Lord was slack in performing HIS PART of the bargain.

Gen 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

We must constantly remind ourselves, however, that God's timing does not always match what we are able to comprehend with our finite understanding.

I don’t know of any way we can determine just how old Isaac was when Abraham took him to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord, but he was certainly old enough to "leave his mother" for several days, and to figure out that there was something lacking in his father's preparation for a sacrifice.

Gen 22:7 And Isaac spoke 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?

Can you imagine the mental anguish Abraham endured when his son asked him that question? What could he say? He believed that the Lord was ABLE to raise his son back to life, but he did NOT KNOW that it would happen.

What he DID know was that God had ordered him to sacrifice his son, and that was what he intended to do.

TALK ABOUT "BLIND OBEDIENCE".

What was God doing here? Why would He subject one of His saints to such trauma?

I believe the answer lies in a few verses further down in the chapter.

Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
Gen 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: FOR NOW I KNOW THAT THOU FEAREST GOD, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

How long had the Lord taken to "document" the faith of Abraham? Twenty four years plus the age of Isaac at the time.

My guess would be somewhere in the range of 40 to 42 years.

Immediately the question arises, "How long have I waited for the Lord to come on the scene and fulfill His promises to me? Is He waiting for some response on my part?

What does He KNOW about me?