Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Abraham's Painful Journey



We are studying about Abraham. When we read the story of how he was commanded to sacrifice his own son Isaac, it took on a whole new meaning to me. This story has always astounded me, but lately having watched my sister lose her baby, this story holds new meaning. I have never been a mother before but I have seen my sister ache and mourn for the loss of her child. Isaac was the child that Abraham and Sarah were promised and they had waited a long time for Isaac. So when the Lord commanded him to kill his own son Isaac, this must have been incredibly hard. I would have thought, What? Are you kidding me? This is the child that you said would carry our posterity? But he says “Here I Am” and doesn’t murmur for one second. He doesn’t even have to ask why the Lord would want him to kill his own son. The next morning he arose early and prepared for the journey, a very hard journey. The last journey he probably thought he would take with his son Isaac.

God always tries with the trials that would help us grow and depend on him the most. He was commanded to do the hardest. In the beginning he probably thought that he would never have children and then Sarah conceived and he was so happy. Now the Lord is commanding him to kill their only son? What? The Lord has us suffer our worst thing. This is why Abraham had to be tested this way. The Lord was planning to give him some amazing blessings, but he had to see that Abraham would be faithful and obedient in all things before he gave him the blessings and before he became the father of all the righteous.

This is a picture right south of Jerusalem on a mountain called Haas promenade. This mountain is the one that Abraham climbed up from behind, coming from the city of Hebron, and looked over the small city of Jerusalem. Mt. Moriah was empty when Abraham saw it, but now on Mt. Moriah the Dome of Rock is there to remember Abraham and the faith that he showed at that moment.
As I stood over looking Jerusalem and Mt. Moriah and as I walked in the footsteps of Abraham our great grandfather, I was in awe at the faith and trust in the Lord that he had to obey the Lord and not murmur for one second, even if it didn't make sense. I hope we can all do the same in our lives. He lives, and has a perfect plan for us, even though it might not make sense.

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