Genesis 22 Devotional

A Father Who Gave More

“Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.”Genesis 22:8 (BSB)

This chapter is meant to be hard to read. Isaac is the son of promise, the one through whom every blessing was supposed to come, and God tells Abraham to give him back. Abraham rises early and goes. Hebrews tells us what held him: he was convinced that God could raise the dead, so the promise could not fail even here (Hebrews 11:17-19).

On the mountain, the knife is stopped, and a ram caught in a thicket dies in Isaac's place (22:13). Abraham names the place for what he learned there: the LORD Will Provide. Centuries later, God did what he spared Abraham from doing. Paul says he did not hold back his own Son but gave him up for us all (Romans 8:32). Whatever God is asking you to hold loosely, you can trust a Father who has already given more than he will ever ask of you.

To think about: What is God asking you to hold with an open hand right now, and how does the cross help you trust him with it?