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Abraham's Test from God: what happened, what we can learn from it, and how we can apply it to our own lives today.

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Today's Gospel of Jesus Christ

22 1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your 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 of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the [a]lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the [b]lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, [c]The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” 15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Genesis 22:1-19, NKJV

Facts

During the Life of Abraham, God the Word (Jesus before he was born) tested Abraham with a big test: he must go up to the mountain, and offer his own beloved son, who was born as a miracle child, as a sacrifice to God. Abraham complied, but then before he actually did it, God the Word stopped him, and saw the faith that Abraham had.

Opinions

Abraham's test of faith in this well-known passage from Genesis 22 teaches us many things, and especially the great example that God the Word showed in Abraham's faith, and so we should follow suite when it comes to faith like Abraham's.

Article

Christ has risen brothers and sisters! It is a wonderful day that the Lord has made for us, another wonderful act of mercy that he has kindly shown to us. How lovely is his love my brothers and sisters! Let us therefore make every effort to be pleasing to him, to be loving to him, and to be faithful to him, as he has always been faithful and loving to us. The love of God truly does overcome everything.

Today, we revisit the time in Abraham's life when God the Word (the Son of God before he was born into this world) tested Abraham. Abraham at this point in his life had demonstrated a lot of good faith in God. But now, he has the ultimate test: God the Word specifically tested Abraham to see if even after all the tests of faith he has went through, to see if his faith would still be solid and living. So, God the Word told Abraham to go up on a specific hill to sacrifice his only son, Issac, who was born out of God's love for Abraham and Sarah. Abraham did not hesitate and quickly got everything ready for the sacrifice. However, this was very hard for Abraham, because he always wanted a child with Sarah, but could not have one. God provided him the son that he always wanted. Abraham as a result was extremely happy for God's mercy shown when Issac was born into this world. And now it seems like Abraham would lose his greatest blessing from God. It seems that he was going to lose his only son that he always wanted, by his own hand. It was a very hard test for Abraham, but he still went along with it. Just before he was about to sacrifice his son, God the Word told Abraham to not do anything to Issac, and behold, God provided the sacrifice that Abraham needed, a ram nearby for him to offer up. Abraham passed the ultimate test of faith with flying colors, by the Grace of God.

Abraham is a very important figure for us to learn from, for the Triune God shows and teaches us a lot of things out from Abraham, that our life with God may be strengthened from concrete examples about following God as a true disciple. The test of Abraham's faith here is a great place to learn about being a true disciple of God. And there are many things we can learn from this encounter.

The important thing to remember is this: Abraham's faith was tested with the ultimate test. He was tested by God so that he can prove the genuineness of his faith in God. Abraham at this test obeyed God without question. So then this can be applied to our lives: such faith and obedience are very pleasing to the Triune God, and it is this type of faith and obedience that made Abraham a friend of God and righteous before God. If we in like manner also follow suit to what the Son of God taught here in the form of Abraham's test here, then we also would become more faithful disciples of Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is a lot of teaching to get deep into in this passage, and we can go really deep into it, but for today, it is important that as Christians and being Christians, we should take heed to what our Lord teaches us in the form of Abraham's test of faith: great faith and loving obedience just as Christ showed in Abraham is key in our faith in God. "If you love me, keep my commands," and "Whoever wants to be my disciple must first deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me." As Abraham did keep these commands spoken by Christ by his faith and obedience, so also should we by the Grace of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Comments

hieuhanhntn said:

God’s love never fails ❤️

April 8, 2026, 7:46 p.m.

Bleed_For_Love said:

Amen. Even though being a Christian is hard, it is worth it. It is worth an eternity. Like Abraham kept his eyes on the God, so must we keep our eyes on the Heavenly, for as earthly things come and go, God's Love never goes away.

April 8, 2026, 7:41 a.m.