Bible Reading #205 - Don't Withhold from God

Don't Withhold from God

Genesis 22

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 2) "God said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.' " (v. 12) " 'Do not lay a hand on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you did not withhold from your only son.' "

My Thoughts

I might sound very strange for God to ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son. For one, God is not happy with killing and two, I'm sure He abhors human sacrifice. I can hear all those who are against the Bible saying "Why would a loving God ask someone to sacrifice their only child? The Bible is full of inconsistencies and lies..." and blah blah blah. You can't take the Bible at face value.

God had promised Abraham that a great nation would come from him, through his son Isaac. This would not happen if Isaac was sacrificed and yes, if he would have been, it would be awful. It was a test for Abraham, and God stopped him before anything happened. "Oh, but God know everything, so He should have known whether Abraham would pass the test in advance!" Yes, He did. But Abraham did not. "Oh and that's dangerous and stupid for God to play with him like that. What if He couldn't stop Abraham in time?" Well, God is all powerful. He can stop time or reverse it or make it non-existent.

This was all done to see if Abraham had full faith in God by not withholding anything from Him. Tell me if there was really any other way to test this. Abraham did not withhold anything from God, including his only son Isaac, whom God has promised a great nation through. Do you think Abraham actually wanted to sacrifice his son? No! I highly, highly doubt he did! But he did fully trust God.

I admit that sometimes as I read this story, I find it hard to understand why God would do something like this. Then I remember everything I am saying now. What we can learn from this is that we should not withhold anything from God. We should not put anything before God. Everything we have is given to us by God and is not to be worshiped in His place.

Hold on to this life with an open hand.

I have heard people say before that when it comes to God and holding on to things, we need to let go. Jesus said that whoever saves his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Him will save it. Sounds contradictory, I know, but it's true. If we hold on to everything we have, whether it's possessions, fame, even people, when we die, all of it is left behind. And because we spent our lives holding on to these things, we won't enjoy eternity with God. If we hold on to these things with an open hand and we give it to God, we make ourselves free to get more of God and when we die, we enjoy eternity with God.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!