Gen 22:1-3  Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”  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.”  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.

            Imagine for a minute you are Abraham. You have one legitimate son upon which the great promise depends. Abraham and Sarah is well past the age to bear more children and Isaac was basically a miracle baby from the Lord. Now the Lord is telling you to offer him up as a burnt offering! So many questions, so much hurt, yet Abrahams first reply indicates his readiness to do the Fathers will, “Here I am”. This was definitely not Abrahams will. He was going against everything he had hoped for to obey the Fathers will. How was he able to do this thing to his only son? The answer is found in Hebrews 11:17-19  where the writer explains, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,  of whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED,”  concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. He obeyed the will of God by faith knowing that God would work it out even if He resurrected Isaac from the dead. Notice the end of this story, Gen 22:10-12  “And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”  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.” God stopped Abraham from offering his son and then provided a sacrifice.

            Let us move forward to the time of Christ. On the eve of His death He prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” Luk 22:42. Here is the only begotten son of God (John 3:16) and He is about to be offered as a sacrifice for sin. Before the crucifixion He prayed for the Father to take the bitter cup of sorrow and suffering away. But He added “Not My will but Yours be done”. What God did for Abraham He could not do for Himself. His Son must be offered. Do we have the faith of Abraham and the love of God to be determined to do the will of the Father?