SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 06-04-03
My
Worship Time Focus:
Abraham’s testing with Isaac
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Hebrews 11:17-19
Message
of the verse: “17 By faith Abraham,
when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the
promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had
said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the
dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” (NIV)
“17 By faith, being tested, Abraham offered up Isaac; and he receiving
the promises was offering up the only begotten, 18 as to whom it was said, ‘In
Isaac your Seed shall be called;’ (Gen. 21:12) 19 reckoning that God was able
to raise even from the dead; from where indeed he obtained him in a
parable.” (Green’s)
I would
say that this event in the life of Abraham, that is described here, (the entire
story is in Genesis 22), is, in my opinion, one of the greatest descriptions of
faith that is found in the entire Scripture.
It surely fits the description of faith that Warren Wiersbe has in his
book, “Be Confident.” “True Bible faith
is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and
consequences.” God has previously told
Abraham that he would bring the true Seed through Isaac, who was indeed the
miracle child, and now God tests Abraham by asking him to offer up his “only
begotten” as a burnt offering. Abraham’s
tremendous faith in God and His Word that He has spoken to him gave him the
confidence to do as God instructed him to do.
Strong’s says of the “only begotten” the following: “1) single of its kind, only 1a) used of only
sons or daughters (viewed in relation to their parents) 1b) used of Christ,
denotes the only begotten son of God”
I want to
move to verse nineteen and talk about the word that is translated figuratively
in the NIV, and is translated parable in the Greens LIT. The word in the Greek is “parabole
par-ab-ol-ay'” for which I can see why Green’s uses the English word
parable. This word as described in the
Strong’s Concordance has many meanings, and one of them is parable. Here are some of them: “2) metaph.
2a) a comparing, comparison of one thing with another,
likeness, similitude
2b) an example by which a doctrine or precept is
illustrated
2c) a narrative, fictitious but agreeable to the laws and
usages of human life, by which either the duties of men or the things of God,
particularly the nature and history of God's kingdom are figuratively portrayed
2d) a parable: an earthly story with a heavenly meaning
The point
in all of this to me is that Isaac was surely a picture of Jesus Christ, for
Isaac was the one whom the promised Seed was to come through and Jesus Christ
was the promised Seed, and it is said of Isaac that in fact, God did in a sense
raise him from the dead, and of course God did raise His only begotten, Jesus
Christ from the dead.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I can see
some principles of this section of Scripture that portray in the storm that I
am going through. I see a tremendous
example in Abraham as he believed God’s promises pertaining to his son Isaac,
and standing on those principles in spite of circumstances and
consequences. I see God honoring His
Word and also honoring the faith of Abraham in believing God in this
circumstance, or storm of his life. This
section of Hebrews has been a tremendous help in my life as I go through this
storm.
The Word of God was a wonderful blessing to me as I read it
this morning and it has also been a challenge to my heart to have faith in
God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
My
Steps of Faith Today: To believe God
will see me through this storm that He has led me into, and that He is praying
for me as I go through it, and that He will come to me in the storm as He has
already through His Word, and that He will cause me to grow and become more
like Jesus Christ because of this storm, and that He will see me safely through
this storm.
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