Short Thoughts for Today

The passage of scripture for today's short thoughts will be Hebrews 11: 17-19. Although the author had already written of Abraham's faith in verses 8-10, we see him inspired to return to Abraham in these three verses. "By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type."  Divine inspiration notwithstanding, it is no wonder why the author goes back to discussing Abraham. The example of faith we have here is nothing short of amazing.

I suspect that most are quite familiar with the story; Abraham being called by God to take his son and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. The donkey, the servants, the wood, the bound son, the drawn knife the ram caught in a thicket, etc... But it is the Hebrew author's contribution to the account that causes me to say, "wow!" I think that many have been in awe with Abraham's faith shown in this account, thinking that his faith was in God intervening and preventing Isaac's death. And no doubt, such an act of faith would have been remarkable.

But again, the Hebrew author invites us to consider a striking truth that makes Abraham's act of faith even more notable. God, the One "who cannot lie" had declared that in Isaac, Abraham's descendants would be called. This is important to note because Isaac would need to be alive in order for this to occur. Abraham's faith does not appear to have been in God preventing Isaac's death but in His power to raise Isaac from the dead after his ensuing death at his father's hand! Again, God had declared that Abraham's descendants would come through Isaac, and indeed, through Isaac they would come. Since God had instructed him to sacrifice his son, Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead in order to fulfill His promise.

When I consider the faith that is described in this account I can better understand why in Galatians 3:9 the Apostle Paul simply describes Abraham as "Abraham, the believer". Similar to Abraham, we are the target of many promises from the Lord. May we come to know them, receive them, believe them, live them, and rest in them.