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The Lord had confirmed the promise. "I will certainly return unto thee according to the time life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son" (Genesis 18: 10).

"And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac" (Genesis 21: 1 - 3 ).

Isaac! It is so very difficult for us to really grasp what his birth meant for the man of faith. It is almost completely impossible for us to put ourselves in Abraham's place. There are so many factors involved which are totally outside our experience.

Yet we must try to feel that impact of these glorious developments, so that we can more adequately come to terms with the challenge to the life of faith. Particularly those aspects of the life of faith which are revealed in this chapter.

There are times when we talk as though these could cause conflict, such as, generating friction between the motivation of love over against the motivation of faith. That these could at times pull us in two different directions.

That is not true. It is never true when by faith we walk with the Lord.

No where is this more dramatically demonstrated than here in the situation involving Abraham and Isaac.

In fact we see here that the two can never be separated. To act in genuine love is to act in genuine faith. To act in genuine faith is always to act in genuine love.

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here am I."

God tested Abraham! Tested his faith. Tested his love. Tested his commitment to the covenant. His commitment to the Lord. The commitment of both love and faith!

The Lord knew how important this test was: For Abraham. For his faith. For the continued development of his faith.

The Lord knows just how vital it is for us to be test tested, for our faith to be tested!

"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold, . . . might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1: 6, 7).

This test of Abraham's faith was so significant. In a most wonderful sense, it was all for Abraham's benefit. It would certainly result in the most wonderful blessing for Abraham.

Probably the most important aspect of the test has to do with focus. Both, the focus of faith, and, the focus of love.

The test certainly enabled Abraham to re-examine both of these vital areas, particularly in his relationship with the Lord.

His life had changed. The circumstances of his life had changed. The most significant change was brought about by the birth of Isaac. There was the impact of the constant presence of his son, that son who had been promised by the Lord. His presence in the home would effect: everything. Everything?

That was the issue! If it did effect everything, how did it do so? In what way, and with what results?

Was there a positive effect on Abraham's personal relationship to the Lord? Or a negative effect? Had Abraham really thought through the answers to those questions?

Did his love for Isaac effect the faith of Abraham? Did it alter in any way the practical expression of that faith, or the intensity of that faith?

These were very important questions. Abraham really needed to know the answer to them.

So do we, whenever those questions are applied by the Lord to us, and to our faith.

Changing circumstances do effect us. They can influence our lives in a wide variety of ways, including, our love for the Lord, and our faith in Him. Often that change is gradual, and imperceptible. We are unaware of what has transpired, and of the direction in which these critical issues may have moved.

There are times, in fact, when the Lord has to say, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" (Revelation 2: 4).

If we are drifting in that direction, we need to know. The Lord wants us to know, so that we can and will rectify the situation.

Immediately! As soon as the Lord called, Abraham responded. He was still fully open to the Lord, and still listening for His voice. He was still motivated by that deep desire to hear the Lord, to respond, and to obey Him!

Abraham had experienced long periods when the Lord had been silent. Or, when the Lord appeared to be silent. Yet he waited on the Lord. He waited in humble, sincere, anticipation. He knew that when it was appropriate the Lord would speak His Word in power.

Faith keeps the channels open, those channels of vital personal and spiritual communication. Maintaining diligent alertness. Knowing that when He is ready, He will speak to us.

Faith knows that the Lord loves. He loves with an everlasting love. That is why faith is so eager to hear His voice, so as to hear more of the expression of His love. Knowing that the Lord always speaks in love, in loving grace, in loving inspiration and encouragement.

"And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."

This command of the Lord must have come as a stunning shock to Abraham. These very words which the Lord used inevitably increased the impact. “Take now thy son!” Abraham would have no doubt as to which one the Lord meant.

But the Lord added, "Thine only son, Isaac!" Abraham knew that the Lord was focusing on that son, the very son for whom he had waited over all those long years. This was the son whom the Lord had promised to him. Isaac was his only son in that sense. He had no other son within the covenant.

The Lord added more. "Whom thou lovest!" Abraham knew how much he loved Isaac. How dearly, how greatly, he loved him. Did the Lord need to add that emphasis?

The Lord knew exactly what He was doing. He knew why He was doing it. The focus was unmistakable. The issue was quite clear.

For the Lord the issue was, even as it always is, genuine faith expressed in genuine love!

There can be no doubt that Abraham realized, at least to some extent, what the Lord was doing. That he identified the objective of the Lord.

Most Christians today do not have a clue. They neither truly understand faith nor love. They and their loved ones pay a horrendous price for that appalling ignorance.

Abraham by faith walked with the Lord. He is so rightly called, "The friend of God!" In faith he shared with the Lord the closest relationship possible to man.

His walk of faith enabled him to "know!" the Lord. To know the Lord in the way which is so very rare. He knew the heart of the Lord. He knew the mind of God. He knew the character and integrity of God.

The Word of the Lord inspired the immediate identification of faith. It called forth Abraham's strong "Yes" to every aspect of the Word of the Lord.

That is: Love/Faith! It is the genuine and total faith of love! It is the genuine and total love of faith. It was the direct result of all that the Lord had accomplished in His servant.

Love/Faith always responds to the Word of the Lord with, "Yes!" Definite! Unqualified! Unquestioning! Therefore: immediately and utterly obedient!

We today need to permit the Lord to enable us to understand that! For only as we understand that can we actually go on in the life of fellowship with the Lord. Without that, all that follows is completely incomprehensible. Lord, help us to comprehend!

"Take Isaac. . . and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering!"

The debased love of man has a perverted focus. All that it could see was that dread expression: "Burnt offering!'' Therefore, it responds: Not my son! Not that one whom I so dearly love! Never!

It is that response which is the most common one today. Even among Christians. They may not state it so bluntly. But that is exactly the emphasis of their attitude. That is so clear from the evidence of their conduct.

Their argument is, I love my child, therefore I want nothing but the very best for my child. So, I cannot afford to get "fanatically religious!" Sacrifice is included in their self-serving definition of "fanatical!" My child must have the best education, the best of opportunities, and the best of everything. So it goes!

That is NOT the attitude of faith! That is the debased philosophy of the God-less world. The perverted attitude of compromise! That is exactly what that is!

It is not the expression of true faith! Therefore, it is NOT the expression of true love! Rather it is the debased "love" of the world: A blind, foolish, self-serving love. That so-called "love" actually denies the child the best!

Love/Faith is seen so clearly in Abraham, in his attitude, and in his response. Genuine faith and genuine love unite in a true focus.

Abraham first identifies Who HE is Who is speaking to him. HE is THE LORD! The covenant making, covenant keeping: LORD! He is: "EL SHADDAI!" "God Almighty!'' The God of perfect knowledge and perfect wisdom. The God of perfect love and perfect grace.

That identification was so crucial for Abraham. It is so crucial for us today. The Lord is speaking!

Faith identified that the Lord had established a covenant, that covenant in which Isaac was to play such a vital role. God had spoken on this very issue. His Word stood. Absolutely nothing could change that!

Faith knew that the Lord loved Isaac, and that God's plan and will for Isaac was best. Faith also knew that nothing that God said would ever in any way negate God's stated plan.

Therefore what the Lord said was best! What the Lord required was right! Perfectly right!

That statement concerning "burnt offering" was seen by faith in that context.

Love/faith confesses, "I may not know how God will do so. But I do know that His Word will accomplish His perfect will!"

Abraham could have responded in the way that most Christians today respond. His loss, and Isaac's loss, would have been so very great had he done so.

What if he had said, Lord, that is too "fanatical!" "A burnt offering!'' That is asking far too much. I refuse to go along with that. I want nothing but the best for my son! There is no way that being a burnt offering can be best for him. As his father, I know that I know best!

Abraham knew the absolute folly of such an attitude. That would be to deny Isaac the best. God's best! God's best is the only best worthy of consideration!

To deny a child God's best is not love. It is the exact opposite. It is the clear witness that we neither love God nor the child. It is the tragic distortion of love, the perversion of love.

Love/Faith sees the Lord. Hears His Word. Confidently trusts His will. Believes that He will accomplish the best. The best for Abraham. The best for Isaac.

Abraham knew that God's Word did something most vital to his love for Isaac. He knew what God's objective was. That it was not to decrease his love for Isaac in any way whatsoever. Certainly not to oppose it.

Rather, by hearing and obeying the Lord, that love would be greatly strengthened, even as it would be thoroughly purified. Sanctified. Lifting that love to the highest possible level. The highest level which close fellowship with the Lord made possible.

As Abraham's love for Isaac was strengthened by the Lord, and as it was purified, Abraham's response would increasingly glorify the Lord.

There is no true love that leaves out faith. There is no pure love which excludes God's involvement. There is no real expression of love but that which always honors the Lord.

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him."

The Lord had spoken. Abraham responded. The man of faith was totally one with the Lord. This was a dynamic testimony to love: The love of the Lord for Abraham, and the love of Abraham for the Lord.

This so wonderfully exemplifies spiritual maturity, especially that level of spiritual maturity which most of us look up at with awe and wonder. We know so little of such maturity today. We see so little of it in our modern Churches.

It was immediate obedience. There was no questioning. No attempt to delay. Abraham knew that there was reason for neither questioning nor delay.

We see him as he took the axe. By faith, in genuine love, he "clave the wood for the burnt offering!" We watch him. But do we understand? Can we understand that expression of pure faith, that demonstration of devoted love?

He "went unto the place!" Each step taken in total fellowship with the Lord. He was so very conscious of the presence of the Lord, of the love of the Lord. That was not a reluctant journey. That was a triumphant pilgrimage of faith. His eyes were on the Lord, and on the faithfulness of the Lord.

The Lord invites us to enter into that experience with Him! To share that reality. To walk in that deep personal closeness of fellowship with Him. There: true love is known. True faith is lived out triumphantly.

"Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off."

He saw the mount. There: Isaac was to be offered as a burnt sacrifice. There was no feeling of apprehension in his heart. No cold dread fear haunted his thoughts.

There he would see the most dramatic evidence of the presence of "El Shaddai!" There, on the mount, God Almighty would make His presence felt in a new way! In the most dramatic demonstration of love!

"And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”

The servants had fulfilled their role. They could go no further. They had no participation in the events which were to take place on the mountain top.

Abraham knew that the sacrifice involved only three. The Lord! Abraham! Isaac! Had those servants been present, they would have become a hindrance. They would not understand. The relationship of love/faith was so far beyond their experience.

There are times when we must remember this fact: That we are to press on with the Lord, going on to a deeper walk, to a closer walk of faith. That there will be times when, to do so, we will have to walk alone, unaccompanied by others. That others would not understand. They could even prove to be a hindrance.

We need to develop that spiritual discernment. Not demanding of others the response of greater maturity. Especially when they are not ready for it.

The next words of Abraham are so revealing. “I and the lad will go!” Go together! We will "worship" together! Then we will "come again to you!"

"I and the lad will . . . come again to you!" What an exciting affirmation of love/faith!

Had Abraham forgotten the command? "Offer him there for a burnt offering!'' No! He fully intended to do exactly that! He was fully committed to carry out everything that the Lord required.

Yet in faith he was also fully convinced, "I and the lad will . . . come again to you!"

He would fully obey the Lord. The Lord would then reveal His glory in power. God was faithful. Faith knew that God had no choice, Abraham and the lad must return. God's Word assured that - to faith!

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure" (Hebrews 11: 17 - 19).

Faith: accounted God able! Claimed it! Gave effective witness to this commitment of faith.

We read the account. We are so deeply humbled by the reality, and yet so slow to understand. The Lord would have us accept the challenge. This life of faith really is for us!

Abraham gave the wood for the burnt offering to Isaac to carry. He himself took the knife and the fire.

That action inspired the question by Isaac. "And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

He knew that there was to be a sacrifice. He knew that that was a part of the "worship" to which Abraham had referred. He knew all that was required for such a sacrifice, even as he knew that something essential was missing. He could not see “the lamb.”

This speaks so eloquently of the training which Abraham had already given to him. Isaac was his son. He was the heir to the covenant. Abraham did all that he could to prepare Isaac, to equip him for the responsibilities of the covenant.

We will need to return to this emphasis later. It is sufficient at this point to indicate the principle. The person who walks by faith accepts a special responsibility, doing everything possible to ensure that his children go on in the faith after him.

Abraham answered the question. His answer is the answer of love/faith.

"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering."

Faith maintains the victorious focus: God! The burnt offering was required by the Lord. Every facet of the offering was the Lord's responsibility! Faith is totally confident that the Lord accepts His responsibilities. He never fails!

Faith may be unable to explain all of the implications. In fact, faith does not even attempt to try. Too many of the details are hidden in the perfect wisdom and will of God.

"So they went both of them together!" They climbed to the place of worship. They were one. That father and son. Abraham and Isaac: One in their commitment to worship the Lord.

Isaac: with a confident faith in Abraham. Abraham: with a confident faith in the Lord. Their faith would not be disappointed!

We are spectators of those most poignant and dramatic moments. We really cannot enter the heart and mind of Abraham. Nor can we enter the heart and mind of Isaac. Conjecture is profitless. We must let each aspect speak its own clear message.

One thing we do know. Abraham was totally motivated by love/faith. He did not falter. "And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.”

Abraham did not falter. They had arrived. He knew that this was the place appointed by the Lord. The person who genuinely walks by faith: knows, particularly when it involves such a vital development.

Faith knew! Faith obeyed! The altar was built. Each stone was laid in place according to the Lord's requirement. In faith Abraham was building the altar for the glory of the Lord!

Every altar of faith has that as its goal: The glory of the Lord! Nothing else! Any altar we build for any other reason is not built by faith.

Abraham took his son whom he loved and bound him. He laid that son whom he loved on that altar. Placing him on that wood which would soon be in flames consuming the sacrifice.

Abraham placed his son there in faith, in love. No one could question the reality of either his faith or his love. He did love Isaac. He knew that genuine love for Isaac required him to be placed there. There: In the center of the will of God! Never let us forget that vital fact!

To place him anywhere else was to put him outside the will of God! We must not forget that vital fact either!

He placed Isaac there in genuine love for the Lord. He did so in confident faith in the Lord, faith in the will of the Lord, and faith in the faithfulness of the Lord.

“And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”

Only true love/faith will ever understand this, only that one who lives constantly in closest proximity to the heart of God. This is a fact which excludes the vast majority of Christians today.

The truth is, they exclude themselves. They choose not to be where the Lord would have them be. Their faith is so superficial, so immature. Their love is so influenced by worldliness and compromise. These actions by Abraham are so completely abhorrent to them.

The actions of Abraham were not abhorrent to God! God saw them as they really were: The actions of adoration and worship, of genuine praise, of heart-felt thanksgiving.

"And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: And he said, Here am I.”

Abraham's response to the Lord had reached the climax. There could be no greater demonstration of true love than this. Even as there could be no greater demonstration of genuine faith.

He stood there at the altar on Mount Moriah. Isaac his son was lying bound on the wood of the burnt offering. Abraham had the knife in his hand. His arm was raised ready to proceed with the sacrifice.

One! - In the way which we find so hard to comprehend. How we need to urgently pray that we will be able to understand, that we will be able to reach that level of close fellowship with the Lord.

There are still those who would describe these events as fanatical and so very extreme. Such people neither really know the Lord, nor that depth of faith which was demonstrated by Abraham.

This is the portrayal of the heart of man made one with the heart of God. The evidence of that is unmistakably clear.

At the very instant in which the angel spoke, Abraham responded. "Abraham, Abraham; . . .Here am I!"

A fanatic would have been impatient with the interruption. Angrily brushing it aside as he proceeded with the act of sacrifice.

Faith hears, knowing that it is the Lord Who is calling. Faith responds immediately.

Faith is committed to obey the Word of the Lord. But that obedience is ever submissive to the sovereign authority of the Lord. So that when the Lord speaks, faith responds immediately.

"And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him."

Abraham had gone as far as the Lord required him to go. In faith he was fully prepared to go as far as the Lord required. Now that the Lord said, That is far enough! That was far enough for Abraham. This is genuine faith.

“For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Those words were spoken for Abraham's benefit. So that Abraham would know that the Lord did know. More specifically, Abraham would know what the Lord knew about him personally. This was the privilege of genuine love/faith. To know what the Lord knows!

This concept is alien to vast numbers of Christians today. The spiritual comprehension of the vast majority of people is so very limited. In most cases they are merely content to know that other people may think well of them. Be able to compare themselves favorably with other Christians. That is a most immature level of Christian growth.

Faith is committed to press on to a deeper experience, on and out into greater maturity.

In the final analysis man's evaluation does not matter. The real question is, What does God think? What does God know?

Do we hear Him say about us, "I know"? Whether we hear it, or not, He knows! He knows us perfectly. He knows just how much He can trust us. He knows whether we are sincere: In faith. In love. In life.

The Lord tests us. He tests the sincerity of our 1ove, and the genuineness of our faith. Yet so very often we are unaware that He is testing us. So that very often we fail His test.

How we need to urgently seek a closer walk with the Lord, that more genuine walk of faith, that real life of love. Where: we know! We know He knows! Where He can reveal to us what He knows. What He knows about our faith, our love, and our loyalty to Him.

"Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom tbou lovest!" "Thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me!"

The Lord is seeking to develop such a relationship with us, so that our faith and our love will also draw His commendation.

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”

Abraham had answered, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering!"

Abraham said that because he believed it. He may not have known: how? But his words were spoken in faith, that genuine faith which the Lord always so fully honored.

Abraham and Isaac joined in worship on the mount. The sacrifice of heartfelt thanksgiving was offered. Hearts were lifted in inspired praise. There was a glorious spirit of adoration and worship. They were one with the Lord they loved.

That is the glorious privilege of love/faith. It is the opportunity which the Lord so graciously and freely gives. Which He gives to all those who are ready to receive it.

"And Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-jirah: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen."

"Jehovah-jirah!" The Lord sees! The Lord provides! It could be one, or the other, or: both! Faith thankfully, joyfully claims both! The Lord sees and the Lord provides. Faith rejoices in the reality.

Love/faith climbed the mount of God! Climbed the mount in true fellowship with the Lord. Totally committed to honor and obey the Lord.

There, on the mount, with the Lord: What a climax! It was so glorious. So inspiring. So indescribably wonderful!

Total oneness with the Lord. True unity of motivation. Complete identification of the heart's desire. Absolute conformity to the Lord's will.

What an incredible privilege, to be invited by the Lord to climb that mount. To ascend to the heights in the fullest union of love/faith.

So few ever receive that invitation, because so few press on to reach the place where the Lord can issue that invitation

He does not want to limit His invitation. We limit His opportunity. His perfect will is to be able to invite all! Will we let Him invite us?

His personal walk of faith was so real. By faith he enjoyed rich personal fellowship with the Lord.

Abraham was concerned about all that he must pass on to his son: The covenant, the promises, all of the heritage of faith.

But: How? Faith is a very personal quality. It is for this reason that it has been stated, “God has no grandchildren.”

The concern of Abraham was so very real, and so Abraham gave to his servant was given very clear instructions.

"And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell."

Abraham clearly saw the danger involved if that happened. A Canaanite wife would bring with her all of her pagan faith and practices. Faith would be subjected to many negative and dangerous pressures.

Abraham identified that danger. Yet so many Christians today ignore it. Isaac must not be "unequally yoked."(2 Corinthians 6: 14). The life of faith was far too important to foolishly jeopardize it by taking such a risk.

Why are such foolish and dangerous risks condoned today? Even encouraged? The inevitable consequences: of being "unequally yoked" are so disastrous.

“But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”

It was back there that one could be found who would share the faith. That is always the most important consideration. Abraham knew the family background, as well as the training. He believed that he had good reason to anticipate that the right wife would be found there.

The right wife is ever the one who is compatible with genuine faith in the Lord. So many Christians have drifted because they have ignored this principle. Ignored this spiritual reality. Such a consideration does not rate any consideration in their thought or in their priorities.

The servant had a question: What if I need to compromise? What if that appears to be the only way to attain your goals?

"Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?"

Take Isaac back! Retrace the steps of your journey! Back to the place which you left!

He saw that as canceling out the walk of faith. Going back on the obedience of faith. Reverting to the time prior to the call of faith.

He must not be taken out of the land of promise! Not taken out of the place of faith. There could be no justification for that. None whatsoever.

Abraham re-emphasizes his priorities. First and foremost: live by faith in the center of the will of the Lord. Nothing must ever be permitted to change that! Nothing!

We need to get back to that level of the commitment to faith. We have too often sacrificed that priority tocompromise, or to convenience. We have done so at such great cost, not only to ourselves, but also to our loves ones.

“The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land.”

Abraham maintained the focus of his faith. The Lord is the Reality! He is still fully involved. Still fully committed. Still in total control!

That was the strong unwavering commitment of the man of faith. On that conviction he stood firm.

“He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.”

God was involved. God would be involved, all the way. Abraham was convinced: The Lord would not fail!

The Lord knew Abraham's commitment to the life of faith. The Lord knew the depth of Abraham's desire for his son: That Isaac would continue to walk by faith with the Lord, even after Abraham was gone.

It was that faith and commitment which honored Him! And only that! Anything less than that dishonors Him.

If our faith is real, genuine, then it will show! It will match the level of concern that we see in Abraham. It will be expressed in the same level of concern for our children, that they too walk by faith with the Lord.