To such as these…

By Norma Wegner
Christian Community Church

But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased and said unto them, “Allow the little children to come unto Me and forbid them not, for to such as these belong the kingdom of God.”   Mark 10:14

Hebrews defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We see this definition fulfilled in many men, women, youth, and children throughout the Bible. I have chosen the familiar account of Abraham and Isaac. We are familiar with the faithfulness of Abraham. We see it in his willingness to leave all he knew for something better, all on the promise God made to him. His faith in that promise sent him to a land of riches. God made him another promise—the promise of so many descendants that they could not be counted.

This is all well and good. All of us who have children hope their heritage will continue through the generations to come. God’s promise may have seemed hollow to Abraham and Sarah at the time since they had no children and no hope of having any except for God’s promise. They were in their nineties; no longer young enough for children to be a consideration. But that did not prevent the longing.

Because Abraham (Abram at the time) chose to do what God told him to do, he received God’s blessings abundantly. Now Abraham was as human as the rest of us. He had his moments, like when he asked Sarah to claim to be his sister not his wife when they went to Egypt. His faith was not strong enough to trust God to take care of them. He had not had his first child yet, so we know he was safe. (Ah, hindsight is so clear—20/20 as we say.)

But Abraham’s faith is not the issue here. He was one of God’s most faithful and was rewarded many times over for it. Do you think Abraham’s faith in God’s promises prompted God’s desire to please Abraham? After all, God had chosen Abraham to be the father of his chosen people.

Have you ever thought of Isaac and his faithfulness? We fail to see it because the faith of Abraham overshadows it. So let’s think about Isaac.

One day early in the morning, his dad awakened him, told him to get dressed, and led him outside while he gathered up a bundle of sticks.  Abraham saddled his donkey, took two servants and Isaac with him to journey to Moriah.  They were going into the mountains to make a sacrifice to God. Isaac never balked or refused to go. He went willingly, knowing Abraham loved him and would take care of him.

This was probably not new to Isaac. He knew how much his father loved God, the Creator and their Protector. He had watched Abraham make sacrifices before. He had probably helped gather the materials, maybe even brought the lamb for the sacrifice. So here they go to the mountains to make a sacrifice to God.

They started off, just an ordinary day, except Abraham carried a heavy burden. He was obeying God and had no doubt that He would keep His promise. He knew Isaac would be coming home with him; but God had told him to take Isaac to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. What a conflict!

The land of Moriah was a three-day journey from their home. When the group of men were near the mountain God was to show Abraham, he told the two servants to wait for them with the donkey. Abraham took the bundle of sticks, put it on Isaac’s back, took the fire and a knife, and began to lead the way to the mountain. At this point, Isaac began to question the sacrifice—not that they were doing it, but that there was no lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham told him not to worry because God would provide the lamb. That was sufficient for Isaac. He had faith in his father’s word.

They reached the place of sacrifice. Abraham built an altar and placed the wood upon it. He then bound Isaac and placed him upon the altar. As he raised the knife to sacrifice Isaac, an angel of the Lord stopped him. You see, God never intended that Abraham should actually kill his son as a sacrifice. God wanted to know that Abraham loved Him enough to offer his son to Him. God does not require human sacrifice for appeasement. He loves His creation too much to demand such a thing. He does expect complete devotion, though. Absolutely nothing is to be more important to us than loving and worshipping God.

Now that you have the story, you can see how faithful Abraham was. That is a given. He took his son, placed him on the altar, and was prepared to offer him as a sacrifice to God. God had other plans, stopped the sacrifice and provided a ram in Isaac’s place. Abraham knew God would provide. Did Isaac?

Isaac loved his father Abraham so much that he willingly arose early to join his father on this journey for a sacrifice to God. He had the faith of a child to know his dad would protect him. He was safe so he went willingly to the sacrifice. Even when they got close to the place of worship, Isaac had faith to follow. His only question was where the lamb was. He accepted Abraham’s answer that God would provide it.

There was never a doubt that he might be in danger. After all, he knew how much Abraham loved him. He knew God had promised Abraham would be the father of a great nation. God would provide what was needed. Genesis 22 tells us that Abraham bound his son and placed him on the altar. There is no indication that Isaac struggled against what Abraham was doing. He went willingly to the altar because he trusted Abraham. He had faith that God would provide the sacrifice, which God did in the form of a ram that was entangled in the brush near the altar. Abraham had told him He would so it was true.

Abraham had raised Isaac to believe God, to take Him at His word. Abraham loved Isaac more than life itself, but He loved God even more. Isaac saw that love, learned from his dad that loving God is the most important thing in life. Because Isaac had been raised by a loving family who trusted and loved God, he was able to have that same faith and love. He never doubted God because Abraham trusted God.

It is important for Christian families today to insure their children see the same love for God in their homes. Our church teaches us that faith in God is the top priority of our lives. We pass this on to our youngsters. But the church is only starting place. We cannot expect the church to instill the kind of faithfulness Isaac displayed just by what they learn in church. Do we love God so much that we would obey Him as Abraham did?  Can we say God will provide and know He will? Do our children see that faithfulness in us?

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Norma has been a member of the Speaker’s Bureau of the SNBA in Las Vegas. She has worked with children with the ABC Kid’s Club for 20 years. She is a member of Christian Community Church which meets at Falcon Ridge Hotel on Pioneer Way. Please join us on Sundays for Bible study at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Worship at 10:45 a.m.