LAY IT DOWN AT THE ALTAR (ISAAC VS. JESUS):
FOR HE SHALL PROVIDE

What we see as most precious in our lives is surely precious in God's eyes. Yet He is the One who gives us whatever we have and also gives us the heart to value it. (James 1:17; Philippians 2:13).

Eventually, what God has given us will go through testing, especially for those who are called. It becomes the defining point where the sons of God must examine whether they value what God has given them or the Giver Himself. It is also the pressing point for a new beginning. (Genesis 22:1; James 1:2–4).

Isaac was the fulfillment of God's promise that Abraham's descendants would be like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. (Genesis 15:5; Genesis 22:17) Yet Abraham could not cling to the son of promise. He had to lay him down wholeheartedly before God, allowing God to take what He had given and multiply it. (Hebrews 11:17–19).

There are many similarities between Isaac being laid on the altar and Jesus being laid on the altar as the sacrifice, yet there is one unique distinction.

Abraham placed the wood on Isaac's shoulders as they journeyed toward Mount Moriah. Jesus carried the cross to Golgotha. (Genesis 22:6; John 19:17).

In both, it became the turning point for a new beginning.

Isaac was received back as though from the dead, while Jesus literally rose from the dead. (Hebrews 11:19; Matthew 28:5–6).

What God did with Abraham was to reaffirm Abraham's faith and obedience in God alone. Once Abraham's faith was reaffirmed, that season came to an end and a new season began. (Genesis 22:12, 15–18).

God allowed Abraham to reach the point of raising the knife to sacrifice his son, but He stopped him at that very moment. (Genesis 22:10–12) Look back at what you considered the worst experience in your life. You will see that God allowed you to come to the very edge of the mountain, yet He reached out and held your hand before you fell.

In Isaac's situation, God had already provided the sacrificial ram as the substitute. (Genesis 22:13).

But in Jesus' case, the Son of God Himself became the sacrifice. (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:10–12; Romans 8:32).

God Himself creates, provides, and even offers the sacrifice. Whatever God has given us may one day be brought to the altar of sacrifice. Yet that very point becomes the beginning of a new season.

What God gave, God won't take away. As Abraham said, "God Himself will provide." (Genesis 22:8, 14).

Be confident in your situation. You may be required to lay it down wholeheartedly on the altar, but it will not be taken away.

What is laid down on the altar sacrificially will be multiplied.

It happened with Isaac and was fulfilled through Jesus.