Abraham – lesson 31
“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” (Gen 22:2 NLT)
When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” (Gen 22:9-12 NLT)
What does it mean to fear God? As we might guess, the word ‘fear’ could mean just that – fear. One day, everyone who has rejected receiving Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, will have to stand before Him and be judged for their sins. I am sure that at that moment, many will be extremely fearful. But that’s not what God wants for His creation. In a way we might say that God wants men to fear Him today so that they will not have to fear Him tomorrow. Consider these verses of scripture that speak of fearing God:
- Ps 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear…
- Ps 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever…
- Ps 22:23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him…
- Ps 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.
The kind of fear God wants us to have of Him will not cause us to run away, but rather to draw near. Fearing God can include at least these four things.
To fear God is to be in awe of Him. Sometimes men try to treat God as if He was little more than human. They fuss at Him and argue with Him and insinuate that He makes mistakes. Yet God’s glory is million times greater than we can possibly imagine. The LORD told Moses that no man could look upon God’s glory and live. The apostle John tells us that when he saw the resurrected Lord Jesus; he fell at Christ’s feet as though he were dead. To fear God is to recognize that He is infinitely far greater than we will ever be.
To fear God is also to give Him the glory that He is worthy. The Bible teaches us that one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
To fear God also means to obey Him. Consider again the example of Abraham.
“…for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” It is impossible to fear God and there not be a change in how we live and act. The more we fear God, the greater the change. Perhaps no man has proven more his fear of God than Abraham did when he was willing to obey God and offer up his son Isaac.
To fear God also means to trust Him. The book of Hebrews gives us valuable insight into what Abraham was thinking when he took Isaac and bound him as a sacrifice.
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. (Heb 11:17-19 NLT)
Abraham’s fear of God caused him to be in awe and to live a life of obedience. But it also caused him to live a life of confidence. Abraham believed that God was great and capable of doing even the impossible.
“O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” (Psalm 34:9)
"Seeds of Faith" 