Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is God Testing You? | Torah | Genesis 22:1-19

Episode Date: February 24, 2022

Is God trying to prove the strength of your faith? Is a trial applying pressure to your life? Is your faith getting stronger? In today's episode, Patrick looks at Genesis 22:1-19 to tell the story of Abraham and Isaac. Listen to find out how God strengthens our loyalty and trust in him. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Genesis 22:1-19 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the first book of the Bible, Genesis. A few years back, I watched this history channel special on a modern-day blacksmith. Now, this guy, he uses medieval techniques to forge authentically medieval swords and armor. The show follows him as he's creating one of the hardest forms of steel, and he's using a method that probably hasn't been used. over a thousand years. As you watch, you think he's finally finished. The sword is magnificent. But then he explains to the camera that there's actually one more step. He needs to prove the steel.

In metallurgy, proving is the process of applying extreme pressure to steel to do two things. First, if the steel isn't as strong as it should be, then the steel breaks in the proving process. And while that's a bummer, it's better than a sword breaks in the process. of proving rather than in the middle of a battle. The second thing that it does is that if the sword doesn't break, the process of proving of applying this pressure actually makes the steel stronger. And so he takes out this massive blacksmith hammer and he begins to swing away at his sword. And the test proves that his sword is strong. And the test shapes the sword so that it can become stronger. In Genesis 22, we learned that blacksmiths aren't the only ones who prove their creations.

God does this as well. He doesn't test his creations in order to break them. No, he does it so that he can see whether his creation is truly faithful. He does it so that he can see the internal reality inside of a human heart. And in the process, he makes their covenant loyalty to him stronger. just like steel. It shows what are you made of and it makes you stronger over time. The first time this happens in the Bible is in Genesis 22 with Abraham. So let's pick up that story in verse one. Sometime later, God tested or proved Abraham. Now let's pause for a second. The Hebrew word for testing is Nassah. And it's the same word used for when a blacksmith proves his steel. This isn't a temptation. It's a proving. And God's going to see what sort of man Abraham is.

is now at the end of his life. And in the process, he's going to make Abraham into a stronger, more faithful covenant partner. Let's keep going. God said to him, Abraham, here I am, he replied. Then God said, take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Mariah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on the mountain that I will show you. Again, I want to pause for a second because in the law codes of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God forbids child sacrifice. So we can rest assured that's not the point

of this test. Instead, God is applying intense psychological pressure to Abraham. He's asking Abraham, is this son, Isaac, who you've literally waited over 100 years to get, is this son worth more to you than me? Will you trust me with his life? Will you trust me with the most precious thing that you have? And again, this is going to show the nature of Abraham's loyalty. Was he in it for himself? Was he in it so he could just get what God had to offer? Or has Abraham been in this covenant relationship because he was after God? Let's continue.

Verse 3. Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son, Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place. in the distance. He said to his servants, stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship

and then we will come back to you. Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father, Abraham. Father? Yes, my son, Abraham

replied. The fire and the wood are here, Isaac said. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered. God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son. And the two of them went on together. This story is kind of horrifying, isn't it? I mean, what is Abraham thinking right now?

How is he coping with what's about to happen? And in that moment, the terror, the horror of it all, it turns the camera on us. And it asks you and me, what are the things that you cling to most dearly in life? Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's your life itself. Maybe it's a loved one, your job, your reputation, your bank account, your stuff.

What happens to you when those things are at risk? Do you find yourself getting angry at God, accusing him? Do you find yourself turning your back on him? And you say, you know what, I'm just going to do things my way without any regard for your will? How is God applying pressure to you today? Might it be that he wants to see your heart's true loyalty? Might it be because he wants you to see your heart's true loyalty? and because he wants to, in the end, he wants to strengthen your loyalty.

He wants to strengthen your trust in him in the process. The story continues. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and he took the knife to slay his son, but the angel of the Lord called out to him and said, Abraham, Abraham, here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said.

said, do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me, your son, your only son. Abraham looked up, and there in the thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide. And to this day, it is said, on the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself declares Yahweh that because you have done this and you have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of

their enemies and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me. It's only at the end of the story that we really begin to see God's true intentions. He never intended Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he intended to prove Abraham's true colors so that in the end he could bless Abraham and in the end bless the entire world. And of course, that's God's purpose in our life too. Through testing, he wants to prove your heart and to strengthen you and ultimately to bless the people around you. I'm reminded of a friend of mine whose mother was diagnosed with cancer at a young age. She was the only Christian in her family and she was, she was, the only Christian in her family, and she prayed that somehow, through her cancer, God would draw her entire family to himself.

Unfortunately, the cancer was really aggressive. And yet, in the midst of this, she remained faithful. She continued to pray. She continued to trust God. She remained calm in the face of death. And she could do this because she knew that her life was secure in Jesus' hands. She never stopped loving God. She never stopped showing kindness to her family.

Her cancer was a terrible proving. but in the end her faith held through. But also in the end, she died. After her death, her family was just so struck by her faith. And by the way, God carried her through this awful time that one by one, every single family member began to turn to Jesus. The test strengthened her faith. It proved her faith.

And it was ultimately for a blessing that through her faith, her whole family would come to know Jesus. How are you being proven by God right now? Where are you experiencing the most psychological and physical distress? In the midst of that, will you trust God? Will you give him your allegiance? Even though I know the proving and the pressure, it can be terrible. It's always for your good.

It's always for the blessing of others. So you should let your life be the proof for others of God's supreme goodness over the things of this world. And if you find yourself doubting, remember this, that God just like Abraham had only one son. And God gave up that one and only son in the exact same place where he called Abraham to give his son. In that location, God allowed his son to die for your sins. God allowed his son to die so that you could be with him forever. God took on the ultimate test, the ultimate proving, so that he could bless you.

If he's willing to do that for you, you can try. Trust him in the midst of your proving, in the midst of your test. You can give him your allegiance. You can hold all the things that you have with an open hand and know that even though you might lose it, even though it might hurt more than anything else, the God who is with you will provide. The God who is with you will carry you through, strengthen you, and he will bless those around you. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that's going to help you beat that midweek slump and go deeper in your walk with Jesus.

Thanks for listening.