This
significant event from the life of Abraham opens with the words, “Some time
later God tested Abraham….” These words leave us a bit unsettled. God
tested Abraham? Will God test me? And the test? Well, that involves Abraham
sacrificing his only son, Isaac, the son we find promised at the beginning of
Genesis 12.
These
words shake us because—if we’ve been in the faith for a while—we have seen in
the New Testament these words: “Nobody being tested should say, “It’s God
that’s testing me,” for God cannot be tested by evil, and he himself tests
nobody” (James 1:13, NTFE). So how do we reconcile this? Is this an OT vs. NT
issue?
Translation
is the problem. The Hebrew word nasah can be translated as ‘test,’ but a
better translation is ‘proof’ or ‘prove’: “Some time later, God proved
Abraham.” And this makes sense when we realize that Abraham has been in the “school
of trust” ever since his call in Genesis 12. So, what we really find here is God
proving Abraham…or letting Abraham prove his trust in God.
God
asks Abraham to take his son into the hills and sacrifice him. For the next
seven verses, Abraham is silent. He goes through the motions—gathers kindling,
secures fire, gets rope, takes his knife…and travels with Isaac. But, in verse
eight, we find that Abraham proves his faith, his trust God who has called him
and in God’s promise. Abraham knows his son will not die, and in response to his
son’s question about a lamb for sacrifice, he is able to answer with confidence:
“‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’
And the two of them went on together” (Genesis 22:8). They go on together
because Abraham wants his son, too, to see God’s provision. And God does provide.
Abraham is able to “let go” of his son because he trusts God.
A
similar “proof” happens in the Gospels when a rich young man comes to Jesus in
his pursuit of “eternal life.” After the young man affirms his commandment-keeping,
Jesus tells him, “‘One thing you lack…go, sell everything you have and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth”
(Mark 10:21-22). Here we find someone who is unable to let go, not yet ready to
trust. And he walks away from the promises and blessings of God.
Too
often we hold on to possessions, to ideas, to dreams, to self-perceptions, to
any number of things we think we must have, we think we can’t live without.
Like Abraham, we must be truly willing to let go of those things in order to
know and live into the promises and blessings of God. If we insist on holding
on, we, too, will go away sad. Today, we can decide to trust, we can take that
step of trust by truly letting go of whatever it is we have held onto. Let go…and
live into the promises and blessing of God.
Sunday, September 14, 2025
“Letting Go”
Watch/Listen: HERE
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