The Unthinkable and the God Who Provides
Welcome to today’s reflection from the Daily Radio Bible. As we continue our journey through God’s Word, we come to one of the most profound and challenging stories in the Scriptures—the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah. It’s a story of trust, obedience, and most importantly, the revelation of God’s character.
The Unthinkable Request
Something unthinkable is being asked of Abraham. He is told to offer his one and only son, the son he loves, as a sacrifice. It’s described as a test of obedience, but it feels unthinkable.
Or perhaps, in Abraham’s world, it wasn’t entirely unthinkable. In the cultures surrounding him, the gods often demanded human blood to appease their anger or win their favor. Abraham knew this practice well. Yet, Abraham also knew something else: the God who called him was not like the gods of his culture.
A God Unlike Any Other
The God who called Abraham out of Ur, who promised him descendants as numerous as the stars, who gave him a son even at the age of 100, was different. This God met Abraham in his darkest, most barren moments and walked with him through life. Abraham had learned to trust this God—a God of life, not death; a God of promise, not caprice; a God who was deeply personal, not distant or detached.
Abraham believed that God was good. He believed that God’s character was fundamentally different from the bloodthirsty, capricious gods of his time. And so, even in this unthinkable moment, Abraham trusted. He reasoned that if Isaac died, God could raise him to life again because this God is good.
The God Who Provides
On Mount Moriah, God provided. Abraham named that place Jehovah Jireh—“The Lord Will Provide.” And God’s provision didn’t stop with Isaac. Centuries later, on that same mountain, God provided the ultimate sacrifice. But this time, it was not a father offering his son; it was the Son offering Himself.
Jesus, the Son of God, laid down His life—not because the Father demanded it, but because of humanity’s sin. Jesus overtook the powers of darkness, defeated sin and death, and won the ultimate victory for you and me. On the cross, He revealed the fullness of God’s character: a God who gives, a God who loves, a God who redeems.
Seeing God as Abraham Did
Abraham’s story calls us to trust in the goodness of God, even in our most barren and broken moments. It calls us to believe that God meets us in our darkest places and raises us to new life. He has achieved this for us on Mount Moriah, on the cross, where He laid down His life and won the victory our souls long for.
The prayer of my heart today is that my eyes will be opened to see what Abraham saw—the character of our God. I pray that I will walk with Him as Abraham did, by walking with the Son who has revealed the Father to us. I pray that I will know the embrace of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This life that my soul longs for has been provided for me on the mountain of the Lord.
A Prayer for You
That is my prayer for my soul. It’s the prayer I have for my family—for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And it’s the prayer I have for you. May you know the freedom, the life, and the joy that God has provided. May you trust in His goodness and walk in His love.
Let us continue now in a time of prayer.
