July 18.
Expedient Obedience

Hebrews 11:17

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.

Abraham had to deal with giving up his son without an explanation. God did not explain to Abraham what he was doing. He just called him one night and told him to get up the next morning and take his son to a mountain and off him as a sacrifice. God didn’t even tell Abraham which mountain until he was on his way. It is difficult to respond to God’s request when He doesn’t explain what He’s doing. God doesn’t always explain himself when he tells you to do something. Now eventually if you stay with him, you’ll understand Him. Even if you don’t understand all the time when He tells you what to do, you will do well to do it if God said it. Abraham knew that Isaac was a promised child. If Isaac would die, then what would happen to the promise God had made to Abraham? You see God had said to Abraham, “I’m going to bless you and bless your seed.” God made that promise to Abraham before a child was born. Then He said, “Not only will I bless your seed, I’m going to multiply your seed.” Then He turns around and plans to take the only seed Abraham has. How could God multiply without having anything to start with? Abraham had a serious problem to deal with. How could he go before the people around him and tell them that he had waited a hundred years for a son and when the son came up he took him and killed him. How could Abraham lift up his head if it got out he had killed his boy? Yet, Abraham rose up early in the morning and prepared to leave. He took everything he needed for a sacrifice. He carefully followed the proper procedures he knew for offering a sacrifice. Most of us think because we’re under pressure, we can do it any kind of way. “Lord you know what I’m going through.” But Abraham obeyed God.