Abraham Feared The Lord More Than He Loved His Only Son
“And
he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing
unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not
withheld thy son, thine only son
from me.” (Genesis
22:12 KJV)
The Lord knew Abraham before he was born. He knew his life's needs before he encountered issues of life, and made provision for him. The Lord tempted Abraham to test his faith, and Abraham proved faithful. How painful and grievious it would be for a person to lose his only son. The angel stopped him from harming Isaac; the Lord had provided a ram as a temporary, substitute offering. Nevertheless, the Lord gave his only begotten son (Jesus the Christ) for an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12) so that we (all believers) could be saved.
“13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”
The two words in the first clause of verse of Genesis 22:14 in Hebrew (BHS), Yehova yireh (the Lord will see), explain to us through a name that God will provide as He did for Abraham. In the second clause, behar Yehova yayraeh (it will be seen in the mountain of the Lord), a particular place is named. Nevertheless, we expect his provision in all places. Let's take a look at a Septuagint version (LXX). The first clause, Kurios eiden (the Lord saw), uses an aorist form of the verb, having a denotation of one action in a particular time, differing from the Hebrew's imperfect verb, denoting continuity of expression. En tow orei kurios owphthay (In the mountain of the Lord it is seen) in the second clause using the aorist passive is very similar to the Hebrew expression although a different language.
The Lord provides for the needs of his people. As we walk in life, He knows our every need. He will be faithful to supply us. We Christians have the Holy Spirit to direct and comfort us. We have communication daily with the Lord. We realize our partnership with the Lord as Abraham did also. If you do not know the Lord personally, ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your life now. Say the simple prayer, "Lord Jesus, come into my life, save me from my sins. Amen." He will do it.
The two great emotions, fear and love of the Lord, are keys to our blessings. When we love others as ourselves, we are obeying the Lord. If we really love the Lord, we obey him.
Links:
Abraham: Obligation of complete sacrifice
Deliverance from drugs through fear of the Lord
God sacrificing his own son: Jesus the Christ, killed and raised the third day
Lack of divine fear and eternal penalty