Where Do You Want This Killin' Done? (Part 1)

Oh, God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son."Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on."God say, "No."Well, Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done ?" - Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan"Abraham lived in a land of fanatical idol worship. Idolaters, desperate to gain their god's favor, would sacrifice their first-born children on altars. In essence, God's command would prove whether or not Abraham was as committed to his God as the people around him were to theirs." -Henry BlackabyI just read Genesis 22 and Hebrews 11:17-19 again...25 years.Abraham waited 25 years.A son in his old age. No, make that, extreme old age.Now the Almighty had commanded that he be sacrificed.As if to add weight, God even calls attention to the fact that Isaac is Abraham's only son, the one he loves.The Child of Promise, now a young man, laden with covenant, bound for death on a hill.Mount Moriah.It's same place the Temple would be built, the place of thousands of future sacrifices.But, as far as we know, Isaac would be the first offered there.The hope for sand-numerous descendants would trickle out with Isaac's blood.But a promise is a promise, and Abraham believed God would bring life again. He would bring life from death.God stayed Abraham's hand stretched over Isaac, yet He did not stay His own hand over His Son.Sometimes He stays your hand. But sometimes, maybe far more often than we like to admit, He allows the knife to fall.And when He does, He is still good.