Isaac: Letting God Lead

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Luke 22:42

"Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."

NKJV

In 2008 when visiting Israel, one of the places we visited was the Garden of Gethsemane.  There are still olive trees growing in the garden but unlike in the time of Christ, the site now has a beautiful church.  The garden is a serene quiet place, which is most likely why Jesus chose this spot to pray.  However, as serene as this spot is, on the night when Jesus uttered the words of Luke 22:42, the feeling in Jesus soul would have hardly been serene.

As Luke 22:43-44 tell us, he was in such agony that an angel came to comfort him and his sweat became like great drops of blood, something medically known as thromboi haimatos.  (1)  Jesus, as God himself (John 10:30), knew what was about to happen.  As a man, Jesus knew he was about to experience agony unlike any man before him, making it easy to understand him experiencing thromboi haimatos. 

As God, Jesus could have simply stopped his captors from capturing him or came down from the cross and ended his physical agony.  Fortunately for us however, Jesus chose to obey and be led by His heavenly Father, making it possible for everyone to enjoy eternal life with the Lord.  Jesus obedience to God the Father makes him the epitome of great love for us all by laying down His life for everyone (John 15:13). 

Isaac, Abraham’s son of promise, is also one who lived his life being led by God.  Genesis 22:1-24 records the account of the test of Abraham’s faith.  However, we usually view this account from the eyes of Abraham, so let us take a moment to view this from the eyes of Isaac for in doing so, we will see a great picture of obedience to God.

In this account in scripture we see Isaac demonstrating,

1)      Faithfulness (Genesis 22:3) – Isaac did not hesitate to go with his father to offer the burnt sacrifice.  Granted this is most likely not the first time Isaac went with his father to help with a burnt sacrifice, but this does demonstrate faithfulness to his father in doing the routine things.  In my church, as with the churches of many reading this, we have those faithful saints who are there every Sunday and Wednesday.  Many of them faithfully serve as ushers or sing with our church’s worship teams or choir.  These people understand that being led by God means faithfulness in doing the routine things for the Lord.

2)      Willingness to serve (Genesis 22:6) – Isaac did not hesitate to carry the wood on his shoulders for the sacrifice, a beautiful picture of Jesus carrying the cross to Calvary for our sins in obedience to His Father.  Like Jesus in Gethsemane, Isaac did question what his father was doing but in the end, Isaac obediently obeyed his father.

3)      Willingness to sacrifice his life (Genesis22:9-10) – Imagine being Isaac and seeing your father laying you down on an alter and coming at you with a knife.  Most of us, including myself, would have struggled and ran away, but we see no mention in scripture of Isaac struggling or attempting to get away.  Like Jesus who willing allowed Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter for our sins (Isaiah 53:7), Isaac was obediently prepared to be the lamb for sacrifice.  Fortunately for Isaac, and for us, God provided a substitute lamb, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sins.

Isaac went on to marry Rebekah and had twin sons Jacob and Esau.  Isaac, like us, was imperfect and played favorites with his two sons, favoring Esau over Jacob.  This is the direct opposite of what God intended for Genesis 25:23 tells us that it was God’s intention for Esau, the first born, to serve his younger brother Jacob. 

God was not about to allow Isaac’s favoritism to get in the way and essentially allowed Rebekah and Jacob to trick Isaac into giving Jacob Esau’s blessing.  Once Isaac discovered the deception, he did not scold his son Jacob for deceiving him but allowed God’s will to be done.  Even in his imperfections, Isaac remained a man willing to be led by God.

In these challenging times for the world in which we live, we must follow Isaac and Jesus’ example and allow our lives to be led by God.  This may seem like a simple decision to make but we must also remember that this decision to be led by God may entail doing something uncomfortable, or even potentially life threatening.  However, just as Jesus rose from the dead and Isaac went on to father Jacob who would father the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel, following God will lead to victory not only for us but for future generations. 

Jesus is coming back to establish a world free from evil, but until then we must allow God to lead our lives knowing there will be moments when our faithfulness is tested, we may become uncomfortable, or we may even face danger.  Will you surrender your life to God and allow Him to lead you? 

1. D, Dave Miller Ph. Did Jesus Sweat Blood. www.apologeticspress.org. [Online] Apologetics Press. [Cited: January 10, 2016.] www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1086.