Genesis 22:1 - After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
If you walk with God long enough in this world, eventually you are going to encounter situations where you are going to
To walk with God by faith:
* You must be willing to separate yourself from your allegiance to
* You must be willing to give up the
* You must also be willing to give up your
Until Abraham gave all of
For God to be on the
2 Cor. 12:6- For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, 7 especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.”
Real mature faith happens when you find all satisfying joy and hope in the
God has provided a
God doesn’t have
Here are the ten study questions with accompanying Scripture passages to guide deeper reflection and application:
1. What is your Isaac?
Scripture: Matthew 10:37-39 – “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Application: Consider what good things in your life might be competing with your devotion to God. Reflect on what good and godly thing in your life might have taken priority over God. How can you surrender it to Him?
2. How do you respond when God’s commands seem to contradict His promises?
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Application: Reflect on a time when obedience required you to trust God beyond your understanding. Consider a time when you struggled to understand God’s will. How did you respond, and what did you learn from it?
3. What does it mean to ‘die to Isaac’ in your own faith journey?
Scripture: Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Application: Identify areas of your life where self-will needs to be surrendered to God’s will. How can you apply Abraham’s test to your own spiritual life? What areas of your faith might need deeper surrender?
4. What role does trust play in your walk with God?
Scripture: Hebrews 11:17-19 – “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”
Application: How does Abraham’s response to God’s command challenge or encourage your own trust in God’s plan? How can Abraham’s unwavering faith encourage you in difficult seasons?
5. How do you handle spiritual blessings that could become spiritual problems?
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 – “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
Application: Like Paul’s thorn in the flesh, how can a blessing from God become a hindrance if not properly surrendered to Him? Consider whether a blessing has become a source of pride or self-reliance in your life.
6. How does the Genesis 22 passage foreshadow Jesus Christ?
Scripture: John 1:29 – “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Genesis 22:13-14 – “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.”
Application: How does the story of Abraham and Isaac help you better understand the Gospel and God’s sacrifice of His Son? How does seeing Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice deepen your understanding of God’s love?
7. What does radical obedience look like in your life?
Scripture: Luke 9:23 – “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”
Application: What is one step of obedience God is calling you to take that requires great faith?
8. How can you differentiate between an Ishmael and an Isaac in your life?
Scripture:**Isaiah 55:8-9 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
**Application: What decisions have you made in your past that were based on your own plans rather than God’s? Are there areas where you are holding onto your own plans instead of surrendering to God’s direction? How can you ensure that your future choices align with His will?
9. Do you find your joy in the Bless-er or the blessings?
Scripture: Philippians 3:7-8 – “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
Application: How can you shift your focus from the gifts God gives you to delighting in God Himself?
10. How does this passage challenge your definition of faith?
Scripture: James 2:21-22 – “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.”
Application: Based on what you’ve learned from Abraham, do you need to rethink how you approach faith, obedience, and trust in God? Does your faith lead to radical trust and obedience? What action is God calling you to take?