GOD TESTS Posted 11.11.08
A doctor uses blood samples, a baker uses toothpicks, and others use a computer or simple paper and pencil to accomplish the same feat. What feat is that? Testing. From health assessments to professional exams, every one of us has undergone some type of evaluation at one time or another.
What about spiritual tests? The Bible makes it clear that God periodically tests His children. Jeremiah 11 and 12 speak of God testing the heart, mind, and thoughts. James 1 discusses trials that test our faith and Proverbs 27:21 declares, “A man is tested by the praise he receives.” Jesus Himself is described as “the tested stone” in Isaiah 28:16.
So what exactly is God looking for when He administers an exam? In one of the most prominent tests recorded in Scripture, God reveals four main responses that He seeks from all His children. His means to extract this information is different for each of us, but as He probes our hearts, the goal is the same. He longs to know that four foundational commitments have taken root.
The story we will cover is found in Genesis 22 when God tested Abraham.
1. God Tests Our Love for Him
GE 22:1Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
GE 22:2Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
In Deuteronomy 13, Moses spoke about God testing the Israelites, “to know whether you love him with all your heart and soul.” When Abraham’s test begins, it is no accident that God describes Isaac as, “your only son…whom you love…” While I do not believe Abraham, “loved Isaac too much” or “idolized” him, as some are in the habit of proclaiming, I do believe God is making sure Abraham loves Him above all.
Very often, God will use a person or thing (job, bank account, material item, etc.) that we enjoy to challenge our loyalty and devotion to Him. I know Abraham did not love his son more than God because He clearly passed the test.
How about you? Do you love Him more than all else? Will you pass the test?
2. God Tests Our Trust in Him
GE 22:3Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
GE 22:6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
GE 22:8Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
Immediate obedience expresses complete trust in God and our ability to hear His voice. There is no record of Abraham sharing this experience with Sarah, and that doesn’t surprise me. Sometimes others have no concept of what God is doing in our lives, and what God is calling us to do requires intimacy and silence. Abraham’s servants obviously had not been told the plan either, though I imagine they wondered, as Isaac did, about the sacrifice.
Bold faith reveals trust in God as well. Abraham’s statement to his servants, “We will worship and then we will come back to you” (emphasis mine) implies Abraham had every confidence that Isaac would return with him which is a picture of absolute trust.
Belief in God’s provision and fulfillment also represent deep trust. Abraham’s response to Isaac’s question reveals a hope for the future. God had never failed him, and he did not believe He would start now.
What about you? Who or what do you trust with your future? In what way may your trust in God be lacking? Will you pass the test?
3. God Tests Our Fear of Him
GE 22:9When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
GE 22:12"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
GE 22:13Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
It is easy to read this story and be frustrated at God’s demands, but we must understand the importance of fearing him above and beyond any earthly threat. I don’t fully understand how God knew Abraham feared him by not withholding Isaac. All I know is Abraham passed the test, and when he did, he not only received God’s commendation, but he also got his son back and a proper sacrifice was provided.
Fearing God is not as much about “being afraid of Him” as it is protecting our awe and wonder of Him and knowing His will and His ways are far above our own.
Will you pass the test?
4. God Tests Our Obedience to Him
GE 22:15The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
GE 22:19Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
God asked for Abraham’s son, his only son, the son in whom all the promises of God would be fulfilled, and Abraham’s obedience brought enormous blessing. We must ingrain within our hearts the truth that obeying God will always bring blessing. For some reason we often convince ourselves that God doesn’t always understand the situation fully or some such nonsense. He is God! Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, infinite, and holy. Obeying Him is always the right choice, but we do have a choice.
Will you pass the test?
GOD TESTS
Read the following passages. What insights did you gain about the testing of God?
Genesis 42
Isaiah 48
Deuteronomy 13
Exodus 16
Exodus 20
Deuteronomy 8
Judges 2-3
Psalm 26
Jeremiah 9
Zechariah 13
1 Corinthians 3
James 1
Revelation 2