Why did Abraham Cut the Wood only after Saddling the Donkey?

Cutting the wood to sacrifice Isaac was the last thing that Abraham did when he set out for Moriah. He had prepared the servants, he had saddled the donkey and then went to cut the firewood! See the sequence of events:

 'So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him' (Gen 22:3, ESV).

He should have cut the wood the previous evening, before going to bed. Preparing the servants, and saddling the donkey could be in the morning. Taking time to cut the wood in the morning would certainly delay the journey.

We can't explain Abraham's peculiar behavior; only some guesses. Maybe he was expecting God to intervene before they set out. Did Abraham think that getting up in the morning, saddling the donkey and getting the servants ready will send enough clues to God that he is willing to obey and expect him to intervene? So, cutting wood will not be needed. Probably, that is what he might have thought.

But for God the commitment he expected from him was more than just cutting the wood, setting out for the journey, even stacking the wood and making Isaac lie on the wood. But the commitment that God expected from Abraham required him more than these gestures to actually swinging the knife at him to slaughter him. That is the level of obedience that God expected from him.

No surprise!

This is what he expected from his son on the cross as well. God sent his son to the earth, made him to have a humble birth in a rather poor family, to hunger and thirst.... God still waited until he was beaten and ridiculed. That was not enough. He allowed him to be crucified and was buried. Then only the obedience was complete. Till, as Paul puts it he 'became obedient till the death on a cross.' 

However, Abraham got his son back; so also Jesus Christ. Isaac was not killed, but the Son of God was martyred to be brought back to life to live for ever. God proved through the life of Isaac and that of his Son Jesus Christ that obedience is always rewarded.

Every test of faith involves obedience. The level of obedience could vary. However, God expects us to go the deeper levels of obedience that he expects from us. However, he is watching. He intervenes on the right time. Just before the knife splits the throat of Isaac and just before the fourth night falls on the cave where his precious son is buried.

Why prayers are not answered?

When things happen not the way we prayed for, it could mean that what we prayed was not in God's will. This is one of the many possibilities. Other possibilities are that we did not have enough faith in God when we prayed. As James says, we should ask in faith with no doubt. He said further that the person who doubts 'is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord' (James 1:7-8, ESV).

Lack of faith, or prayer with doubt that arises out of a double-mind could be one reason why prayers are not answered. However, the possibility remains for prayers in full faith to be unanswered. It could be that what we prayed for is not in the will of God.

I can think of the case of Paul where he says that he prayed three times for the 'thorn in the flesh' to be removed. It could be ailment that he prayed for healing. However, God did not answer his prayer for healing but just assured him of His constant sustaining grace: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness' (2 Cor 12:9, ESV).

What went wrong with Paul's prayers? It seems that he was praying for something that was not in God's will.

So, what should we do when things happen against our expectations even after earnest prayers? We should surrender to his supreme will and move in the direction he shows hoping that God has chosen us the best. Again we exercise our faith in God. The faith that all gifts that God, 'the father of lights' sends are good (James 1:17).

Do good and keep doing it

Doing good could be very tiring in many ways. I know it from my experience.

I have helped people who pretended to be helpless. Moved with compassion, I shared my resources with them. Once I took the money that I kept for my children's school fees and pooled it with donations from other people to get a poor girl college education. She went to college but the first thing she bought was an expensive phone which most of her benefactors could not afford. She had the resources, it seems, for the college fees and also for the phone. We felt cheated.

It had happened to me many times in one form or other. Every time, when I discover that I was cheated, or I realize that my money ended up in something that was not genuine, the will to do another good ebbs away. It requires so much will power and optimism to believe that this time it will be okay.

But patience has its limits. Our moral stamina also reaches its boundaries. That is when Paul's advice to the churches in Galatia comes to strengthen us. Paul said, 'And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up' (Gal 6:9, ESV).

First, we should keep doing good things in spite of frauds. Counterfeits should not make us believe that the genuine doesn't exist. Secondly, there will be some results anyway. Who expects all seeds to germinate and sprout? Will all eggs hatch into chicks? In spite of the potential failures, the peasant still sows and the farmer still hopes eggs to hatch.

Charity should be an untiring effort.

Conquering the Villains of our Love for God

Nowadays, we don't talk about  'conquerors' nor 'conquering'. Those words belong to the by-gone days when military victory was the by-word of human success. Roman military heroes were nominated to the Senate, were promoted or even became emperors on the basis of their conquest of foreign lands. The language has changed with the times. In our days, we talk about achievers, nothing much is left to conquer.

However, the language of conquest still should prevail in some aspects of our life, particularly in the area of our spiritual relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I prefer the language of 'conquering' over 'achieving' since it has the nuance of defeating something that opposes. However, though achieve also involve some effort from the part of the achiever, there may not be resistance from the other side.

Spiritual relationship with Christ is one of love. He lavished his love upon us on the cross, and we respond to that love. We love because he first loved us.

The response to Christ love is not cheap just as his love towards us was not. There are challenges on the way of that relationship of love. Trials of various sorts are the main hindrances in maintaining that love towards him. Especially when we are put to suffer for the sake of that love. These threats to love come in various forms as our own temptations and opposition from others.

However, the Bible declares that nothing on earth or heaven, present or future should not hinder that love. Rom 8:37-38 is not a prediction but a declaration of a resolve. It should be read, as the author probably intended as, 'death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to (should not) separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Christian love doesn't happen spontaneously, we need to respond to God's love in Christ Jesus. It is not easy to maintain it as well. We should make constant effort to maintain our love towards him by conquering the forces, desires and powers that tend to separate us from that love. We are not merely achieving it, but we remain in God's love by conquering everything that rise against it. Conquer the villains of our love affair with God.

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