Bible Questions Answered:
“Pastor why did God tempt Abraham as
he did? Did he think Abraham lacked faithfulness...”
Ronald/ Nagoya, Japan
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Genesis 22:1-19 NLT
1 Some time
later, God tested* (KJV-Tempt) Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!”
God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
*Tempt-Hebrew: Nasah: To try, to prove,
2 “Take your
son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to
the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one
of the mountains, which I will show you.”
3 The next
morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of
his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped
wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God
had told him about.
4 On the third
day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the
distance.
5 “Stay here
with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will
travel a little farther. We will worship there, and
then we will come right back.”
6 So Abraham
placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while
he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked
on together,
7 Isaac turned
to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham
replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but
where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
8 “God
will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham
answered. And they both walked on together.
9 When they
arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an
altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and
laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
10 And Abraham
picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.
11 At that
moment The Angel Of The Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham!
Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
12 “Don’t
lay a hand on the boy!” The Angel said. “Do not hurt him in any
way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld
from Me even your son, your only son.”
13 Then Abraham
looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took
the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
14 Abraham
named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”).
To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the
mountain of The Lord it will be provided.”
15 Then The
Angel Of The Lord called again to Abraham from heaven.
16 “This is
what The Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld
even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that
17 I will
certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number,
like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your
descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.
18 And through
your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all
because you have obeyed Me.”
19 Then they
returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where
Abraham continued to live.
Notice well, the
faith of Abraham.
Verse 6 “We
will worship there” (Abraham and his son Isaac.)
Verse 8 “God
will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham
answered.
God has the
sovereign right to “test,” His people, note He does not test
those who are not His people.
And God does not
“tempt,” as does the devil, (incite to do evil).
James 1:13 NLT
And remember,
when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God
is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else.
James 1:13,14 CEV
13 Don’t
blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and He
doesn’t use evil to tempt others.
14 We are
tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us.
God proved the
faith of His servant Abraham, and he came forth as pure gold.
Hebrews
11:17-19 NLT
17 It was by
faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing
him (KJV Tried*). Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was
ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,
18 even though
God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants
will be counted.”
Genesis
21:12 NLT
But
God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant.
Do whatever Sarah tells you,
for
Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.
19 Abraham
reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life
again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the
dead.
Tried-Greek: Peirazo (Pi-rad-zo): Scrutinize, examine, prove,
try.
Yes,
our God, may test our faith, may we as Abraham of old, stand true to
our Living God.
Psalm
17:3 NLT
You have tested
my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized
me and found nothing wrong.
Psalm
66:10 KJV
For thou, O
God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
James
1:12 GNT
Happy are those
who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in
passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which
God has promised to those who love Him.
I
Peter 1:6,7 NLT
6 So be truly
glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many
trials for a little while.
7 These trials
will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire
tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than
mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it
will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus
Christ is revealed to the whole world.
