# 203 Was He Stalling?

The Book of Genesis

Day 203

Ge 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."

 Meticulous: showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.. This is what strikes me about Abraham’s preparations to offer up Isaac to God. He builds an altar and then places the wood in order. This is not some back yard burn, with wood thrown in the pit in a helter skelter manner! I can picture Abraham very carefully building this fire one stick at a time. He builds the funeral pyre in in such a way that Isaac would fit nicely on top of it. Then he carefully ties up Isaac and then stretches out his hand (dare we say, ever so slowly,) to take the knife that would be used to slay his son.

Was he stalling? 

Were these methodical preparations all being done in the hope that God would break into the scene and put a stop to it? I’m pretty sure, I would be in the stall mode, how about you? One can almost read Abraham’s mind, “OK God, I’ve got the altar built, You sure You want me to do this? Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.  OK God, the wood has been placed in order, You can still stop this. Nonetheless not my will but Thine.  I’ve got Isaac tied up Lord and atop the wood, is there any other way?  Nonetheless, not my will, OK Lord I’m grabbing the knife now, PLEASE put a stop to this”…..and at that point He did.

Now, I’m not saying Jesus was stalling in the Garden of Gethsemane, but He certainly was open to His Father coming up with a plan B. Three times He asked His Father to remove the cup from Him, and He was denied three times,  There would be no heavenly interference as in the case of Abraham and Isaac. There would be no substitute provided.  This would be the ultimate sacrifice. This would be the sacrifice of God’s only Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Can we enter the pain of the Father here for just a moment? Can we grasp just a little bit the depth of love that God has for the world, for you, for me? Can we ever hear Jn 3:16 the same way again? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

There was no Angel of the Lord appearing to Pilate telling him to release Jesus. There was no angel of the Lord using his forearm to block the first blow of the hammer that would drive the nails through the hands and feet of Jesus.  There was only the Father willing to allow His only Son to die for the sins of the world, and there was only an obedient Son who also loved the world so much that He laid down His life on His own accord. 

Joh 10:17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  18 "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

There is no greater love! Therefore love Him. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior, that you may spend eternity with this kind of love.