Here I Am

“Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 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. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭‬‬

As we read this passage in church today, it stood out to me that three times Abraham responded “Here I am.” Once he was responding to God. Once he was responding to his son, Isaac. Lastly, he responded to the Angel of the Lord. Each time, he was responding to his name, “Abraham, Abraham.” And “My father.”

Prior to this, God had told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. Initially, Abraham tried to make it happen in his flesh, sleeping with his wife’s maid servant. God let him know Ishmael would be a great nation also, but Issac was to be the son of promise.

“Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” Genesis‬ ‭17‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭‬‬

God let Abraham and Sarah have a child in their old age. Some time later, Abraham was being tested by God. God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to see if Abraham would lay down the very thing that God promised him.

God calls every believer by name, waiting for our response “Here I am.” He waits for us to answer His call. To each God has a different assignment, but He beckons us by name. He continues to call until we answer. This is a test if we will blindly obey, even if it looks like what God promised would be taken as a result.

Our call from God is never in isolation. There will be other people who are tied to our calling; some are called to walk alongside us for part of our journey like the two young men that started the journey with Abraham and Isaac. Abraham parted from them saying “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

There will also be those who are impacted by what God calls us to do, like Isaac. They will state the obvious and question what we were told. Abraham responded to the second call of his name “Here I am. My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” Other people bring another test, will we speak faith into the promise God gave us.

Then the third call to Abraham, the Lord stopped Abraham from murdering his son. The Angel of the Lord called out to him saying Abraham had proven that he feared God more than his desire to have the promise. God provided the sacrifice about which Abraham had prophesied to Isaac.

God’s will for His children will never require something that is against His Word. Abraham was asked this before the law was given, before men really knew God after the flood. God tested what was most important to Him, and Abraham proved that it was obedience. He was all in when he responded “Here I am”.

For every believer, there comes a time where we will answer a call to obedience for the promises God has for us. We will be called to either speak in faith to what we believe God has called us to, or we will succumb to the opinions of man. We will be called to decide if it is more important to be obedient to the God of the promise or to respond in fear and grasp hold on to the promise instead. When we respond to God’s call with obedience and say “Here I am”, when we boldly speak in faith after replying to others “Here I am” and when we will hold tight to the God of the promise over what was promised God will make Himself known as the God who provides in the place He has called us too.