Have You Been Called To Moriah?

“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.”— Genesis 22:2 (NKJV)

There are some words in Christianity that really feel comfortable with folks but nothing causes discomfort more than the word “obedience”. I thought it was surrender at one point but as my walk has gone along I found that surrender can only segway into obedience. And if you stop at surrender and don’t go the distance into obedience you may need to examine the reason why. After all delayed obedience is really disobedience isn’t it? We could even say that it is easier to give up than to go on…hmm.

If we were to take a look at Abraham while he was still Abram we would see a man who was called by YHVH to leave behind everything that was familiar to him, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.” (Gen 12:1) Then we would see a man that responded to it pretty quickly. He surrenders his comfort zone, obeys YHVH’s command and along the journey YHVH show’s him the Promised Land. Now let’s do a Biblical fast forward and get to something that becomes a most cherished item for the now Abraham…Isaac. Isaac represents the fulfillment of a promise of YHVH and that was no laughing matter for Abraham (maybe for Sarah, sorry had to take a jab at her doubt).

Then YHVH does something that will be the ultimate test of any God-fearing father, He instructs Abraham to sacrifice his son. When you look at it in Scripture it’s pretty cut and dry. No way out, no wiggle room…nada! And Abraham does the same thing that he did when he was Abram, he responded quickly and he didn’t argue. It took three days to get Moriah and Abraham remained sustained during the journey, even though I’m sure his mind was racing with the thought of losing his son. He and Isaac leave the servants behind once they got to that place of sacrifice and went to do business with YHVH; Abraham remained obedient while being left alone. (Sidebar: What you are when you’re alone is what you are, agreed?)

And as we read along in the 22^nd chapter of Genesis we get to verses 9-12 and can see what the end result is. Out of Abraham’s faith in obedience we see YHVH-Jireh showing Himself mighty and wise. I am quite sure Abraham got Holy Spirit goose bumps at that moment but I don’t think the rich, young ruler got them when Jesus told him to sell everything that he cherished and brought him comfort. “Are you kidding me Jesus? I got a lot invested in that!!” I bet a multitude of jaws fell to the ground when Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt 10:37) These are idea’s that “Americanized Christianity” cannot and do not grasp because it’s too occupied with the next “American Idol” isn’t it?

So, have you been called to Moriah? Simple question but do we hear it being asked? Have we become so desensitized or familiar with the things of God that all we do is show up on Sunday and wait for the Pastor to give his message so we can move on to the next thing…like watching a football game on FOX? (I better be careful there, I am an Eagles fan) Job displayed the right attitude when he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” You see the main point outta all of this is you obey YHVH’s leading and He will provide, no sacrifice necessary. If it’s gotta go…it’s gotta go, period. My hope is that I learn not to argue with YHVH when the times comes, over and over again. I pray that this is your desire as well, Amen? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and blogs weekly for Freedom Fighters

Daily Bible Reading: Esther 7-10

Think About This: “If you allow yourself to have only simple and uncomplicated desires, you will be more pleasing to God than if you died the death of a hundred martyrs. Turn your anxieties to the fact that you have delayed in offering this sacrifice of simplicity to God. Can true love hesitate when the Well-Beloved asks?”—Fenelon

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil … Hebrews 6:19