How Did Isaac Feel??

I don’t know if you’ve noticed before that Abraham gets a whole lot of credit for his faith throughout the Bible. And rightfully so—don’t get me wrong! But have you ever thought about how Isaac felt in all of this? He wasn’t just another animal that Abraham was told to sacrifice—he was a human being! With thoughts and feelings—something I’ve been wondering lately is just what were those thoughts?

These are just my own ideas formed from my personal thoughts along with my conversations with others in the past few days. This is what I’ve got so far…

The story is from Genesis 22…
“Then one day, God tested Abraham…” nothing about Isaac here, but I don’t think that means he wasn’t going to be tested anyway.

God tells Abraham to “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and offer him as a burnt offering…” Notice that God doesn’t say “Take your son and offer him as a burnt offering…” No, those extra words in there about Isaac being Abraham’s only son whom he loves [dearly] are definitely there for a reason. It’s like God is telling Abraham that He knows how much Abraham loves his son, Isaac; He knows that this is a really big deal and a really big thing to ask of Abraham.

Regardless of how tough this is on Abraham, Isaac is still asked to be sacrificed. It doesn’t matter if he feels like the most loved son in the world or totally rejected by his father—he’s still being sacrificed!

Anyway, Abraham admiringly obeys God’s command and the very next morning he heads out with his servants and his son, Isaac. I don’t think Isaac knew about the command yet because when it’s just Abraham and Isaac headed up the mountain, Isaac finally asks his dad where the sheep is that they’re going to sacrifice.

Abraham tells Isaac what he truly believes: that God will provide a sheep. Of course, Isaac had no reason not to believe his dad at that time. But what about when Abraham started tying his son up? What about when he had him lay down on the altar? What about when Abraham raised the knife above his head? What were Isaac’s thoughts then? I have a guess:

I trusted you, Dad, why are you doing this? I thought you loved me dearly!
God, why would you tell my dad to do something like this? Do you really want this for me? I thought you had better plans for me than this. 

I don’t mean to make any assumptions about Isaac here, but I guess those are just my guesses about what he must have been thinking while he laid on the altar waiting to be sacrificed.

We know God’s will for Abraham and what He told him to do. What did God tell Isaac in response to his questions? Again, I don’t know for sure, but I have a guess that it was something like:

“Be still and know that I am God.” 

I think that Isaac heard those words because that is exactly what he did. He could have refused when his dad started tying him up. There’s no physical way that Abraham could have kept Isaac there—after all, Abraham was over 100 years old at this point! Isaac could have rolled off the altar at any time. But he didn’t. He was still. He let his dad sacrifice him. He quietly laid there while his dad, who loved him dearly, raised the knife above his head. Wow.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Trials that I go through in life sorta pale in comparison to nearly being sacrificed by your own father, huh? If Isaac can be still and know that God is in control, then surely I can, too.

I’ve often prayed for faith like Abraham, but I’ve started to pray for the grace to be still like Isaac now, too! Join me & start praying now so that you're equipped when your trials come! :)