CAN YOU BE ISACC?

“And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.”

Genesis 22:9 KJV

Today, we are going to pick up right where we left off with the almost-sacrifice of Isaac. This time, however, we are going to focus on Isaac.

When reading the Bible, it is important to pay attention to the details in the text that contribute to the revelation. One important detail is found here:

GENESIS 22:6 NLT So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.

Think critically. In order for Isaac to carry the wood, he had to be strong enough and old enough to do so. Isaac was not a baby or toddler. He was mature enough not only to carry the wood, but also to understand sacrifice.

This means he was likely old enough to resist.

Some traditions place Isaac around 37 years old, although Scripture never tells us his exact age. What we do know is this: if Isaac was strong enough to carry the wood, he was strong enough to resist.

But he did not.

He allowed his father to bind him to the altar.

Are you willing to let your Father bind you to the altar?!?!?!

Remember, we are commanded to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Animal sacrifice was painful. It was bloody. It required death. In the same way, the Christian life requires us to die to ourselves.

This life is sacrificial.

Jesus told us to take His yoke upon us. Paul called himself a prisoner of Christ. Following Jesus will cost you something—but with Him, the yoke can still be easy and the burden can still be light.

Isaac was willing to get on the altar without knowing that the death he had seemingly surrendered to would never actually happen.

My bishop has been stuck in this realm of:

“It is not what it looks like.”

Do you trust God enough to understand that what it looks like may not be what it is?

It looked like Isaac was going to die, but there was already a ram in the bush.

It may look like you will be broke if you let go of the job God told you to leave, but there may be provision waiting through another means.

It may look like you will be lonely if you disconnect from certain environments, but divine connections may already be on the way.

It may look like you will never be sexually satisfied if you let go of fornication, but God may be preparing covenant for you when you least expect it.

The true sign of trusting God is surrendering to God.

In the same way Isaac yielded to his father, God wants us to yield to Him. When we yield to God, we give Him everything—not pieces of ourselves, but all of ourselves.

And here is the crazy part:

Because Isaac was willing to surrender his life, he later experienced supernatural increase.

GENESIS 26:12–14 NLT 12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him.13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

Look at the pattern.

A man who was willing to lay down himself eventually gained everything else as a byproduct of surrender.

Jesus later taught this same Kingdom principle: whoever tries to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for His sake will find it.

Isaac did not just experience an altar—he made the altar a pattern.

GENESIS 26:24–25 NLT 24 Where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.

The boy who was once laid on an altar became the man who built altars himself.

At one moment, Isaac became the offering. At another moment, he became the inheritor of Abraham’s blessing.

He could not inherit Abraham’s blessing without inheriting Abraham’s consecration.

Isaac learned that the altar was not simply something his father brought him to—it became something he built for himself.

You cannot live forever off somebody else’s consecration.

At some point, you have to build your own altar.

Are you willing to be like Isaac?

Today, reflect on these questions and pray on these points. While we may not be on zoom tonight, feel free to use the comment section of this post to share your thoughts/questions and Pastor Isidore will be available to answer:

Reflection Questions

1. What area of your life are you still resisting instead of allowing God to place it on the altar?

2. Have you mistaken something that looks like loss for something God may actually be using to produce provision, promotion, or purpose?

3. Are you living from someone else’s consecration, or have you learned to build your own altar before God?

Prayer Points

1. Father, give me the grace to surrender every area of my life to You without resistance.

2. Lord, help me trust You when what I see does not look like what You promised.

3. Father, make consecration a pattern in my life so that I can carry what You have called me to inherit.