Wait—God Told Him to Do What?

You know that feeling when you’re watching a movie with people who have never seen it, and the really good part is coming?

You stop watching the movie.

You watch them.

That was me today—with my Bible open to Genesis.

I’ve started meeting with a young woman as I study Biblical Counseling. Today, we were talking about things that take God’s place in our lives. Some things need to go altogether. Others are good things we’ve allowed to become a little too important. Or a lot too important.

We need to take those good gifts off the throne and place them on the altar, trusting God with what we love.

So, naturally, I mentioned Abraham and Isaac.

“You know, when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.”

Her face!

Wait. What? God told him to do what?

She had never heard the story.

And suddenly, I could hardly wait to read it with her.

But we couldn’t start on the mountain. She needed to meet the family first! We backed up and read about Abraham and Sarah, about Hagar, about waiting for the son God had promised.

And waiting.

And getting very old while waiting.

Let’s be specific. Abraham was a hundred. Sarah was ninety.

God had promised them a baby, but He wasn’t going to leave one on the doorstep.

They had to trust God—and, well, get busy.

She thought that was hilarious.

And really, that’s quite a detail to take in when you’ve only just met this couple!

Then, finally—Isaac!

The promised baby. The impossible baby. The son they had waited all those years to hold.

Now we were ready for the mountain.

I knew what was coming.

She didn’t.

We read about God’s command. Abraham getting up early. The journey. The wood Isaac carried.

Then Isaac’s question: Where was the lamb?

I kept watching her face.

We reached the altar. Abraham’s raised knife.

“At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Yes,’ Abraham replied. ‘Here I am!’ ‘Don’t lay a hand on the boy!’ the angel said.” — Genesis 22:11–12a (NLT)

Then we saw the ram, caught by its horns in the thicket!

God had provided.

“That is crazy! I have never heard that before!”

And as we talked about the beloved son and the sacrifice God provided, she began to see the connection.

“Wow! It’s just like Jesus!”

Oh, I wish you could have seen her.

Isaac was spared. Jesus went to the cross. And through Jesus, God provided what we could never provide for ourselves.

There we were, talking about what we need to give to God, and suddenly we were marveling at what God has given to us.

I had opened my Bible to help explain surrender.

Now I was grinning over an open Bible because she was discovering something wonderful.

We did come back to our conversation. A relationship, a ministry, a hope for the future—good gifts can take a place that belongs to God. Can we trust the Giver with the things we love?

But the part I keep replaying tonight?

Her face.

The surprise. The questions. That moment when she began to see the connection to Jesus.

I’ve known this story for so long that I can read right past the part that made her eyes get big. I already know about the ram. I turn the page knowing Isaac will come back down that mountain.

She was hearing it all for the first time.

What a reminder that I don’t have to come up with something nobody has ever heard before. Sometimes I just need to turn to Genesis and start reading.

Open the Bible. Read together. Welcome the questions.

And enjoy the wonder.

Today, she discovered something wonderful in God’s Word. And I got to be there!

Let’s do it again!