The Ram Caught by its Horns in the Thicket

Gen 22:1-18
Most of us if you grew up Christian know the story of Abraham. The father of the faith, who was called by God to leave his life as he knew it and everything in it to follow God into an unknown place and start a new life complete with a new name. His wife Sarah was barren but God promised them a child and not only that He promised that His descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky or as sand of the ocean. In chapter 22, we see God putting Abraham to the test. He had fulfilled the promise and given them a son, Isaac. So God tells Abraham to go to Mountain in Moriah and sacrifice the son as a burnt offering, Isaac, the only son, the one he loved. And Abraham did just that. The next morning he set out with Isaac, two servants, and wood for the sacrifice.
He didn’t argue with God. It was an extreme instruction but he complied. If it was me I would question God. Is it really you God? Why would you give me a son them ask for him as a sacrifice? You promised to bless me with many descendants through Isaac; you promised that Isaac and not Ishmael would be my sole heir (Gen 21:8-13) so what has changed? But not Abraham. He just woke and did what God asked.
The greatest statement of Faith
Along the way, Isaac got curious. Most probably he had accompanied him several times to offer sacrifice. He knew there must be an animal for the sacrifice, but his time there was none. So he asked Abraham, v7.... ”Here is the fire and the wood...But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham gave the greatest statement of faith...” God will provide”.
Now let us examine that statement. Abraham knew that God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac. He did not want to lie neither did he want to scare Isaac. Either Abraham knew and understood God’s nature very well or he was a masterfully liar. (You remember him asking Sarah to “lie” to the Pharaoh of Egypt that she was a sister, technically were step siblings yes so technically it was not a lie not also a lie because she was more than that and they only said it because he thought they would kill him to take Sarah) It seems like Abraham and his lies always worked out to his benefit as we shall see. God had not said he will provide a sacrifice, Abraham knew very well that he had the sacrifice with him. And it was walking next to him asking him difficult questions and he answered the best way he knew.
The Greatest Pilgrimage Of Faith
So the story continues, at the foot of the mountain, Abraham leaves the servants and climbs up with Isaac, the fire and the wood. I can only imagine Him all this far. The long walk, the climb up the mountain. This guy had several opportunities to change his mind. All this time, did he ever doubt God and his call? Wasn’t it a trial of patience and endurance? If it was me, the test would not have been so much to sacrifice my child but the time- the duration between hearing the call and executing it. I don’t respond well to situations that require waiting, patience is a virtue I am still learning to live out. What was going on in Abraham’s mind? Can you visualize the mental torment, the hot sun, the long distance trek and he was old, the dragging along his son who very much trusted him......
The Greatest Act of Faith
Anyway, this guy Abraham climbs up the mountain, makes an altar, arranges the wood, ties up the Isaac, lays him on the altar,( did Isaac put up a fight, what do you think?) and does the greatest act of faith. Verse 10: Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter/kill his son.
Now wait a minute: Hadn’t he just said that God will provide a sacrifice for Himself earlier? Why didn’t he wait and hang on a bit for it (the sacrifice) to show up? What did he think Isaac think of him? You see why I call it the greatest act of faith? Because in his heart, from the moment he heard God back in Beersheba, when he got up that morning, all the way while walking, climbing the mountain, making the altar, tying him up, placing him on the altar- Isaac was dead- as a sacrifice. In his heart he had sacrificed him. It was done! What was remaining was the physical part. In his heart there was complete obedience.
This complete obedience is what kept him from turning back, from rationalising, from quitting. It’s gave him the strength to trek and climb. The resolve helped him from changing his mind. The attitude of obedience gave him the courage to make the altar and lay Isaac on it. Obedience kept him from delaying in the guise of waiting on the Lord. And to God, obedience was better than sacrifice.
The Ram caught by its horns in the Thicket.
When God saw that Abraham had completely surrendered his most loved thing/person-the only son, he was pleased and sent an angel to stop Abraham from killing Isaac. God had seen that Abraham loved him more than anything else he had. Abraham was all sold out for God. He respected and obeyed God. He did not withhold his only son from God because he feared the Lord.
So Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns (ASV, v13). What a story- God is the king of all things, including drama- He’s the ultimate drama King! If it was a movie, you can almost hear the sigh in verse 14.
That’s how God tests us. With the very thing we love. The dearest thing to us, that is what God uses to test us. He wants to see whether we fear, respect and obey him to the end.  He wants to test whether we worship Him- the giver of all things or we worship the gifts He has given us. Are we faithful with what He has given us? What are we withholding from God? What haven’t we surrendered unto him?
Here is a way to examine ourselves:
What is the most important thing in my life in a hierarchal order starting with the most important? Write them down as your mind has them, without thinking about it.
If your list didn’t not start by worshiping God.....you are on the wrong track. Here is what I think should be the hierarchy:
Worshipping God -> Family -> My life’s purpose-> then the rest follow eg social life, gaining wealth, mentorship, community service, etc.....

Which of these things or areas of my life haven’t I surrendered unto God? Which Am I still calling the shots?
Some pointers are that in some areas you completely obey what the Word of God teaches about that topic but in other areas you are compromising. Eg you tithe faithfully, give and offer your money to God’s service generously meaning that you have surrendered the area of finances but you find it hard to maintain sexual purity because you feel it’s the only way the relationship will work which means you have not surrendered the area of relationships in your life. Or you aim at doing everything else right but frequently give bribes or use dishonest means in business.. Look out for recurring sins...
Why am I holding onto these things?
It could be because of trust issues. You don’t trust God that He has the best intentions for you and that if you let go, He will mess it up (most probably He will, so that He can rearrange it into his design). Other reasons would be rebellion, stubbornness, source of identity, form of escapism from past or present trouble/problem etc
After the above exercise pray unto God repenting of any disobedience and wrong priorities in life.
Jehovah Jireh_ God will Provide
On the Mountain God call you to sacrifice at, God will provide. That is his nature. What is the mountain to which you have been called to sacrifice the very thing you hold most dearly? There are about seven mountains of influence: Church, Government, Business, Media, Family, Education, Arts and Entertainment.  You might be called to serve on one but then God asks you to sacrifice on another. Here is how, God calls you to serve in government, but that means you give up the privacy of your family life. Or God calls you to start a business but that means giving up your career that is doing well to run a start up, or leave your career and go into ministry, don’t get married and get into celibate ministry in Kosovo or the interior of South Sudan, or give up your quite life and get into media and arts where your life will be scrutinized, blogged and discussed over twitter hash tags.
But be certain of this, if you are willing to sacrifice God will provide. The attitude of sacrifice is like this ’I know God provides, and He is capable of providing, but even if He does not I will sacrifice anyway just because He asked me’ In Abraham’s case, God intervened and stopped Him from killing Isaac. It could be that it was because God does not accept children sacrifice. In our lives the things we are to sacrifice are not always mortal.  It is not always that God will intervene. We see it with martyrs, God has the ability to rescue them but he does not. God can give you a husband but he does not. Why?
The reward of obedience
When Abraham saw the ram he took it and offered a sacrifice unto God. He named the place Jehovah Jireh- God will provide. God affirmed his promise to Abraham again after that act of faith. It was the reward for obedience. God added further blessings for the descendants of Abraham. He promised that they will conquer the cities of their enemies and through them all nations of the earth will be blessed. And here we are, calming the blessing of the descendants of Abraham through Jesus Christ. But here is the punch line------“All because you have obeyed me”v15.
Imagine the blessing we have missed out on because of our disobedience against God. But more sorrowful, imagine the blessings we have caused other people to lose out on all because of our disobedience. Jonah pointed out that we miss out on the mercy and grace that could be ours when we regard worthless thing as being more valuable than obedience to God.
In the Christian walk, at some point, God will call out to you to sacrifice something. But we don’t have to worry and be perplexed. We know there is a ram caught by its horns in the thicket somewhere. We just have to look up like Abraham and see it. The ram is Jesus, ready to be offered as a sacrifice, 2015 yrs ago he did. And unlike the ram on the mountain that was caught up, He gave himself freely, to die as a sacrifice for whatever you can think of. He willingly took the place of whatever you are called to sacrifice not so that you may not sacrifice, but so that when you sacrifice it in your heart, He will take its place and you don’t have to lose it.
Just like Abraham had in his heart sacrificed Isaac to God, we too should not withhold anything from God. We have a promise from Jesus that even though we will have to sacrifice something in our Christian walk, we shall not lose that which we have sacrificed but we shall find it. In Mark 10:28-30 Jesus promises that whatever we give up for His sake we shall get 100 times in return while still here on earth, plus persecution of course and in the world to come we shall have eternal life. When you are at pains over a sacrifice you have to make, remember that because Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb, you won’t lose that sacrifice but instead you will get 100 % return because of Jesus. And that’s the reward for obedience.