One of the primary ways God is drawing Muslims to Himself is through simple Bible studies that highlight passages of scripture from Creation through the Resurrection. The Waha app contains many story sets that have been translated into dozens of languages. Throughout the 30 days we will pray through these story sets that reveal Jesus, the Word made flesh.
As you read these familiar passages, prayerfully imagine what it would be like to read them for the first time – to see the wisdom, power, beauty, and authority of God and to be drawn to trust in Christ and yield your allegiance to Him.
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take 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.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
This passage teaches us that God will ask us to do things that do not make sense to us. He desires obedience to His commands, and He is never contrary to His nature.
Historians agree that child sacrifice was widely practiced during Abraham’s day. So, Abraham would have been familiar with a command to sacrifice his child. What was surprising was that God Himself intervened, provided a substitute, showing that He could be completely trusted.
This passage teaches us that humans can hear God’s voice. We learn that man can be tested by God but that it is ultimately for our good.
Seventy days after Ramadan ends, Muslims gather together in homes to celebrate Eid al-Adha and slaughter a sheep to commemorate this story, though they do not understand the fullness of it. Muslims reject the idea of a substitutionary sacrifice as we understand it in Christ. Yet every year they celebrate this story of a substitutionary sacrifice.
This story shows us Abraham’s radical, immediate, and costly obedience. When God told him to take his son, whom he loves, and to offer him as a burnt offering, the very next morning Abraham rose early and began that journey.
Hebrews 11:17 says, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”
Lord, grow such a strong confidence and trust in You among believers in this place that they would see miracles happen and His name glorified as many Muslims turn to faith in Jesus.
Unlike the temporary sacrifices of the Old Covenant, we know that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Pray for Muslims in this place to trust in Christ, who when He offered for all time a single sacrifice for sin, sat down at the right hand of God. May they believe by His single offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.