[Darris McNeely] Can we accept what we don't always understand? That is a question at times we're faced with in our life. We're continuing our study through Hebrews 11, the faith chapter of the Bible. We've come down to probably one of the most difficult to understand stories of the entire Bible, and it is mentioned in Hebrews 11:17 regarding Abraham where it says, "By faith Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son."

Now Isaac was not his only son. He had had other sons, but he was the one son of promise. And that's what the scripture means there. And Isaac was the one through whom the promises were to be passed, the inheritance that God had given to Abraham. And here at this crucial moment with his young son, God tested Abraham and said go and offer him in the place where I've told you to do so.

That's the story from back in Genesis chapter 22. It's a little understood story. People look at that and say how barbaric that God, a god, any god, would ask a man to sacrifice his son. And they as a result will reject the Bible. They will reject God. They will reject the God of Abraham not really fully understanding the Bible, the world, life, and yes, this question of faith. You see, in Abraham's time and in his world for a sacrifice to be made of a human was not uncommon. Religions of that time did that all the time. Now Abraham had set out to worship a different God and a different religion and a different faith that would not require that. And yet, the request, the command was something that at least at his time and place Abraham understood.

And he made preparations to go, and he took Isaac, and he even bound him down and was ready to put the knife through Isaac when God stopped him. And that's where the story goes on. In verse 18 here of Hebrews 11 it says, "Of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called' concluding," verse 19, "That God was able to raise him up even from the dead from which he also received him in a figurative sense" (Hebrews 11:17-19). You go back to the account in Genesis, and Abraham seemed to know that one way or the other he was going to come back with Isaac alive because he said in Genesis 22:5, "We will come back to you."

Abraham knew that God would provide a sacrifice, and he knew that he would come back with his son. That testifies to his real faith, but Abraham had to demonstrate his obedience to God even when he didn't fully understand perhaps everything and the why's and the how's he had confidence that God would provide for him.

Sometime later Jesus said when He was asked about what was the greatest commandment. He said the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, with all of your being. Abraham certainly demonstrated that He was willing to do that, and in doing so he came to a deeper understanding and a deeper faith.

To get the faith sometimes we have to obey, and we have to do so in order to come to an understanding. That's what faith requires at times. Obey, understanding comes, and faith then is built. Do that and we will begin to build a faith that is a living faith that is based upon these examples in Hebrews chapter 11 where we have solid, substantial evidence of what faith is all about.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.