Every believer eventually faces a Mount Moriah, a moment of testing that reveals what’s really in the heart. For Abraham, that mountain was literal. In Genesis 22, God asks him to do the unthinkable: offer up his beloved son, Isaac. Yet at the height of obedience, God shows His true nature. He doesn’t just test Abraham; He reveals something eternal God will provide.
Like a strenuous hike, mountaintop experiences with God reveal our limits and expose our faith. But they’re never just about the climb. They’re about seeing the view more clearly, who God is, and what He calls us to carry back into the valleys of life.
Genesis 22 isn’t only about Abraham. It points forward to Jesus, the ultimate provision. And it points outward to every believer learning to trust and obey. Through this dramatic narrative, God answers three critical questions:
- What does He reveal about Himself?
- What does He want to see in us?
- What truth does He send us down the mountain to share?
Each answer revolves around this truth: God will provide.
1. Trust in the God Who Provides (Genesis 22:1-14)
Mount Moriah reveals more than a test; it shows a truth: God is the Provider. In Genesis 22, Abraham is called to offer up Isaac, the long-awaited son of promise. The command is agonizing, yet Abraham obeys. With wood on Isaac’s back and fire in hand, they ascend the mountain. When Isaac asks, “Where is the lamb?” Abraham speaks in faith: “God will provide.”
And God does. Just as Abraham raises the knife, heaven intervenes. A ram appears in the thicket. God provides a substitute. It’s more than a rescue; it’s a revelation.
Abraham names the place Yahweh Yireh, “The Lord will provide.” Not “provided” past tense but “will provide.” He looks forward to something greater, something eternal.
Jesus confirms this in John 8:56: “Abraham rejoiced to see My day; he saw it and was glad.” The same Greek root used for “see” is also used for “provide” in the Septuagint. Abraham saw God’s provision on the mountain, and he saw a shadow of the Cross.
This is the gospel embedded in Genesis. Isaac carried the wood. Jesus took the Cross. Isaac was bound. Jesus was pierced. Isaac was spared. Jesus was not. God didn’t just promise to provide; He fulfilled it in Christ, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
But God’s provision doesn’t end at salvation. He provides the believer with daily needs: strength, peace, wisdom, and grace. His provision may not look like comfort or wealth, but it always meets the need.
So the call is simple: trust. When life feels uncertain, when the cost feels too high, when obedience feels hard, look up. Provision is waiting. The Lord will see to it.
2. Trust and Obey (Genesis 22:15-19)
Abraham’s test wasn’t only about trust; it was about obedience. God didn’t need to learn what was in Abraham’s heart; He already knew. But Abraham needed to see it for himself. Faith must be more than belief; it must become action.
Abraham acted immediately. He rose early. He chopped the wood. He saddled the donkey. He climbed the mountain. Why? Because he trusted God fully. Hebrews 11:19 tells us he believed God could raise Isaac from the dead if necessary. That’s resurrection faith. It’s not just trusting in God’s provision; it’s trusting in God’s power, even over death.
Abraham’s journey wasn’t spotless. He had failed before twice, calling Sarah his sister, doubting God’s timing with Hagar, and wavering in fear. But on Mount Moriah, he obeyed without hesitation. His obedience flowed from deepening trust.
And God responded with blessing. Twice the angel of the LORD affirms: “Because you have not withheld your son, your only son, I will bless you… your descendants will be as numerous as the stars and the sand.”
God still calls believers to trust and obey. It may not involve an altar, but it will involve sacrifice, surrendering comfort, pride, or personal plans. Obedience might mean saying “yes” to a calling, forgiving someone hard to love, or giving when it costs more than expected.
Faith without action is theory. But when trust deepens, obedience becomes the natural response. That’s how faith matures. That’s how God shapes lives that reflect His character.
Abraham’s story reminds us: you don’t have to be perfect. You need to be willing. God honors obedience not because it earns His love, but because it shows you believe His love is enough.
3. Come Down the Mountain and Share (Genesis 22:19)
Abraham didn’t stay on the mountain. He came down with Isaac beside him, a living testimony of trust, obedience, and God’s provision. And that story didn’t stay private. It echoed through generations, inspiring prophets, apostles, and followers of Jesus across history.
Romans 8:32 captures the heart of it: “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” Paul links Abraham’s story to the gospel, then presses that same hope into the everyday life of believers.
This is what it means to live with a kingdom mindset: don’t leave the mountaintop truth up there. Bring it into the valley. Please share it with those who are anxious and weary in conversations. Let it shape how you parent, how you serve, how you give, how you suffer, and how you lead.
Many people in your life don’t need a perfect answer; they need a steady presence. Your story of how God provided, how He proved faithful, how He met you in a test may be the very thing God uses to draw someone else to trust Him.
Sharing what God has done in you keeps it alive in you. It turns a private moment into a public testimony. And it keeps you focused not just on what God has done, but on what He will do.
Abraham descended Mount Moriah carrying a promise. You can too. God provides. He is faithful. He’s not just worth trusting. He’s worth sharing.
So take the truth down the mountain. Live it. Speak it. And let others see the God who still provides.
Conclusion
Genesis 22 begins with a test and ends with a testimony. On Mount Moriah, Abraham learned what every believer must know: God will provide. Not just once. Not just in dramatic moments. But again and again, in ways both seen and unseen.
We see God provide a ram for Isaac, but more than that, we see Him foreshadow the Lamb that would be sacrificed for us. We know a father willing to sacrifice a son, and a God who did the same. The test was never meant to destroy Abraham; it was meant to display God’s faithfulness.
The question now isn’t whether God will provide. He has already, fully and forever, in Christ. The real question is whether we will trust Him, obey Him, and carry that trust into our everyday lives. Because the world isn’t short on anxiety or fear, it’s short on people who live like they believe God will provide.
So go down the mountain. Carry the story. Live with trust. Obey with courage. And let your life remind the world of this enduring truth: On the hill of the Lord, it will be provided.
