The Mountain Series: Lessons from High Places

 

Session 1: Mount Moriah: The Test of Trust

Based on Genesis 22:1–14

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I. The Climb of Surrender

Abraham’s journey up Mount Moriah is one of the most mysterious and sacred moments in Scripture.
God called him to take his son, his only son Isaac, the promise he had waited for, and offer him as a sacrifice.

“Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah.
Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’” (Genesis 22:2)

The test was not cruelty but clarity.
Would Abraham trust God’s character when he could not trace His plan?
Would he walk in obedience when the outcome was hidden?

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“Faith is the radical trust that home has always been there and will always be there for you, even if you have lost your way.”

The climb to Moriah is the climb every believer makes—the path where faith must walk ahead of understanding.

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II. The Weight of Obedience

Abraham’s obedience was quiet.
The story gives no record of his argument, only of his steps.
He rose early, prepared the wood, and set out for the mountain.

“On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.” (Genesis 22:4)

Obedience often begins with motion, not explanation.
The hardest part is not the sacrifice itself but the walk toward it.
Each step required Abraham to silence the questions in his mind and listen to the deeper call of trust in his heart.

Thomas Merton wrote,

“The beginning of faith is the beginning of risk. It is the letting go of the need to control and the acceptance of mystery.”

When we keep walking in obedience, even through confusion, we discover that faith matures through motion, not certainty.

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III. The God Who Provides

As Abraham lifted the knife, heaven broke its silence.

“But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’
‘Here I am,’ he replied.
‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’” (Genesis 22:11–12)

Abraham then looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket.
He named that place Jehovah Jireh—“The Lord Will Provide.”

Provision came after obedience, not before it.
The ram was already waiting in the thicket, unseen from below.
God’s supply is often prepared long before we can see it.

Henri Nouwen said,

“Every time we take a courageous step toward our Father, we open a space where grace can enter.”

Trust is what allows us to discover that God was already there, ahead of us, in the very place we feared to go.

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IV. The Shadow of the Cross

Mount Moriah is not only the mountain of Abraham—it is the mountain that foreshadows Calvary.
Centuries later, another Father would offer His beloved Son on a hill outside Jerusalem.
This time, the sacrifice would not be withheld.

“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?” (Romans 8:32)

Abraham’s trust points forward to the Father’s heart, revealing that love is never proven by comfort but by costly surrender.
The mountain of testing became the mountain of provision for generations to come.

Dallas Willard wrote,

“Faith is not opposed to knowledge; it is opposed to sight. It is confidence grounded in the reality of God’s goodness.”

When we learn to see Moriah through Calvary, we understand that what feels like loss may be the beginning of redemption.

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V. The Invitation

Mount Moriah teaches that trust does not eliminate fear—it transforms it.
Faith is not the absence of questions but the willingness to climb while carrying them.
God never wastes a step or a sacrifice.

“On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:14)

You may not see the ram yet, but it is already in the thicket.
God’s provision is never late.
Every act of obedience clears a path for His faithfulness to be revealed.

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Climbing Moriah This Week

1. Reflect on what you are being asked to release.
   What is your Isaac—the thing you love that God is inviting you to trust Him with completely?
   Name it honestly before Him in prayer.

2. Take one small step of obedience.
   You do not have to see the whole mountain. Begin by taking one faithful step in the direction of surrender.

3. Remember the God who provides.
   Write down a time when God met your need at the last possible moment.
   Let that memory remind you that His timing is trustworthy.

4. Read Genesis 22:1–14 slowly this week.
   Let each verse settle in you like a stone on the path of faith.

5. Pray for courage to climb.

   “Lord, teach me to trust You when I cannot see the outcome.
   Strengthen my heart to keep walking,
   and open my eyes to see Your provision waiting on the mountain.”