Now I know...
Genesis 22:12
As Abraham raises the knife and the angel of the LORD calls out, we find a phrase that can momentarily unsettle us: “Do not lay your hand on the boy… for now I know that you fear God.” (Genesis 22:12, ESV)
If we’re not careful, we might hear “Now I know…” and wonder: Did God not know before? Did Abraham’s obedience inform God of something new?
Scripture has already shown us that God knows the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). He declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). He is never gathering information. So what does this phrase mean?
Literally, in Hebrew, it can be translated “now it has been revealed”. Abraham’s faith has now been revealed… demonstrated… brought into the open. What was already true in Genesis 15 (that Abraham believed God) is now displayed in Genesis 22 through costly obedience.
God did not learn something new. Abraham’s faith was made visible. This moment is about covenant confirmation. Faith that once trusted quietly now trusts publicly. Faith that once believed the promise now clings to it even when the promise seems threatened.
That should encourage us. When God tests us, it is not because He lacks knowledge. It is because He is shaping and revealing what He has already begun in us. The test does not inform Him, it refines us.
One Sentence to Carry with you today: God does not test us to discover our faith, but to display and deepen it.
As Abraham raises the knife and the angel of the LORD calls out, we find a phrase that can momentarily unsettle us: “Do not lay your hand on the boy… for now I know that you fear God.” (Genesis 22:12, ESV)
If we’re not careful, we might hear “Now I know…” and wonder: Did God not know before? Did Abraham’s obedience inform God of something new?
Scripture has already shown us that God knows the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). He declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). He is never gathering information. So what does this phrase mean?
Literally, in Hebrew, it can be translated “now it has been revealed”. Abraham’s faith has now been revealed… demonstrated… brought into the open. What was already true in Genesis 15 (that Abraham believed God) is now displayed in Genesis 22 through costly obedience.
God did not learn something new. Abraham’s faith was made visible. This moment is about covenant confirmation. Faith that once trusted quietly now trusts publicly. Faith that once believed the promise now clings to it even when the promise seems threatened.
That should encourage us. When God tests us, it is not because He lacks knowledge. It is because He is shaping and revealing what He has already begun in us. The test does not inform Him, it refines us.
One Sentence to Carry with you today: God does not test us to discover our faith, but to display and deepen it.
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