Genesis 22

We're continuing our series in the life of Abraham this summer, and tonight we come to Genesis 22, which is page 16 in the Pew Bible.

I'm going to turn there with me. It would be good to have a Bible open before you as we study this text tonight.

So we've been walking through Abraham's life, thinking about what it means to trust God,

and tonight we actually come to the climax of Abraham's story.

Everything, in one sense, comes to a head for Abraham right here in Genesis 22.

A number of years ago, when I was studying in graduate school, I remember having some weird chest pains one January.

I hadn't noticed those before. I thought that was kind of weird. This was new, so I went to see the doctor.

There's a history of heart disease in my family, so I'm like, oh, this is kind of serious. I should go check this out.

So I went to the doctor, and they scheduled a time for me to go to the hospital and have a stress test.

Does he ever have a stress test?

So what they do is they hook up all these sensors to your chest, and then they put you on a treadmill,

and then they turn the treadmill on, and you have to start running.

First they start you out walking. It's kind of nice. You're sort of walking, you're walking,

then they speed it up, and you're kind of jogging, and you're jogging a little faster,

and then they keep hitting that button, and you're running, and then you're running faster,

and then by the time you kind of get to the peak of the stress test, you're sprinting.

I'm just flat out running.

And at this point in my life, I'm a graduate student.

I'm not running a lot unless something's chasing me.

And I'm just sprinting on this thing.

And it's also one of these where the elevation goes up.

And once I'm at peak speed, I'm looking at the tech like, we're good, right?

We've got enough data to go on.

And they just sort of let me sit on that thing for what seemed like an eternity.

It was probably less than a minute.

And then finally, they slowed down the treadmill.

They let me off.

They let me lay down so that my heart rate could return from the stratosphere where they had sent it.

Anyway, after all that, thankfully, it turned out my heart was just fine.

The chest pains were probably indigestion or some just anxiety over the classes I was taking or something.

But the point is that we wouldn't have known the real state of my heart had I not come through the intensity of that test.

And tonight, we're going to see that the same thing is true spiritually.

The climax of Abraham's life, as we've been following along this story, the climax of his life doesn't come when he first receives God's promise to bless him and to make him a blessing in the whole world.

The climax of Abraham's life doesn't come when he and Sarah finally have a son, an offspring in her old age.

The climax of Abraham's life comes when God tests him.

When God tells him to actually give up the son that he had waited so long for.

When God tells him to give up the son, even when all these promises will be carried forward.

So let's read in Genesis 22, verses 1 through 19.

Genesis 22:1–19

We read this verse, Genesis 22.

After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham.

And he said, here I am.

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 the mountains, 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 rose and went to the place in which God had told him.

On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.

And Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey.

I and the boy will go over there and worship the coming end 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, and so they went, both of them together.

And Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father.

And he said to him, here I am, 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 to his son.

So they went, both of them together.

When they came to the place in 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.

The angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham.

And he said, here I am.

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.

He called 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 mouth of the Lord, what shall we provide?

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 obeyed my voice.

So Abraham returned to his young man,

and they rose and went together to Beersheba,

and Abraham left at Beersheba.

So at the time that we have tonight,

I want to briefly look at three things in our text.

First, I want to look at the nature of the test that God puts before Abraham,

and then we're going to look at the outcome of that test,

and then last, we're going to look at how we can face our own tests, our lives.

So first, let's look at the nature of this test.

You see right there in verse 1, God tested Abraham.

God comes to Abraham and tells him to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac,

the son that he loves, on the mountain, on the mountain of the land of the ride.

And of course, I think if you're a reader of this text,

our first reaction to such a command from God is confusion,

and maybe even a little bit of horror or disgust,

that God would ask Abraham to do something like that.

Cyril Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, wrote a book in the 19th century called Fear and Trebling,

which was about this episode in Genesis.

And Kierkegaard decided that the takeaway from Genesis 22,

one of the lessons is that faith is ultimately a leap into the unknown.

It's a leap into the irrational,

because God is asking Abraham to do something that's completely irrational here.

It's acting, faith is acting against all of our better judgments just because God said so.

But actually, as much as Kierkegaard is a great Christian thinker,

I don't think that's actually what's going on here.

The first thing to notice about the nature of this text is that it's actually not also irrational or illogical.

Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, which is a great book, by the way,

if you haven't read it, Stouncers and the Hostal,

he mentions the research of a Harvard Old Testament scholar named John Levinson.

And Levinson's study makes the point that in ancient Hebrew thought,

the firstborn son was the representative of the whole family.

Think about it. We talked a little bit about this last week.

So Isaac has now been confirmed as the heir, as the firstborn of Abraham's family,

which meant that all of Abraham's property, his estate, everything that he had,

his whole family, was going to Isaac.

And in a familial culture, in a culture that wasn't as individualistic as ours,

in a much more communal sense,

this firstborn son was the representative for everything that Abraham was.

Isaac, in a sense, was the family.

And Levinson goes on to point out in his study

that what we see in the rest of the Old Testament

is that when God's justice is enacted,

when God's just punishment for our sin is expressed,

in the Old Testament a lot of times, where does it fall?

Well, he says, naturally, it falls on the firstborn son.

If our sin forfeits all of our rights before God,

if we're totally accountable to God for our sin,

and we stand under his just judgment,

and if the firstborn son represents everything that we have,

then of course, when God's judgment's come,

it will be totally understandable in that culture,

for God requires a payment in the firstborn son.

And if we were going to owe God everything,

and if the penalty was going to demand everything,

then how would you represent that?

It would be your firstborn son.

They were your everything.

I actually see this in the Old Testament.

You see it in Egypt.

Remember the Exodus from Egypt,

when the destroyer comes and the tenth plague?

What does it come for?

It was for the firstborn son.

You see it throughout the Pentateuch,

because the firstborn sons of every family in Israel

have to be redeemed.

They're the ones that you've got to make a payment for

so you can keep them.

So when God comes to Abraham,

long before those events,

and says, Abraham,

I want you to sacrifice your son to me.

It's actually not some irrational command

demanding Abraham to leave in the dark.

No, this is God in his holiness

demanding from Abraham

the just penalty for his son.

Notice God doesn't tell Abraham to murder his son.

He says,

Offer him as a burnt sacrifice.

He uses technical language there.

I want you to offer him up to me

as a sacrifice.

This has to do with sin

and with judgment.

And notice also that God doesn't tell Abraham

to sacrifice Sarah

or another precious family member.

That would have been illogical to Abraham.

He wouldn't have understood that.

That would have been an inappropriate answer.

No, it was only the firstborn son.

It was only Isaac that represented

everything that Abraham had to give.

Isaac was Abraham's everything.

And that brings us to another thing

we need to notice about the nature of this test,

which is that Isaac is Abraham's everything

as we have the story.

As the narrator points out again and again

in our text,

Isaac is Abraham's son.

His only son.

The son he loves.

This is Abraham's beloved son.

This is the son he had waited years

and years ago.

This was his treasure.

This was his boy.

Now,

God was going to test Abraham's heart.

He was going to test his faith.

Which is to say,

God was coming to Abraham

to find out,

did Abraham love him

above all else?

Did Abraham love God

above all else?

Or it's something

taking the place of God

in Abraham's heart.

You know,

there will come times

probably for all of our lives,

if we're believers,

if we're followers of Christ,

if we're faced with similar tests.

A test of where our deep heart

and trust really lies.

Is it in God,

our creator,

and our redeemer?

Or,

is it in some creative thing?

And the fact is

that this testing will come

not because God is cruel,

not because God is ruthless

and cold,

not because God wants to,

you know,

unnecessarily punish us.

No.

This test comes to us

because God loves us.

Because God loves us

too much

to allow us to keep

competing false gods

in our hearts.

God loves us too much

to let us base our lives

on lesser things,

even good things,

even something like

an only son

who we love more

than any other earthly thing.

God is saying,

Abraham,

if you keep your heart

stuck on your son,

you will run out of you.

But if you release

your grip from him,

it will demonstrate

being love

at the end of all else.

Then you'll be free.

Abraham,

God says,

I want you to give up

your only son.

And Abraham,

even though the test was hard,

even though it was

the hardest thing,

any tests that Abraham

had or would experience,

what happens?

Abraham obeys.

He goes.

And amazing too,

notice too,

that Isaac obeys.

At first,

Isaac wonders

where the lamb is

for the sacrifice

when they get to

the top of the hill.

And Abraham sets up

the altar

and binds Isaac

like a sacrifice.

Isaac doesn't turn and run.

Now keep in mind,

at this point in the story,

Isaac's probably

a young teen.

And Abraham was probably,

well,

that's definitely

an incredibly old man.

Isaac very easily

could have rejected

his father,

split and run.

No thanks,

dad.

I'll not take part

in this game.

And yet Isaac saves.

Isaac too

entrusts himself

with the Lord

rather than

faith.

So this is the nature

of the test.

Here God is

demanding from Abraham

his everything,

his only son.

He's testing

whether Abraham

will love God

about all else

and trust him

about all else.

But let's look

back at the outcome

of the test.

And from Abraham's side,

the outcome

is not just obedience,

but it's assurance.

Abraham's faith

is tested

and he comes

through the test.

In the New Testament

book of James

in chapter 2,

James will look back

at this episode

in Abraham's life

and say,

that's when we knew

that Abraham's faith

was real.

James will say

that Abraham's work,

his obedience,

willingly offering

up his son

was the evidence

that proved

his faith

to be the real thing.

This was the thing

that showed Abraham

to have a living faith,

to have a true faith.

And that would be

the outcome

of our faith

as tested as well.

In Romans chapter 5

Romans 5:1–5

verses 1 through 5,

Paul writes,

therefore since we've

been justified by faith,

we've been put right

with God,

by faith,

we have peace with God

for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him,

we also have obtained

access by faith

in the disgrace

in which we stand.

And we rejoice

in the hope

of the glory of God.

Not only that,

but we rejoice

in our suffering,

as Paul says.

Knowing that our suffering

produces endurance

and endurance

produces character

and character

produces hope.

And hope does not

put us to shame

because God's love

has been poured

into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit

that has been given

to us.

Paul says our faith

is tested by suffering.

What happens?

Does it destroy our faith?

Does it disprove

God's love for us now?

Paul says that suffering

produces endurance.

We're forced to focus.

We're forced to press in.

Hold on.

Put first things first

and to ignore.

And then Paul says

that endurance

produces character.

We're refined.

You know,

when you mine

out of the earth

some kind of precious metal

out of the ground,

what's it like?

It's full of impurities.

It's full of dross.

It's full of

other kinds of rocks

and minerals.

But when it goes

through the furnace,

it comes out pure.

It comes out stronger.

It comes out more beautiful

than when it went through.

In other words,

it's character

that's refined

and displayed.

And then Paul says

that that character

produces hope.

It produces hope

that God really does love us.

And He really has chosen us.

And He's really going

to see us through

no matter what comes.

And He really is

all our hearts need

and our love need

for all eternity.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So what's the outcome

of the test?

Abraham obeys.

And God intervenes.

As Abraham reaches

with a knife,

the angel of the Lord

pulls out from heaven

in verse 12.

Do not lay your hand

on the boy

or do anything to him.

For now I know

that you fear God,

seeing that you have not

withheld your son,

your only son.

And then,

in verses 15 through 18,

God reaffirms

His covenant with Abraham.

It's a very important

part of this story.

Because you see,

when God promised

Abraham all the way

back in chapter 12,

all the way back

when Abraham's story

really begins,

when God promises

back there to bless

Abraham,

to make him a great

family,

to make him a great

nation,

to give him the land,

and ultimately

to bless all nations

through him,

that promise really

seemed to be conditional

on Abraham receiving

the promise,

obeying God,

and actually leaving

his family and homeland

and going to the land

that God showed him.

But here in chapter 22,

after that greatest test

of Abraham's life

after he surrenders

completely to God,

giving him his everything,

God makes that same

promise completely

and utterly rock solid.

It's utterly unconditional

love of fear

in chapter 22.

The New Testament book

of Hebrews looks back

to these verses

in Genesis.

This is what it says

in Hebrews chapter 6,

Hebrews 6:13–18

verses 13 through 18.

It says,

God made a promise

to Abraham,

since he had no one

greater by who to swear,

God swore by himself,

saying,

Surely I will bless you

and multiply you.

And thus Abraham,

having patiently waited,

obtained the promise.

For people swear

by something greater

than themselves,

and all their disputes

and oaths

is final for confirmation.

So when God

desired to show

more convincingly

to the heirs

of the promise,

the unchangeable character

of his purpose,

God guaranteed it

with an oath.

So by two unchangeable things,

in which it is impossible

for God to lie,

we who have fled

for refuge

by the strong encouragement

to hold fast

to the most of the forest.

Now what's the writer

of Hebrews saying?

Do you see here

in Genesis 22,

Genesis 22:16

verse 16,

I have sworn

and I have done it

with a soul?

God is here

making an oath.

Hebrews says,

you know,

usually when we make an oath

we sort of swear

by something greater

than ourselves,

you know.

I swear on my mother's grave

or whatever,

you know.

But here,

because there's nothing

greater than God,

God says,

I'm giving this oath

and I'm swearing

by myself

because I'm the greatest

in the midst

that I have to do

what I promised.

And Hebrews says

that makes

two unchanging things.

First,

God's word itself

and second,

God's oath.

And nothing

to be more proxile

than that.

So Abraham

comes through this test

with an unshakable

assurance

that God

will indeed do

as he does.

That Isaac

will finally

carry the family line

forward,

that God

will make them

into a great nation,

that their enemies

will be able

to stand against them

and one day,

hope against hope

and Abraham's offspring,

all the nations

of the earth

will be blessed.

And interestingly,

Hebrews says,

you know,

that oath

wasn't just for Abraham,

that was for us too.

But God gave Abraham

that oath.

He was speaking it

to him

but attending it

from all the generations

that will come

as if to say,

my promise

is sure.

That's the outcome

of the test.

When we go

through the fires,

we come out

with even greater

assurance

that God

is faithful,

that he is

trustworthy,

that he's the only

treasure our hearts

need.

And that brings us

to the last point.

How do we

go through

our own tests?

Now,

the New Testament

is very clear

that God

tempts no one

to sin.

James chapter 1

James 1 · chapter mention

in the New Testament

makes that very clear.

God's not in the business

of putting temptations

before you

to sin.

Temptations come

from our own

fallen nature,

the flesh,

from the world

around us,

from the devil,

the accuser,

who seeks to steal

and kill and destroy.

So God doesn't come

and tempt us

to sin.

But as we see here,

God at times

will test us.

Seasons will come

when following him

will not be easy.

When we will need

to trust God

despite the challenges,

despite the cost,

despite the fluctuations

in our moods,

even if it means

losing something

very dear to us,

a job,

a friendship,

in some places

of the world today,

perhaps even

our physical safety.

what will help us

come through

the test?

You know,

when Abraham arrives

at Mount Moriah

on the third day

of travel,

think about that,

three long days,

just him,

his son Isaac,

and a couple servants.

And I imagine

that was a pretty

quiet journey

for Abraham

and his son.

Not a lot of joking

if they marched

into the mountains.

But when they do arrive,

this is what Abraham

said to his servants

in verse 5.

Abraham says,

stay here with the donkey.

I, the boy,

will go over there

and worship

and will come to you again.

In other words,

Abraham is going

up to the mountain

to sacrifice his son

and yet he says,

I and him,

we're going to go

and we're going to come.

It's very interesting.

And as they ascend

the mountain,

Isaac turns to his father

and says,

Father,

here's the wood

and here's the fire

for the offering

and where's the lamb.

And Abraham says,

God will provide

the lamb for the offering.

Now,

was Abraham just

changing the subject

because that was

an awkward question?

Was Abraham

just avoiding

the real reason

that he was headed

up the mountain

with wood

and with fire

and with a knife

and he had no lamb?

I think rather

than Abraham

on that long journey

into the mountains

was contemplating

the promises of God.

Again,

this is Hebrews.

Hebrews chapter 11

Hebrews 11:17–19

verses 17 through 19

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 he have all

springy names.

Abraham considered

that God was able

even to raise him

from the dead

from which,

figuratively speaking,

he did receive

the back.

God had promised

Abraham

that Isaac

was going to be

the one

through whom

the promise

went forward.

Through Isaac

shall your offspring

be named.

And as Abraham

climbed to the mountain,

that was the promise

he must have been

rehearsing

and turning over

again and again

in his mind.

And he considered,

Hebrews says,

he was using his mind

to think about

the word of God.

If Isaac was

God's promised heir,

Abraham was reasoning

that no matter

what happened

on the mountain,

God was going to

remain true

to his word.

Reason is happening.

Praise the dead.

You see,

friends,

faith isn't

believing the irrational

or believing

in the dark.

Faith is trusting

the word of God.

Trusting God's

faithfulness

to his promises

more than we

trust our

faith feelings,

more than we

trust our

unfinant experiences.

Abraham had

walked with God

for years.

God had proven

himself faithful

again and again,

and now Abraham

knew that God

would remain faithful

even in the midst

of this most

extreme of tests.

Is that true for you,

friends?

Is that true for me?

When the testing

comes,

is the word of God,

God's word of promise,

more real to you,

more precious to you

than the merely human

words inside of your head?

Is God himself

more precious to you,

more lovely,

and more worthy to you

than even the good

things this life

can offer?

Thankfully,

today,

we can see something

that even Abraham

didn't see.

You know,

when Abraham

lifted up his eyes,

he saw a ram

called the thicket.

And God provided

a ram

to be sacrificed

instead of Isaac,

his son.

God provided

a substitute

for Isaac.

So we're actually

later in the Old Testament

in 2 Chronicles 3,

we're told that

Solomon's temple

was built

on this very spot.

That Mount Moriah

of Abraham's day

eventually,

for history,

would become Jerusalem.

The temple mountain

in David and Solomon's day.

So that same mountain,

the one that Abraham

called the Lord

will provide,

or Jehovah Jireh,

that would be the spot

where the temple

would be put,

where God again

would provide,

that he would provide

sacrifices for his people

for years,

symbols that their sins

could be paid

by another.

Substitutes

taking their place.

But friends,

we know there wasn't

until years later

when there would be

another son.

There would be

an only son,

a beloved son,

and this son

would actually go up

that same mountain.

And instead of being

rescued in the last minute

with a substitute,

God the Father

would give him up,

would give up

his one and only son

to be in his substitute.

To die once

and for all

from our sins,

so that whoever

believes in him

will not perish

but have eternal life.

John's so famous

and says.

And friends,

here's the thing,

if you see that,

if you see God

giving up his only son

for you,

then you see something

that Abraham

could only glimpse

from far away.

You see that the Lord

has really provided

in giving Jesus

his one and only son.

giving the lamb,

providing the lamb

that takes away

the sins of the world,

as John's

chapter 6 said.

And if you see that,

if you get that,

then listen to what

Paul says,

picking up on the same

kind of language

in this passage

from Genesis.

This is Romans 8,

31 through 32.

What shall we say

to these things?

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

He who did not

spare his own son

forgave him up

for us all,

how will he not

also with him

graciously give us

all things?

Friends,

no matter what test

you're facing tonight,

don't you see?

No matter what God

has asked you

to lay down,

even if it's the most

precious thing

in the world,

even if it's your

everything,

it's nothing

compared to what

God has already

given up for you

and what he promises

to give you

in and through

his son.

Do you see

Paul's relentless

logic in this verse?

If God did not

spare his own

son the most

treasured

and precious

thing in

eternity,

if God's already

given you that,

how will he not

also graciously

with him

give us all things?

And what's that?

What above all

does God promise

to graciously

give us

with Christ

his son?

Ultimately,

is it not

the gift of

himself?

Jesus said

in the Gospel

of John,

this is a true

life.

To know God

and to know

his own

son.

Ultimately,

it's not the

all things

that God

promises to

give us

his son.

To know

God and to

be with God

forever

in the heavens

and the new

earth.

To have

and to be

with God

for eternity

who is the

all-consuming

fire,

the God

who is the

beauty that

made the

world,

the God

who is the

desire of

nations,

the real

longing

underneath all

of our

longings,

the trying

of God

himself.

love.

This is the

blessing of

Abraham that

God promised

so many

years ago.

What is this

blessing that

keeps running

through this

book of

Genesis?

Is it not

to be right

with God?

To be in

fellowship with

God, to be

sons and

daughters of

God, and

to know the

love of this

God, a love

that has given

up his oldest

son for you,

to know that

love forever.

without

restriction.

And so

friends, I

think as we

wrap up in

Genesis 22, no

matter what

your test is

tonight, remember

that the Lord

has provided

that if he

has given

his son, his

only son, the

son he loves

for us, how

will he not

feel gracious

and give us

all things?

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we

confess that a

text like this

is very

challenging to

us, Lord, not

just for the

obvious reasons,

but for the

reasons that we

know how hard it

is to give up

the things that

we love in the

face of trial and

testing.

Lord, we thank

you that you

give us so many

good gifts, but

we also thank you

that you love us

too much to let

our hearts rest in

those good gifts

without resting in

you.

So, Lord Jesus, we

pray that you

would become more

and more real to

us tonight by your

Holy Spirit, that

we would see the

preciousness of

being loved by you

and what you've

done for us, and

the confidence in

you, to have an

open hand towards

everything in this

life, because you

have wrapped your

everlasting

arms around us

for our journey.

In the promise of

Jesus' name,

Amen.