The Lord will Provide

Today we turn to the preaching of God's Word.

We're going to be continuing our look in the book of Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

If you were with us last week, you may remember that James,

we've been walking through this series called Seeing Christ in the Old Testament.

And James preached from Genesis 12 last week,

which is where God comes to a man named Abram.

And He promises to bless him, to make him great,

to make him into a great nation,

and that all nations through him may be blessed.

And so today we're going to be jumping to Genesis 22,

a very famous passage, maybe even you could call it an infamous passage,

that kind of bookends this life and ministry of Abraham.

And what we see oftentimes throughout the Bible,

when you have two passages that serve as bookends,

there's often similarities you see between the two.

And so I think we see that as well in our passage today,

because in Genesis 12, God gives Abraham a command to go.

To go and to leave his past behind.

To leave his land, to leave his family,

to leave his father's house, and to move to a new land.

And so what we're going to see in our passage today in Genesis 22

is something, a similar command.

To go, but not to leave your past,

but to leave your future.

To abandon your son,

your promised child,

and to sacrifice him in a land that I will tell you.

And so while we see these similarities in structure,

you may think, well, that seems like a contradiction.

It seems like one is a blessing,

and one is a curse.

But I think what we're going to see as we dig into this text

is that this blessing continues in Abraham's life

from Genesis 12 to Genesis 22 onward

that shows to us that we have a loving and gracious,

covenant-keeping God

who can be trusted for the redemption of his people.

And so let's turn to our passage.

Genesis 22, we'll be reading verses 1 through 19.

Sometime later, God tested Abraham and said to him,

Abraham, here I am, he replied.

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.

Early the next morning, Abraham got up

and loaded his donkey.

He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.

When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering,

he set out for the place God had told him about.

On the third day, Abraham looked up

and saw the place in the distance.

And he said to his servants,

stay here with the donkey

while I and the boy go over there.

We will worship, and then we will come back.

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering

and placed it on his son Isaac.

And he himself carried the fire and the knife.

And as the two of them went on together,

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham,

Father, yes, my son, Abraham replied.

The fire and wood are here, Isaac said.

But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham answered,

God himself will provide the lamb

for the burnt offering, my son.

And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told them about,

Abraham built an altar there

and arranged the wood on it.

He bound his son Isaac

and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Then he reached out his hand

and took the knife to slay his son.

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.

Do not do anything to him,

for I know that you fear God

because you have not withheld from me

your son, your only son.

Abraham looked up and there in the thicket

he saw a ram caught by its horns.

He went over and took the ram

and sacrificed it as a burnt offering

instead of his son.

So Abraham called the place,

the Lord will provide.

And to this day it is said,

on the mountain of the Lord

it will be provided.

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham

from heaven a second time

and said, I swear by myself,

declares the Lord,

that because you have done this

and have not withheld your son,

your only son,

I will surely bless you

and make your descendants

as numerous as the stars in the sky

as the sand on the seashore.

Your descendants will take possession

of the cities of their enemies

and through your offspring

all nations on earth will be blessed

because you have obeyed me.

Then Abraham returned to his servants

and they set off together for Beersheba

and Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

This is the word of God.

Let's pray again together.

Oh God, as we consider

this difficult passage,

I ask that you be our help,

that you open our minds

as we read the scriptures,

as your word is proclaimed,

that we may be led by your spirit in truth,

that we may be taught your will,

that we may be able to see

the glorious character of a God

who provides for his people.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

What we see in this passage

from the very beginning,

we get some insight from the narrator

that Abraham himself isn't given.

We see in verse 1 that it says

that God tested Abraham.

Abraham.

And so I wonder,

if anyone here is a big fan of test taking,

a lot of students among us,

maybe something,

a test is something

that you actually look forward to perhaps,

you enjoy the preparation,

you enjoy being able to prove yourself,

that you know some knowledge,

that you have some skill.

Perhaps you enjoy the fact

that you can prepare yourself

for whether it's a presentation

or an exam of some sort.

I myself enjoyed test taking so much

that I took my UK driver's test three times.

Maybe there's some of you here

that hate test taking.

The thought of test taking

is something that gives you nightmares

to think about tests you've had in the past

or tests that you have in the future.

My wife and I, some of you know,

lived and worked in China for a time

a long time ago,

and we taught at a university,

and we taught in the English department.

And so part of our responsibility as teaching,

we had to give a final exam

at the end of the term.

And the first semester,

I was teaching first-year students

that the protocol was for me

to turn in a PDF of my exam

for the department to print

and have on the morning of the exam

that I could give to my students.

And so I turned in my PDF long in advance.

I go to this big lecture high,

300 first-year students

that were going to be taking this exam.

And I look at my paper

and realize this is not the test

that I had sent to the department.

And so I quickly go to the department.

I say, hey, look, this isn't my test.

Do you have the right test?

And they said, actually,

we must have been a mistake.

We didn't print your test at all,

and there's not time to print it

before your exam.

And so rather than delay the exam

or postpone it altogether,

they said, well, just go back into the room,

give the students this exam,

and don't tell them

that it's not the right one.

And they did this because the department,

they didn't want to lose face

in front of the administration,

that if an administrator was walking by the hall,

they knew a test was supposed

to be going on this room,

and there were no students there,

someone could be really offended

or embarrassed by their own mistake.

And so I have to go back into this room

with 300 students,

pass out these papers,

and you can imagine the look on their faces

when they start taking this exam

and realize they don't know

any of the answers.

The horror that they wonder

if they study the wrong thing,

the hatred directed at me

thinking that I've tricked them

about what is going to be on the exam.

Well, we see in this story

a very similar thing with a test.

This passage opens with a test

of much greater proportions,

of much greater consequences,

and you may think

may get a response from Abraham

in a very similar manner.

But as I want to do

as we walk through this text

is to really examine three things.

Because in this narrative,

we see really this unfolding

of three different scenes.

And so we begin with this test.

This is what I want us to focus on

to begin with.

But then we have this response

from Abraham

and then also provision

that's provided.

So that's what we're going to be looking at.

The test, the response,

and the provision.

So let's look again

and think more about this test

that we see in verse 1.

God calls to Abraham and says,

Abraham, he says,

here I am.

In verse 2, God says,

take your son, your only son,

whom you love, Isaac,

and go to the region of Bariah.

And sacrifice him there

as a burnt offering

on the mountain,

I will show you.

We see from the very beginning

that God is testing

the faith of Abraham.

Will Abraham have faith in God?

We said this mirrors chapter 12, right?

In chapter 12,

God comes to Abraham

and it seems as though

it's the voice of blessing.

God says to go from this land,

I'm going to give you a family,

I'm going to give you wealth,

I'm going to give you an inheritance.

But yet in chapter 22,

it seems as though

it's a voice of cursing.

Rather than a promise,

it seems as though

it's a threat to that promise

that he's been giving.

This inexplicable contradiction.

We see in between 12 and 22

that Abraham had been promised this son.

Abraham being 100 years old,

his wife being 90 years old,

how were they to have a child?

And yet God blesses them

with this one promised son.

And now it seems that this son

is to be taken from them.

And we see just how special this boy is,

how he's described by the narrator.

Very deliberately,

he's called your son,

your only son,

the son whom you love, Isaac.

And so we're highlighted,

the reader's highlighted,

it's highlighted just how special

this boy was,

this promised miraculous son,

very flesh and blood of Abraham.

And he's told not only just to kill him,

we're told very specifically

what kind of sacrifice

this is supposed to be,

a burnt offering.

That means to kill him,

to cut him up,

and to let the fire

completely consume him

until there is nothing left.

A horrible scene

to think of a father

having to do to his son.

But the significance of this

is not only that Abraham

would be losing his son,

but he'd be losing the promise

that's attached to his son.

Because God was very explicit

to Abraham about how this blessing

would flow through him

to his family.

That it was supposed to flow

through Isaac.

Not Eleazar,

Abraham's servant,

before he had a son,

he thought,

well maybe this servant of mine

will be my heir.

Not through Ishmael,

who's the son of Sarah's servant,

Hagar,

who Abraham fathered,

but through Isaac.

This is what is promised

to Abraham in Genesis 17.

I will establish my covenant

with him,

meaning Isaac,

as an everlasting covenant

for his descendants

after him.

And so all these descendants,

all this blessing

that the nations were to experience,

it was to come from Isaac.

How is that supposed to happen now?

Well we turn to scene two then.

What is Abraham's response

to this test?

And I want us to think,

before we think about

how Abraham responded,

think about how someone

who maybe reads this passage

for the first time,

who's not a believer,

who's not familiar with Christianity,

how they may respond

to this test from God.

It's usually one of two ways.

It's either confusion

or it's disgust.

How in the world

could a loving God

demand this

of a follower like Abraham?

How in the world

would this God

ask for something so wicked

to be done

to man child sacrifice?

Even if this was

a common pagan custom

in the day,

if your God

is better than

these other gods,

why in the world

would he demand

the same thing?

And just to provide

a little bit of insight

before we move on,

if this is your mindset,

what we're going to see

is that here

and other places

in the Bible,

God often uses

common custom

in order to get

someone's attention,

in order to change

their mindset

and redirect it.

God's attention

because if we go back

to Genesis 15

where there's this

covenant ceremony

between Abraham and God,

God had instructed Abraham

to cut these animals

in half,

to line them up

and for Abraham and God

we're going to meet

in the middle.

This isn't something

that God just made up

on a whim.

This would have been

a ceremony that Abraham

would have been familiar with

to symbolize a bond

between two people.

But God changes up

that ceremony,

doesn't he?

He doesn't meet Abraham

in the middle.

He is the one

who walks through

the animals

to Abraham

indicating that

he is the one

who is going to be

responsible

for keeping

this covenant promise.

And so likewise here

God is using

this pagan ritual

not to say

I endorse

child sacrifice

but rather

to subvert it.

To say

I don't want

the sacrifice

of your children.

I demand a sacrifice

but I will be the one

who provides

that sacrifice

for you.

And so that's

getting a little

ahead of ourselves

but I think it's

mindful to be

thinking of that

as we think about

Abraham's response.

You would think

it would be very right

for Abraham

to ask questions

of God immediately.

Why God?

Why would you demand

this of me?

This son that you

promised me?

I have four kids

of my own at home.

This is a question

I hear all the time.

Why?

Please practice the piano.

Why?

Clean your room.

Why?

Put on your shoes.

Why?

And as parents

we can get discouraged

or just worn down

to the point

we always answer

because I said so.

But we see here

that Abraham

didn't ask this

question of God.

He doesn't ask

any question.

He doesn't try

to reason with God.

He doesn't try

to plead

for a reconsideration.

He doesn't try

to remind God

of his promise.

At the very least

you may think

that well he's going

to at least beg

for mercy from God.

At the very worst

he could try

to curse God

and say

there's absolutely

no way I'm going

to do this

to my promised son.

But he does none

of those.

In verse 3

again look

he says

early the next morning

Abraham got up

and loaded his donkey.

He took with him

two of his servants

and his son Isaac

and he cut enough wood

for the burnt offering

he set out for the place

God had told him about.

Complete

and unwavering

obedience.

He takes his son

his servants

and his supplies

and he goes

on his journey.

And for three days

he travels on

continuing in obedience.

Can you imagine

how heavy hearted

he would have been

knowing where

he is going.

The only one

in his group

knowing what

is going to happen.

At any point

he could have

changed his mind

and turned around

but he doesn't do that.

He continues on

in obedience

to the hill

that God

had directed him.

And notice what

he says in verse 5.

Stay here with the donkey

while I and the boy

go over there

and we will worship

and then we will

come back to you.

He speaks here

in the plural

when he's talking

to his servants.

Isaac and I

we will go

we will worship

and we will return.

Now you may think

this is just a way

of covering up

so the servants

don't think he's

get suspicious

about what's going

to happen

because he doesn't

have this lamb

with him.

But we get a little

more insight

into what

Abraham was thinking

if we turn to

the book of Hebrews

in the New Testament.

In chapter 11

of Hebrews

it recounts

this wonderful chapter

that recounts

the faith

that Old Testament

figures have

and it speaks

specifically of Abraham

and this is what

it says in chapter 11

verse 17.

By faith Abraham

when God tested him

offered Isaac

as a sacrifice.

He who had embraced

the promise

was about to sacrifice

his one and only son.

Even though God

had said to him

it is through Isaac

that your offspring

will be reckoned.

Abraham reasoned

that God

could even raise

the dead

and so in a manner

of speaking

he did receive

Isaac back

from the dead.

Abraham had such

faith in God's

promise that he

thought even if I

have to sacrifice

my son

God is powerful

enough to raise

him from the dead.

And so he places

the wood on his

son Isaac's back

he takes the knife

and he takes the fire

and they begin

ascending this hill.

And then we hear

this question

from Isaac

a very reasonable

question

where is the lamb

for the burnt

offering?

And so in our

NIV translation

what I read

earlier it says

Abraham responded

God himself

will provide

a lamb

for the burnt

offering.

And it's interesting

if we look in the

original language

in the Hebrew here

how this word

provide

is actually

what Hebrew

word this is.

It's actually

the verb

to see.

And so as you

translate this

sentence there's

really two

different ways

you can translate

it and both

it kind of gives

it a double

meaning which I

think is intended

here because

Abraham says

God will provide

for himself

the lamb

or God

will see to

it the lamb

for the sacrifice.

And so as

readers of this

passage now we

see the richness

of this exchange

because this is

really the only

time the only

recorded dialogue

we see between

Abraham and Isaac

in all of

Genesis.

And what

Abraham is

saying it's

foreshadowing not

only what's going

to happen in the

minutes ahead but

also in generations

to come.

God will provide

yes he will a

lamb for the

altar.

But God is also

a God who sees

and he sees

into the future

and he sees

his own son who

he will provide

as a

substitutionary

sacrifice for

his people.

And so that

question that Isaac

asked where is

the lamb

we look to

the New

Testament and

we see it

answered.

In the gospel

of John John

the Baptist is

by the Jordan

River and he

sees Jesus

coming to him

and what does

he say?

He says behold

the lamb of

God who takes

away the sins

of the world.

Certainly

Abraham didn't

even understand

then the

significance of

this statement

that he's

making but he

continues on

in obedience.

And so this

narration now

that's just sped

through these

three days of

travel it

slows to a

crawl when we

reach the

climax of this

passage.

Listen to every

detail that it

gives.

In verse 9

when they

reached the

place God

had told him

about Abraham

built an altar

he arranged the

wood on it

he bound his

son Isaac

he laid him

on the altar

on top of the

wood

then he

reached out

his hand

and took

the knife

to slay

his son.

And it's

here that

scene 3

bursts into

that we see

this provision

that's provided.

The angel of the

Lord called out

to him from

heaven Abraham

Abraham do

not lay a

hand on the

boy do

not do

anything to

him now I

know that you

fear God

because you

have not

withheld from

me your

son your

only son.

And Abraham

looked up and

there in the

thicket he saw

a ram caught

in the horns

by its horns

and he went

over and took

the ram and

sacrificed it as

a burnt offering

instead of his

son.

I'm sure all of

us have had

experience in a

literacy class of

some form or

fashion in

school or in

university and

it may be that

you read short

stories and you

have to analyze

them and your

teacher or

professor wants

you to answer

questions.

Who's the

main character?

What is a

conflict that

the character

faces?

What do they

learn or how

do they grow

through this

conflict?

And what can

we learn from

this main

character?

Maybe we may

think about this

passage in a

similar way that

is this is kind

of just a

self-contained

fable that we're

supposed to kind

of draw some

conclusions from.

And if we kind

of have that

mindset and we

think well okay

Abraham's the main

character here and

the conflict was

this test that God

had given him and

we see that he

learns that he

needs to have

more faith and

if he has enough

faith then everything

will turn out all

right.

So we then have to

have the faith like

Abraham right?

Maybe you've even

heard this passage

preached in a

similar fashion

before and not

that we want to

discredit the faith

that Abraham shows

in this passage but

I think if that is

our focus if that is

our own takeaway

then we have

cheapened what this

passage is showing

to us because we

need to see it in

the context of all

the Bible the

context of redemptive

history.

See here Abraham

really isn't the

main character in

this passage.

It's not the one

that the people of

Israel would have

identified with when

they heard this

story over and over

again.

You see in Hebrew

this story was

historically called

the binding of

Isaac.

It's Isaac's life

and death that's

the heart that's at

the heart of this

plot.

And so the

people of Israel

they would have

identified with

Isaac because it

was with Isaac that

their very existence

hung in the balance.

Because with no

Isaac there is no

nation of Israel.

With no Isaac there

is no covenant

promise.

And so with Isaac we

see this symbolic

figure and then it

is God who is the

main character.

It is God who is the

protagonist because

he's the one who

tests.

He's the one who

sees.

He's the one who

provides.

And he's the one who

fulfills his promise.

And so I want us to

think then about who

this he really is

because this is easily

overlooked.

At the beginning of

our passage in verse

1 it talks about God

coming to Abraham.

In the Hebrew it's

Elohim.

Elohim comes to

Abraham.

But yet in verse 10

as Abraham raises up

his knife it says an

angel of the Lord

called out from heaven.

Literally in the Hebrew

it's this messenger

of Yahweh.

And so notice how

this messenger speaks.

He doesn't say I

know you fear God

because you haven't

withheld your son from

God.

He says I know you

fear God because you

haven't withheld your

son from me.

So how is it that this

messenger of God can

speak in the first

person?

Well there's elsewhere

in the Old Testament

that we see this

messenger of God come

to God's people.

Actually we only have

to go back a few

chapters to Genesis

16 where we see

this encounter between

the messenger of God

and this woman Hagar.

Hagar became pregnant

by Abraham.

She was abused by

Abraham's wife Sarah

and now she has fled

to the desert.

And it says that an

angel of the Lord

found her by a spring

of water and says

to her I will increase

your descendants so

much they can't be

counted.

He goes on to say

Yahweh has heard

of your affliction.

So how is it that

this messenger can

speak on behalf

of Yahweh but also

personally extend

a blessing that

sounds very much

similar to what God

had said to Abraham.

Right after this we

see Hagar's response

too.

She says to the

messenger, she calls

the messenger, you

are God.

You are the God who

sees me.

Again this word,

this Greek verb for

see or provide is the

same root that she

uses here, the same

one that Abraham says

to Isaac.

And so we see the

significance of this

story because this

messenger, how does it

work out that he can

identify himself with

God, can give a

blessing similar to

God, yet is distinct

from God?

From this story and

others we can see

that this messenger of

God is the pre-incarnate

son of God.

Jesus.

This is Jesus who is

interacting as a second

person of the Trinity

working in tandem with

the Father, communicating

to God's people.

And so this makes the

story all the more

significance because we

see this is the voice

of Jesus speaking to

Abraham, renewing his

promise that God had

given to him.

And so look at verse

16, he says, I swear by

myself declares the Lord

that because you have

done this and not

withheld your son from

me, your only son, I

will surely bless you

and make your

descendants as numerous

as the stars in the

sky and as the sand

on the seashore.

Your descendants will

take possession of the

cities of their enemies

and through your

offspring all nations on

earth will be blessed

because you have

obeyed me.

This is the voice of

Jesus talking about

what he is going to do

in the future.

He is the offspring.

This singular noun used

in the Hebrew, he is the

one person who will come

to see the blessing being

proclaimed to the nations.

And so it's no surprise

then as we look at how

Isaac is described over

and over again in this

passage, ten times it

calls Isaac the son, the

only son, the beloved

son.

Does that not sound

familiar to how Jesus

is described in the

New Testament?

If we think back again

to this encounter that

Jesus has with John the

Baptist at the Jordan

River, in the Gospels it

recounts how John

baptizes Jesus and when

Jesus comes out of that

water a voice from

heaven says, this is my

beloved son with whom I

am well pleased.

Possibly the most famous

verse in the Bible, John

3, 16, for God so loved

the world that he gave his

only begotten son, that

whoever believes in him

will not perish but have

everlasting life.

This is the exact same

language that is used to

describe Isaac, is used

to describe the coming

Savior, Jesus.

And so we see here

though that even though

Isaac is a type of Christ

in the Old Testament,

there's clear difference

between the two.

Because we know that

Jesus died on the cross

here, Isaac does not die

on that altar.

Instead a lamb is

provided for him in the

thicket.

And it's because of this

provision, because of this

lamb that's provided that

Mount Moriah becomes known

as the place where the

Lord will provide.

And it's interesting then,

as we move through the

Old Testament, we see this

mountain hold great

significance.

We can continue on further

to 2 Chronicles 3.

And we hear the story of

King David who is trying

to take the census of his

people, maybe for his own

pride, to see what a

powerful army and kingdom

he has.

And as a result, an angel of

Lord comes and strikes down

many in Jerusalem.

And it says that David lifts

up his eyes and he sees this

angel standing on this very

mountain with an outstretched

sword over Jerusalem.

And it's there that says that

David built an altar and

offered a burnt offering

sacrifice.

And it was here on this very

mountain that a generation

later Solomon would build the

temple.

The temple that would be the

place of sacrifice.

The killing of animals for the

forgiveness of sins for God's

people.

And it was on this same

mountain that became known as

Mount Zion.

It's where we have the

Savior Jesus who is convicted

and condemned.

Who is our sinless substitute.

Who is crucified.

And so it is on this mountain

where Abraham raised this knife

over his son Isaac.

It's on this mountain where the

angel of God holds a sword over

Jerusalem.

It's the same mountain where the

knife of the priest would have

killed countless animals for the

forgiveness of sins.

It is at the same place where the

knife of God's divine judgment

find its mark on his only son,

Jesus.

It was right near this mount where

the sinless substitute, Jesus, our

Savior, carried his own wood for

his altar.

That rugged cross to a place where

he would willingly suffer and die and

take the penalty for your sin and

for mine.

A perfect sacrifice as a substitute for

needy sinners like you and me.

You see, what Abraham was not required

to do to his one and only beloved son,

God willingly does to his one and only

beloved son.

And so this is not a story about some sick

and twisted God who demands human sacrifice.

This is a story of a loving and gracious

God who offers his son as a sacrifice in our

place.

You may ask, well, why do we need a sacrifice

at all?

And it's because of the character of God.

We have a God who is both holy and just.

And we have a people who is sinful.

In our sinfulness, we are separated from

God's holiness.

Because of his justice, he cannot overlook

our sin.

The penalty for sin is death.

A sacrifice is necessary.

But a substitute is acceptable.

And this is what we see demonstrated to

Abraham in this passage.

This covenant promise that was given to

Abraham was not threatened by this test.

It was confirmed.

And it was continued through his son Isaac

and finds its fulfillment in Jesus.

And so this is what Paul talks about in

Galatians 3.

He says that in Jesus, the blessing of

Abraham came to all so that we might

receive the promised spirit through faith.

The blessing of Abraham is the blessing for

you and for me today.

It is a blessing received through faith in

Christ.

It says in Genesis 15 that Abraham believed

the Lord and it was credited to him as

righteousness.

The same is true for you and me today.

Do you receive this blessing?

Do you understand that it is you and I who

deserve to be on that altar?

But a perfect substitute has taken our place.

If you do believe this, if you are in Christ,

then remember what we read earlier from Romans 8.

Romans 8.31.

It is, if God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son.

That's the same language that's used in Genesis 22.

Paul is certainly thinking about this illustration as he

writes this letter.

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?

We know that if God is willing to give us the ultimate gift of

his son, that he will continue to do complete his work of

redemption in our lives.

And so even in our darkness and even in our pain and even in our

suffering, we can be sure that we have a faithful and trustworthy God

who keeps his promises.

Do not doubt his love.

He is a God who sees and he is a God who provides.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for the truth.

We thank you for the truth.