When God Throws a Curveball

Well, I'm not much of a baseball player.

I know Byron is.

But from my few moments where I have had the opportunity to play,

I know that if there's one thing that you don't want,

it's for the pitcher to throw a curveball when you're up to bat.

You want that ball to just come straight across the plate

so you can just get a clean hit.

But you don't want to see what some of us have seen at the last moment

as it begins to all of a sudden change direction

and go somewhere that you didn't expect it to.

Even if you haven't played baseball, maybe you've had that moment

or experienced that before.

A ball's coming towards you or a frisbee or something,

and you think you know where it's going to go,

and then all of a sudden at the last minute,

it just totally curves and goes way off

from where you thought it would go.

Well, curveballs are not just things that we see in the fields.

Oftentimes, those kind of moments happen to us in life,

whether in the big story picture of our lives

or in the details of a given day.

Things are going well,

or at least we're at peace with the troubles in our lives,

and then seemingly out of nowhere,

something happens.

Something perhaps unexpected or unplanned for.

Something that maybe leads us to the place

where we're asking the question,

God, why?

Why this?

Why now?

God has a way of bringing curveballs into our life,

whether we like it or not.

How do we handle those situations?

What do we do in those moments?

How do we hit a home run

when a curveball comes at us?

If you have your Bible with you,

please open it to Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

This morning, we're going to be looking at a time

when Abraham had the craziest curveball,

probably that anyone has experienced,

brought his way.

Genesis chapter 22,

Genesis 22:1

verse 1.

Sometime later,

God tested Abraham.

He 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.

So here Abraham is,

he's,

we've been working through his story

here together as a church.

Things have been going well for him.

God has blessed him.

God has protected him.

God has turned all these things

that have gone wrong

into blessings.

It's gone well.

The promised son,

Isaac,

has been born.

And then seemingly

out of nowhere,

God gives Abraham

this command.

I want you to go

to the region of Moriah,

take your son,

whom you love,

and sacrifice him to me

there

as a burnt offering.

Why would God

ask Abraham

to do such a thing?

Why would he do that?

Even the thought of it

is deeply upsetting

to us.

Can you imagine

how Abraham

would have felt?

God,

why?

you want me

to offer

my own son

as a sacrifice?

You want me

to kill

my own son?

Why?

God gives us

only one clue

as to why

in verse 1.

It says,

sometime later,

God tested Abraham.

This was a test.

He was testing

Abraham.

But Abraham

didn't know

that it was a test.

And again,

we might wonder,

well,

why would God

do something

like this?

Something so

horrible,

asking him

to kill

his own son?

And if that's

how we think

about it

and feel about it,

then think

and feel

how much more

Abraham would have

thought and felt

that

and wrestled

and struggled

with this command

in that moment.

God acknowledges

how difficult

this is going

to be.

Do you see

how he describes

Isaac in verse 2?

He says,

your only son.

Of course,

Ishmael has been

sent away

and Isaac

is all that's left.

Not only

your only son,

but your only son

whom you love.

how could God

ask this?

We can only

imagine how

perplexed

and confused

Abraham must have

felt at this moment.

I mean,

was it not

the Lord

that told me

that

Sarah would

bear a son

and that

he was to

inherit

the promises

of this covenant

as an everlasting

covenant?

Was it not

you,

Lord,

who told me

that it is

through Isaac

that my offspring

shall be reckoned

and now you're

asking me

to do this?

That doesn't

make sense.

Abraham has

a curveball

thrown at him

from God.

How does

Abraham respond?

Verse 3.

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.

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

to you.

The first thing

we notice

about Abraham's

response is

just how quickly

he gets to

obeying

the Lord's command.

Did you see that

in verse 3?

The next morning,

Abraham got up

and began to make

preparations.

And not just

the next morning,

but early

the next morning.

there was no

delay

in Abraham's

obedience.

But can you

imagine how

he must have

felt

as there he

is cutting

the wood,

knowing what

the wood

is going to

be used for?

can you imagine

how he must

have been

feeling as

for two

days they

walked together,

he and his

son Isaac,

all the while

Abraham knowing

what was

coming.

Can you imagine

how what must

have been going

on in Abraham's

heart as he

finally looked up

on the third

day and saw

the place

where this was

all to happen?

But there's

this interesting

thing that

Abraham says

when it

comes to the

moment to

leave the

servants behind

and for

Abraham and

Isaac to

go up the

hill where

the sacrifice

is to be

offered,

he says

this,

he says

to the

servants,

stay here

with the

donkey while

I and the

boy go

over there.

We will

worship and

then we

will come

back to

you.

Well,

what do

you mean

Abraham?

What do

you mean

we will

come back

to you?

Why did

he say

that?

Was he

trying to

hide from

Isaac what

was about

to happen?

Was this

kind of a

lie?

Or did

Abraham

expect or

hope that

somehow this

wasn't going

to happen?

God wasn't

going to

have him

kill his

own son.

Abraham

and Isaac

continue

on.

Verse 6,

Abraham took

the wood for

the burnt

offering and

placed it on

his son

Isaac and

he himself

carried the

fire and

the knife.

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 the

wood are

here,

Isaac said,

but where's

the lamb

for the

burnt

offering?

This must

have been a

heart-wrenching

moment for

Abraham.

Dad,

the fire

and the

wood are

here,

where's the

lamb for

the sacrifice?

Can you

imagine that

moment?

Think of

those of you

who have

kids,

think if

you were

in that

situation

and it

was your

own

child

who

looked at

you and

said,

Dad,

where's the

lamb?

What would

you say?

This is what

Abraham said.

Abraham

answered,

God

himself will

provide the

lamb for

the sacrifice,

my son.

Again,

we're

wondering,

just what

did he

mean by

that?

One

commentator

said,

you know,

what is

this?

Is this a

masterpiece of

pious evasion?

doesn't seem

to really be

answering the

question.

Or is this

a statement

of faith?

God's going

to look

after it.

He's going

to take

care of

it.

He's going

to provide

the lamb.

Thankfully,

we know

the answer.

In the

inspired

commentary

of the

author of

Hebrews,

thousands

of years

later,

the author

of Hebrews

tells us

that this

was a

moment in

which Abraham

displayed

great faith

in God.

This was

a statement

of faith.

God

himself

will provide

the lamb

for the

sacrifice,

my son.

That word

provide is

literally

see.

God will

see.

One

commentator

I think

captures it

really well.

God will

see to

it

the lamb

for the

sacrifice.

my son.

Does

Abraham

know how

this is

going to

work out?

I don't

think so.

And yet

he expresses

his trust

in the

Lord.

God's

going to

look after

it,

my son.

He's

going to

take care

of it.

He will

provide.

verse 9.

When they

reached the

place God

had told

him about

it,

Abraham

built an

altar

there,

and he

arranged

the wood

on it,

and he

bound his

son Isaac,

and 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.

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.

Now I

know that

you fear

God,

because you

have not

withheld

from me

your son,

your only

son.

What a

moment this

must have

been for

Abraham,

even the

way it's

written here

in the

original

language,

gives us

the sense

that he's

going through

the processes

of preparing

the sacrifice.

He builds

the altar,

he gets

the wood

onto it,

and all

along the

way we're

hoping and

we're expecting

with Abraham

that God's

going to

intervene and

say,

actually,

no,

you don't

have to

do this.

He gets

to that

moment where

he has to

tie up

his own

son.

And we

don't

really

know how

Isaac was

feeling in

this moment.

We can

only imagine.

We assume

that he

allowed himself

to be tied,

that he

submitted to

his father's

will,

and that he

trusted his

father with

this,

allowing himself

to be bound

and put up

on the altar.

We don't know.

Did he question

his father's love

in that moment?

We don't

know.

But it's

not until

the last

moment when

Abraham has

made the

decision to

obey God

that God

intervenes and

speaks to him

from heaven.

He tells him

twice,

don't do

anything to

him.

Don't lay a

hand on

him.

Despite the

command that

Abraham had

been given,

the Lord's

will all

along was

not that

he would

harm his

son Isaac

or do

anything to

him.

This was a

test.

And the

results were

in.

Abraham passed

the test with

flying colors,

and the results

were this.

The Lord says,

now I know

that you

fear God

because you

have not

withheld from

me.

your son,

your only

son.

Let's not

trip over

those words,

now I

know.

It's not as

though God

didn't know

what Abraham

would do.

We might

wonder,

well, why

did he test

him anyway?

If God

knows everything,

if he knew

what Abraham

would do,

why did he

test him in

the first

place?

God

God

values

real

experiential

relationship

kind of

knowledge.

Think of it

in terms of a

natural disaster.

It's one thing to

know that a

natural disaster

is coming.

It's another

thing to go

through it and

to know

personally the

devastation that

it causes.

I think

that's the

way that

we're meant

to read

this.

When the

Lord says,

now I

know,

it's not

that he

didn't know

before.

It's that

now it's

confirmed in

reality,

in experience,

in relationship,

that you

fear God.

That you

fear God.

The fear of

God is a

rich and

meaningful

phrase that

is found

throughout the

whole Bible.

but it's

more than

just an

afraidness of

God,

being afraid

of him.

It has to

do with a

deep reverence

for God,

a regard for

him that

controls the

way that we

live,

the way that

we relate

to him.

At its

core,

it means

taking God

seriously for

who he is

and for

what he has

said.

and it's

not

portrayed in

scripture as

a negative

thing to

fear God.

Rather,

it's portrayed

as a good

thing, a

positive thing,

a thing that's

right, that's

proper.

That's what

this test was

all about.

This word from

the Lord is

really a

commendation.

He's commending

Abraham.

The results of

the test are in

and you

have a

proper fear,

a good and

right fear of

me as you

should.

And the

evidence of

that is that

you have

obeyed my

command.

And not just

any command,

but a hard

command.

You have not

withheld from

me your son.

Do you notice

the link there

between fear

of God and

obedience?

genuine fear

of God.

If we have

that, the

evidence will

be that we

obey him,

that we take

his word

seriously.

As it

pertains to

faith, that's

really what we've

been looking at

in this series.

Fear of God

and faith in

God are really

two sides of

the same coin.

At the end

of the day,

they both

have at

their core

taking God

seriously for

who he is

and what he

has said.

And if we

look back

through this

story leading

up to this

moment where

he goes to

sacrifice Isaac,

it's not

afraidness,

afraidness that

we've seen,

it's faith.

It's trust.

We will

come back to

you.

God will

provide the

lamb required

for the

sacrifice.

And that's

exactly what

happened in a

very tangible

way.

Abraham looked

up and there

in a thicket,

he saw a

ram, a male

sheep 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 that

place, the

Lord will

provide.

And to

this day,

it is said,

on the

mountain of

the Lord,

it will be

provided.

God then

confirms and

goes on to

express again

and expand

upon even the

promises that

he has made.

Because you

have done

this, you

have this

fear of me,

this faith in

me, and

have obeyed

me like

this, I

will surely

do everything

that I've

promised and

a little bit

more.

Abraham

then returns

to his

servants with

Isaac and

they set

off together

for

Beersheba.

Let's

take a

moment to

consider the

inspired

commentary on

this story

from Hebrews.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11:17

chapter 11

verse 17.

This is

what the

Lord had

to say

about that

moment long

ago.

By faith,

Abraham,

when God

tested him,

offered Isaac

as a

sacrifice.

He who

had embraced

the promises

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.

Now watch

this.

Abraham

reasoned that

God could

even raise

the dead.

And so in

a manner of

speaking,

he did

receive Isaac

back from

death.

Do you hear

what the

Lord is

saying there?

Abraham

had amazing

faith in

this moment.

He knew

that he

must obey

and offer

the sacrifice

and he

also

believed with

all his

heart that

God would

keep the

promises made

concerning

Isaac.

He believed

both and so

that leaves only

two possibilities,

doesn't it?

The one

possibility is

that God

will stop

me before

I kill

Isaac on

the altar.

and the

other possibility

is that if

God actually

expects me to

kill my

son,

he's going

to raise

him back to

life from

the dead

because he

will keep

his promise

and the

promise was

made to

Isaac and

his descendants.

Isn't

that amazing?

Abraham

believed God

for a

miracle.

Do you

realize the

position that

he was put

in?

He was

asked to

do something

and if he

succeeded in

doing it,

it would

cause the

promise to

fail.

The promise

was made

that Isaac

would inherit

the land and

his descendants

would be this

great numerous

offspring.

If Abraham

kills Isaac,

the promise

fails,

doesn't it?

God put him

in that

position on

purpose where

he had this

conundrum and

Abraham passed

the test with

flying colors.

He believed

both that God

would keep his

promise 100%

about Isaac

and that God

would provide

the lamb that

was needed for

the sacrifice

that was required

for his sins.

What an

amazing moment.

What an

amazing example.

I love this

story.

I love this

story most

of all because

of all the

parallels, the

rich parallels

that it has to

the gospel, to

the story of

Jesus.

Some people

here see a

whole bunch of

coincidences and

I used to be

one of those

people.

people

know what

I'm not

anymore.

I do believe

that Moses

did not know

what all of

these parallels

would be as

he wrote this

story down under

the inspiration

of the Spirit.

But I believe

that God knew

that these

parallels were

here and not

just knew but

that it was

intentional.

Think about

the story of

Jesus for a

moment as I

recount just a

few of the

details of

this story.

A promised

son must be

sacrificed and

not just any

son but an

only son, a

son deeply

loved by his

father.

And this

sacrifice will

be the ultimate

test of his

father's character.

This son was

made to carry

the wood up

the hill.

to his death.

The son

doesn't resist

or protest

but submits

to his

father in

trusting silence.

The father

is willing

to do

what is

required,

even if it

means he

must offer

his own

son as a

sacrifice.

from the

perspective of

Isaac,

whether we

understand it

or not,

God has

required our

death because

of sin.

Yet at just

the right

moment, God

intervenes to

provide an

acceptable

substitute so

that we can

go free and

unharmed.

the lesson

that we see

here is that

God will

provide the

lamb needed

for the

sacrifice that

God has

required for

sins.

And we

are even

pointed to

the reality

that was

going on in

Abraham's

heart,

that if the

son should

die,

we should

trust that

God can

raise him

from the

dead.

God,

are all

these

parallels

coincidence?

I don't

think so.

This is not

the only

place where

God does

this thing.

He does it

all throughout

the Old

Testament.

He tells

what is yet

to come

long before

it happens.

Not

necessarily

always with

words,

but sometimes

with the

events of

history

themselves.

I see

it as

God's

signature

authenticating

that this

story is

his.

And this

is where

we see

for the

first time

the beginning

to the

answer of

this great

question.

We came

up to this

question earlier.

Abraham is a

sinner.

He's blown

it.

We've watched

it.

And yet

God is

counting him

righteous,

treating him

as though he

is not a

sinner.

How can he

do that

and be

just?

It's here

that Abraham

is being

led to that

place where

he embraces

that God

will provide

the lamb

required,

the sacrifice

required for

his sins.

if we

miss these

parallels,

we miss

the good

news.

We miss

the gospel

that's here

for us.

Finally,

what do we

learn about

faith from

this story?

That's kind

of what we've

been focusing

on in this

series,

faith.

There is so

much that we

could pull

out of this

passage,

but I want

to just take

one specific

angle,

and I'm

indebted to

Dale Ralph

Davis and

his sermon,

or I don't

know if it's

a sermon,

it was put

into a book,

but he had

a chapter

on this in

his book

and kind of

helped me to

see this

angle.

So some of

what I'm

going to say

is borrowed

from him.

What do we

learn about

faith from

Abraham?

Well,

first of all,

our situation

is not the

same as his.

God spoke

with an audible

voice to him

and required

this of him.

That's not

the situation

that we find

ourselves in

today.

But perhaps

we do find

ourselves in

an Abraham-like

situation,

a situation

where God

has brought

something into

our life

or allowed

something to

happen

that we don't

understand,

a situation

where perhaps

we're asking

the question

like Abraham

did.

Why God?

Why this?

Why now?

Perhaps a

situation in

which we look

at the promises

that we've been

given in the

word of God

and we look

at our

situation,

we wonder

how can

these be

true?

You said,

Lord,

that you are

our refuge

and strength,

a very present

help in

times of

trouble and

yet look

at the

mess of

my life.

Where are

you?

Times when

we are

wondering

about God

himself.

what we

thought we

knew about

him

doesn't

seem to

be holding

true.

We can't

make heads

or tails

of what

God is

doing in

this

situation.

Deep down

in our

hearts,

maybe we

even feel

like we

have a

problem

with his

ways.

how do

we handle

those kinds

of

situations?

I believe

that God's

given us

Abraham's

story as

an example

and very

simply that

as Abraham

did,

we should

trust him

completely

and obey

and do

what he's

asked us

to do.

he's

given us

something

very

specific,

two things

really in

this passage

to trust

in.

First of

all,

trust his

promises.

Even if

they don't

seem to

be holding

true in

that moment,

God will

keep his

promises no

matter what.

Abraham

believed that

God could

do a

miracle and

raise his

son from

the dead

if he had

to,

but that

he would

do whatever

it took

to keep

his

promises.

promises.

Trust that

God will

keep his

promises.

He always

does.

He always

will.

And second,

trust that

God will

provide.

Isn't that

the main

lesson of

this story?

That's what

Abraham came

to express

before the

sacrifice.

God will

provide the

lamb for

the sacrifice,

my son.

And that's

what Abraham

expressed

after as

he named

that mountain,

that region,

the Lord

will provide.

Perhaps

you're going

through one

of those

kinds of

situations

right now

in your

life.

If so,

I want

to say

to you

with Abraham,

lift your

head and

look to

the Lord.

He will

look after

it.

He will

provide.

He will

see to

it what

is required

in this

situation.

You can

count on

him for

that.

And if

there's any

doubt about

whether this

is just for

Abraham or

if this is for

us too,

the Lord has

said these

similar words

again

through the

apostle Paul

in his

letter to

the church

at Rome,

what did

he say?

He said,

and we

know

that God

causes all

things to

work together

for the good

of those who

love him,

who have been

called according

to his

purpose.

how can

we be

sure that

that's for

us,

that God

will really

treat us

like that?

Listen,

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,

all things,

all things

that we

need,

all things

that are

good for

us.

He's

already

given us

the ultimate

and that's

the evidence,

that's the

proof that

he will

look after

us and

take care

of us,

even in

those situations

where we

have no

idea how

it's going

to happen.

Nothing

can separate

us from

his love.

And as

Abraham learned

that day,

not even

my own

sin,

the sacrifice

that was

required was

far costlier

than he

expected.

But he

learned that

day that

God will

provide the

lamb that's

required.

God will

look after

it.

God will

look after

you and

me.

Let's

pray.

Okay.

God will

pray.

God will

pray.

God will

pray.

God will

pray.

Father in

heaven,

thank you

so much

for these

words.

They come

at a

needed time

for many

of us.

It's

hard to

trust you

when what

we see

happening

in our

lives,

in the

lives of

friends and

family,

is so

opposite to

what we

expected.

strengthen our

faith in

you,

Lord.

Teach us

to live

as Abraham

did, to

walk by

faith and

not by

sight, so

that you

might receive

all the

glory.

In

Christ's

name,

amen.