Abraham and the Sacrifice of Isaac

Hello. Good morning. Good to see you all today.

23 weeks ago, April 27th to be exact, we began a verse-by-verse series called

How It Started from the Book of Genesis. Remember that?

So I can imagine that the series ongoing this long, that there is a very good

chance of two growing camps of people.

In one camp, there are people that are loving this verse-by-verse,

steady approach, and they are buckled in, locked into seeing the completion

of Genesis and its 50 chapters.

Today we are coming to chapter 22, which means we are almost to the halfway point.

However, there is another good chance that there's a camp of people who,

though they appreciate the series, they are wondering, is this ever going to end?

For those of you who are in that camp, happy day.

Today, part 22 of Genesis 22 will be the last part of this series.

You can either moan or cheer now.

Now for the first group of campers who might not be happy campers now,

disappointed hearing this news, don't stress.

There is a plan to return to this book of Genesis at a later time.

We're going to finish the book, God willing, we will.

My guess is that when we do return to Genesis, it will not be titled how it

started because we are now thousands of years past in the beginning,

God created the heavens and earth and past Adam and Eve.

So when we do return, if there is anyone who has worn out with this series,

I hope you'll be excited that when we return there again.

And then everyone can be happy campers again.

Regardless of what camp you're in, take your Bible, start looking for Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

It's going to be our final week of this series.

And we come to the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac.

The story, I think, it's one of the more popular stories of the Bible.

Lots and lots of people have heard about Abraham and isaac however perchance

you have never heard this story before we're about to read it right now.

But besides this story being a well-known story i'm going to tell you it's an

incredibly challenging story to fully comprehend and to wrap one's mind around

i know it's a sunday school story But there's a lot here.

I wanna show it to you. Let's start reading Genesis chapter 22,

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

the first 19 verses this morning.

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

here I am, he answered. Take your son, he said.

Your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah and offer him there

as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.

So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey and took with him

two of his young men and his son Isaac.

He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.

On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

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

The boy and I will go over there to worship and then we'll come back to you.

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son, Isaac.

In his hand, he took the fire and the sacrificial knife and the two of them walked on together.

Then Isaac spoke to his father, Abraham and said, my father.

And he replied, here I am, my son.

Isaac said, the fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

And Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

Then the two of them walked on together. When they arrived at the place that

God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood.

He bound his son, Isaac, and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

And then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said,

Abraham, Abraham. He replied, here am I.

Then he said, do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him.

For now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your only son from me.

Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thickets by its thorns.

So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in a place in place of his son.

And Abraham named the place the Lord will provide.

So today it is said, it will be provided on the Lord's mountain.

Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said,

By myself I have sworn this is the Lord's declaration.

Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,

I will indeed bless you and make your offering as numerous as the stars of the

sky and the sand on the seashore.

Your offering will possess the gates of their enemies.

Your offspring will possess the gates of your enemies and all the nations of

the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.

Abraham went back to his young men and they got up and went together to Beersheba

and Abraham settled in Beersheba.

And that's where we're going to stop today. And really that's where we're going

to stop for like the next five months of the book of Genesis.

So whether you have heard this story for the very first time this morning,

or you have known about it for years, it has the potential to deeply impact your life.

Through the Holy Spirit's leading and God's word here in Genesis 22,

there is an opportunity for us to change for the better spiritually.

Like how does that sound to you? To change better spiritually.

Looking through this throughout the week, there are three observations from

this chapter that I want to share today.

I believe they have the potential to greatly impact our lives.

The first observation is this, that Isaac is a type of Christ.

Some people, and rightfully so in my opinion, they get very excited when the

Old Testament gives a foreshadowing of the coming Jesus and the New Testament. This chapter does that.

Jesus is the promised son that will come and bless the people through his life.

And Isaac is the promised son who will also bless all of the nations.

Look at these similarities here. In verse two, God says to Abraham,

take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and sacrifice him. And that's a reference.

This reference here to Isaac has a direct parallel to God and his son, Jesus.

Very famous verse, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world this way,

he gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish,

but have everlasting life.

In verse four, it says that the trip took three days.

And on the third day, Abraham raised up his eyes and he saw a mountain.

This connection is often made in the New Testament. Jesus was in the grave for

three days, and on the third day, he was raised from the dead.

In verse six, once they came to the mountain, Abraham took the wood for the

burnt offering, and he laid it on his son Isaac.

This offers a strong resemblance to Jesus going to a mountain,

Mount Calvary, and having the wood of the cross laid against his back.

In verse 8, Isaac says to his dad, we've got the wood, we've got the fire,

but then he asks, where's the lamb to be sacrificed?

Isaac represents being a lamb.

In the New Testament, in verses like John 1.29, and there are others,

they describe, they declare Jesus to be the lamb, the Sacrificed Land." John 1, 1, 29.

John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "'Look to the Lamb of God who takes

away the sins of the world.'" So Genesis 22,

it gives us this reflection, a beautiful and powerful reflection of Jesus and his gospel.

The most impactful person and the most impactful thing in any person's life is Jesus and his gospel.

And that also can be said true in the negative.

This chapter gives people a reflection of Jesus and the gospel.

And without a doubt, not having a relationship with Jesus and not embracing

and believing the gospel will impact a person's life.

In other words, whether the gospel is believed and accepted or not believed

and rejected by a person, it will greatly impact a person's life.

If you are a Christian here today, thank God for the internal impact that Jesus

and his gospel will have on your life.

And this is why we must be so diligent, so consumed with sharing the gospel

with others for those people who don't know God yet.

So that's the first observation, and it has a powerful impact on each and every person.

Isaac represents a type of Christ in this story.

Now, when we move to the second observation, the chapter begins in verse one

with the phrase, after these things.

This is a common way of writing for Moses, who's the author of Genesis here.

Often when he finishes writing about one topic, he then begins a new story by

using that phrase, after these things.

In this case, it would be chapter 21. It would be the things that we talked

about last week that Mario talked about to us, right?

And it would be after the birth of Isaac, after the big weaning celebration.

Apparently that was a thing back then.

After Ishmael, the disrespectful teenager and half-brother of Isaac,

after he gets kicked out of the house, like older siblings, be careful how you

treat your younger siblings.

See that there, right? And that's happening. After Hagar loses her job and her

security, her protection.

Like what a bad deal for Hagar. It wasn't her idea to have Abraham's baby. It was Sarah's idea.

And now Sarah is the one who is throwing her out to the street curb.

And yet chapter 21, God protected her and Ishmael.

And then after Abimelech makes the treaty with That's when we come to the second

observation of this story and here it is.

God gives tests. I don't know if you caught it or not.

When you read verse one, it says, after these things, God tested Abraham.

Now my guess is most of

us don't like tests outside of

a few smarty pants and a few overachieving very

prepared people i imagine that most of us don't like tests when a student hears

exam week is coming most students don't get super psyched up and start posting

all over their instagram accounts oh exams are coming that does not happen and

when the doctor says we need to run some tests,

to see what's going on in your body. Like the test might be needed. I get that.

But most patients are not thrilled with all the poking and prodding that comes with the test.

Personally, I am a big believer that God designed my blood to stay inside of my body.

And when someone suggests that I take it outside of my body to test it,

I am not a big fan of that. Like needles.

But tests, they are a part of life.

Some are easy. I like those. Others can be difficult and even painful.

Why tests? Because they give an opportunity to show yourself, to prove yourself.

And maybe you have never thought of this before, or maybe you don't like the

way it may be, but God gives his people tests.

He gives spiritual tests. He doesn't give them because he's mean.

Only your science teacher does that. At least that's how it felt to me.

And God certainly doesn't give tests like, oh, how can I make them fail?

I want to really trip them up here.

He gives a test as an opportunity to show what we are all about.

Are you prepared to pass the spiritual test from God? Maybe you're in one right now.

This chapter gives us the opportunity to learn some things about God's test,

which means we can use this story to help prepare for these tests.

Like we get to study for a test. I know that's a novel idea for some of us,

but we do. We get to study here.

So first notice this. When God gives a test, you might not even know it's a test.

Abraham didn't know. Look again at verse one. It says, after these things, God tested Abraham.

It doesn't say God told Abraham he was going to test him. There's a big difference.

Abraham didn't get a heads up from God. It wouldn't have been much of a test

if God would have said, psst, hey, Abraham.

I'm going to ask you to do something really hard, but don't worry about it.

It's just a test. That wouldn't prove anything.

Instead, God says, hello, Abraham, are you there?

And Abraham responds, yep, I'm here, God. Are you going to tell me again about

all the blessings and promises that you have for me?

Like that is often the way the communication goes with them. But not this time.

God's message to Abraham was way different.

Imagine the shock Abraham must have had in hearing this command.

If you have your Bible open, look at it. In Genesis chapter 21,

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

look at the caption above Genesis 21.

In my Bible, it says the birth of Isaac.

And then in chapter 22, it says the sacrifice of Isaac.

Abraham has been waiting and waiting and waiting for the long promised son to arrive.

God and Abraham, they have had many conversations about this coming day.

Finally, the son comes in chapter 21 and on the very next page in chapter 22,

he's being asked to be sacrificed.

I don't think there is any way Abraham saw this coming.

And so we might not know when God is testing us.

Second, sometimes God's tests are flat out gut-wrenching.

Look at verse two. Take your son, he said, your only son Isaac, whom you love.

It is like he is drilling down on how special of a son he is.

Go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the

mountains that I will tell you about.

And that's why I've said at the start, in my opinion, this story can be incredibly

challenging to wrap one's mind around, especially as a parent.

If it was not for knowing the rest of this story, I don't know what I'd do.

But like most of you, you didn't panic when you read verse two because you knew

there was more to the story.

And yet, even still, to someone who questions the goodness of God,

this is a challenging process.

A gut-wrenching test from God.

The test seems excessively hard. It is one thing for Abraham to have had to

wait for his son Isaac to come.

It's one thing to anxiously hope for and to be excited about a future coming

thing or person like a child,

but to then have his son come into existence and then be asked to give him up

maybe eight to 12 years later.

We don't know how old for sure, but he's able to go on a three-day journey to carry wood.

God's tests can be gut-wrenching.

Third, the test God is giving to Abraham, it is not only gut-wrenching,

but frankly, it seems evil and completely opposite of his character.

But here's what I know. Don't ever confuse feelings and emotions for theology.

We see here in Genesis 22, this is a clear test from God with a clear command to Abraham.

It seems to be a very special case that God is using to point something out

that is very, very important.

Like, thank God, this is not an application for all parents to go out and do likewise.

And still, it doesn't make the test look any less wrong or any less evil.

And yet, it's important to have the full picture, to know the entire story.

All of this is building for God's glory and Abraham's good.

And it requires a dramatic test.

I mean, at this point, it certainly looks like God has turned from being Abraham's

best friend to his worst enemy, which I know that's not true,

but it sure seems that way.

Perhaps there's a Christian here today. I bet there's a Christian here today

who has gone through stuff so difficult, so gut-wrenching, so evil that they

think it's possible to think, man, God is against me.

But that's not biblical thinking. That's unbiblical thinking.

We know from God and the Bible that that's not true.

We know God is good. We know God is not evil. We know that God is for us, not against us.

We know that God is not, he will not allow any difficulty to come into our lives

that we are not capable of burying in the power of Christ.

We know that every testing that comes our way, God will remain faithful.

So what do we do? What do we do when God asks us to do something that makes no sense?

Sacrifice, my son? What do we do when God asks us something we don't want to do?

What do you do when he asks you to do something and it's not going to feel good?

How do you pass the test?

The answer is the third observation of the story.

We trust and obey. Really? That simple? That straightforward?

And that difficult?

We trust him and his promises, and we obey him.

Trusting and obeying are linked together. They are inseparable when it comes to being a Christian.

They are the key elements needed for passing God's test.

Trusting and obeying leads to worship.

That's God's big point to this story. He gives Abraham an impossible test to

pass unless he is trusting the promises that God has made to him.

And Abraham's faith leads him and his obedience follows his faith.

And the result is worship because trusting and obeying is worship.

Go back to Genesis 22 verse five.

Then Abraham said to his young men stay here

with the donkey the boy and I will go over there to

worship and then we'll come back to you now participate

here with me I want you to answer a question why does God why does Abraham tell

his young men to stay with the donkeys and wait for them them plural both Abraham

and Isaac why does he tell them that that they are going to go and then they

are going to come back when they are done worshiping God. Why?

Faith, trust. Abraham believes this somehow, some way.

Abraham has the faith. He believes that God will bring Isaac back to life.

His faith and God's promises are so true, so sure, so confident.

He believed that if God was asking him to sacrifice Isaac, then God would also

bring Isaac back to life because Isaac was the promised son.

And Jesus can't get here unless there's Isaac.

That's exactly what Hebrews 11 says. Look at this, starting verse 17.

By faith, when he was tested, Tested. Genesis 22, tested.

He offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was in the act of

offering up his only son. That's Abraham with the knife drawn.

Of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

He, Abraham, considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead,

from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back." He did raise him.

That's why Abraham could load up his donkey and go on a three-day journey and

tell his servants, you wait here.

Isaac, you grab the wood. I'll take the fire. I'll take the knife.

And we'll go to that mountain.

And when our worship is complete, we will meet right back here.

Abraham trusted God. His obedience proves it. This story is a faith story.

Abraham, he didn't know how all the dots and the details were going to get connected,

but he had faith in God and his promises.

Faith in God sometimes requires us to believe things that are beyond our comprehension.

That's what makes faith faith.

Taking a step of faith when you can see the next step, isn't that much faith.

But taking a step of faith when it looks like you're about to step off the edge

of a cliff to the unknown, that's faith.

What kind of faith would it be if Abraham, God shows up and says,

Abraham, I want you to do this. He gives this command.

And Abraham said, okay. And then he just stood there.

It is one thing to profess faith. It is another thing to live faith.

Faith obeys. To pass God's test, we trust, we obey.

Trust and obey. There really is no other way.

It's a song, you know. Feel like singing? Or you want to hear a solo?

Sing with me. Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.

The story ends by coming full circle. God gives a test.

Abraham obeys and trusts what God has promised.

He's promised this all along. Remember earlier in this text,

when Isaac asked, where's the lamb?

Abraham says, God will provide.

Look at verse 14. And Abraham named the place the Lord will provide.

So today it is said i will provide on the lord's mountain the lord will provide

it's one of god's names did you know that jehovah jireh god provides god provided

a ram in the bushes he provides everything we need to sustain us.

And he provides for our salvation. It's a name that describes his ongoing character.

And that circle comes complete with God doubling down on all of his previous

promises made to Abraham, starting at verse 15.

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, by myself I have sworn.

Do you realize there is no other, no higher power or authority to swear by?

Like sometimes people say, I swear on my mom's grave. Like they're giving them

respect actually when they do that.

But this statement, you cannot find a higher authority to swear by.

That this is the Lord's declaration. Because you have done this thing and have

not withheld your only son, I will indeed bless you and make your offspring

as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore.

We have heard that in these 22 weeks.

Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies and all the nations of

the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.

God makes promises. And for those who trust him and obey him,

there are bountiful and endless blessings.

May we live the same way.

Passing God's test, growing up spiritually, living by faith,

trusting Jehovah Jireh, obeying him, all as a form of worshiping him.

Let's live this way at home, at work, and everywhere else. Let's pray.

Before I pray, I think it's good to just ask a couple questions.

Is God giving you a test, asking you to do something that makes no sense to you?

Do you trust Jehovah Jireh? He will provide.

Is God giving you a test asking you something to do to do something you don't want to do,

but it needs to be done,

I don't even think we can call it a test sometimes when we are doing something

that is sinful that we need to change but perhaps God is saying that to you this morning.

Father, I thank you for this text.

I don't know, I feel like all my life I have known about this story.

I remember sitting in a Sunday school class with a nice sweet older lady teaching

me Abraham and Isaac. Isaac gets sacrificed.

I must have just sat there so naively like, oh yeah.

And as we have grown up and you just ponder the heaviness of what God is asking

Abraham to do and why he's asking it to be done.

It's complex.

But what is true is that you are Jehovah Jireh.

You make promises that are infallible. You never waver.

Completely trustworthy.

And you have revealed those to people, to us, to embrace and to believe and to obey.

And to worship you.

Help us do this,

for those who are in the midst of serious spiritual testing.

Give them peace and joy in the midst.

Life seems to be a pattern of either in a test or getting ready for one.

And I pray that this chapter will help us for all of our days,

to stand firm in your promises.

Lord, it is great that we hold on to you. it is better that you hold on to us.

Thank you for doing that. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

I end with this, Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your hearts.

Do not rely on your own understanding.

Think about him in all of your ways and he will guide you on the right paths.

That's good news. Thank you.

Thank you.