Genesis - Part 41 | Pastor Paul McGee

To trust in Jesus and to take him at his word.

Amen. Trust in Him.

I guess we need to. I don't know if you call it

stupidity or trust, but so dog, I sing this week walking in the

morning at the intersection of a Rd. shadow cast of a tree there

on the intersection. That dog's laying smack dab

right in the middle of it, just laying there.

I walked by hardly gave me acknowledgement.

I don't know if he was trusting or what, but he didn't care if

there was traffic, if there was an individual or anything.

So I'm just going to sit right here at this intersection.

Maybe we need to have trust like the old dog.

Whatever intersection you find yourself at, maybe you just need

to trust that the Lord has the direction Amen that you need

while there. Hallelujah, bless that dog's

heart. Amen.

Going to be turning to the book of Genesis.

As you are turning there this evening, remember that tomorrow

night is prayer here at the church.

Second prayer night. I'm missing now.

Someone's going to be here more times than I am on prayer night,

and I'm about ready to get aggravated about it.

Amen. Tomorrow night, prayer from 7 to

8 hour hour. All right.

And then this coming Sunday you will have Bishop in the morning

and you'll have Brother Jerry Mason in the evening at night.

All right, 19th and 20th this month is National Ministry

Conference in Maryville, TN. If you have not registered, you

missed it, but you can still register at the door for a

little fee. All right, so if you still plan

on going, let me know. Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

I'm going to read just a few verses and then allow you to be

seated here tonight. You might be weak of need or

feeble, and I'll let you be seated here.

Just let me get a few verses in, if you will.

I'm going to start with verse #1 I'll just read.

I'll read. How about the first 3 verses and

then I'll let you be seated. Kind.

I'm just feeling kind tonight. And it came to pass after these

things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him,

Abraham. And he said, Behold, here I am.

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, and thou

lovest get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for

a burnt offering up on one of the mountains which I will tell

thee of. Abraham rose up early in the

morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with

him, and Isaac his son, and cleaved the wood for the burnt

offering, and rose up and went unto the place of which God had

told him he meant for a little while tonight.

Just all of this. We're going to get through this

whole chapter tonight, all right.

And so just throwing all this under the heading that God still

everybody say still God still provides, God still a man

provides. Hallelujah.

Let's pray right now. Father, I love you.

I thank you, God. This is an opportunity God,

that's been afforded to us, God as Christians, as men and women

of God. Lord, there's other people in

other countries that wish they had this opportunity afforded to

them, but they're underground. Lord Jesus in secrecy.

Lord trying to meet the God we can come publicly open our doors

to whomsoever we'll thank you Lord for this privilege God to

being able to center our lives around your word.

Lord one more time God, let us speak light to us and we'll not

forget to thank you and praise you God for what you do through

it. The lovely name of Jesus Christ,

that I pray Hallelujah, and you may be seated tonight in Jesus

name. Continuing on if you allow me

with verse number before then on the third day, Abraham lifted up

his eyes and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, And by thee here with the

ass, and I and the lad will go Yonder and worship, and come

again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the

burnt offering and laid it upon the Isaac his son.

And he took the fire in his hand and the knife, and they went,

both of them together. And Isaac spake, and Abraham his

father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son.

And he said, Behold the fire in the wood, But where is the lamb

for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God

will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.

So they went, both of them together, and they came to the

place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar

there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son,

and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay

his son. And the Angel of the Lord called

unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham.

And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand

upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him.

For now I know that thou fearest God, seen that thou has not

withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked.

Behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns.

And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a

burnt offering in the stead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of that place Jova Jireh, which it

is said, as it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord, it

shall be seen God still provides.

And so we see this phrase in verse number one that we see

over and over again, which just is a marking of time and of

movement of time as things unfold.

And it came to pass after these things, it's an undetermined

amount of time. It could even stand for

different variations of time. It could at one time stand for a

few weeks, another time stand for a few years.

Nonetheless, it's telling us a sequence.

Events at what's happening right now takes place after some other

things that have happened, such as the things we've already

studied, Isaac being born, him being winged, Hagar and Ishmael

being released from the House of Abraham and Sarah, Abraham and

Abimelech settling a score over who's well that belonged to and

entering the covenant and all of these things.

And then now it came to pass after these things, that what

happens in this chapter unveils and unfolds and a couple other

things will happen and then there will be a shift.

As it is, you remember the first part, Genesis, like one through

11 or so tracks along with some major events in Scripture, you

know, creation, the Tower of Babel, the flood, all these

types of things, the table of nations that tracks along

concerning these events. But when we got to chapter #12

it homes in on the individual Abraham that we've now been with

for a long time. But we're right at the, the,

the, the very, very edge of switching from, from Abraham to

Isaac because now we have an Isaac, right?

Isaac is now born. And so we're about ready to

shift focus. As a matter of fact, once we get

done talking about Isaac tonight, we won't see him again

till chapter 24, and that'll be basically the Alpha and Omega

for Isaac. There's not a whole lot said, a

lot of information given to us concerning the sun concerning

the Isaac. But nonetheless, in Scripture we

know the Isaac is the embodiment of all the promises that has

been given to Abraham and Sarah. Thus thus far.

He is the fulfillment, the embodiment of all of those

promises. And that's in part why as a

reader that I believe God through the inspired scripture

here tells us that after all these things that God did tempt

Abraham. Because I think God is tipping

us off just a little bit. He's tipping us off about what's

about ready to take place, about what's about ready to happen

that God did tempt or as we'll see here in a little bit prove

or test Abraham. And so with that, we need to

define what tempt is right, because any Bible scholars that

are out here, their mind starts crossing references in Scripture

that they've read over and over again every year in their Bible

reading program. And they remember verses like

James where the Bible says, let no man say when he is tempted, I

am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither

temptathy we got a contradiction in Scripture.

God tempted Abraham. James said we don't, God cannot

be tempted neither tempathy in a man.

So it's important to see what tempted means.

In our amplified classic Bible it says it means tested and

proved. It is a Hebrew verb that that's

translated temp. That means to test, to try or to

prove. So not in the same way that we

consider temptation in James chapter #1 but a testing,

approving a trying to test or prove.

This word actually comes from blacksmithing from years ago

from what they would call metallurgy, right?

Dealing with and, and, and touching and handling and

bending and forming metal. And that is this as they would

do with metals, even as blacksmith do their, they fold

in the metal often times they're constantly putting it in the

fire back and forth. They're constantly trying to get

impurities out of the metal. Amen.

And so they test it several times as it's being forged.

It's proven several times as it's being forged because at

each stage, as it's getting closer to being a completed and

a finished work, they want to make sure they're not leaving

any impurities or anything in there that's going to diminish

the quality of the finished product.

And so there's a lot of testings that happened through the

process of doing that. That's where this word tempted

or tested or proving comes from. And that's interesting because

Abraham really has been on a journey, almost like a piece of

metal that's coming to a final act of completion.

He's went through a lot of tests, a lot of proving a lot of

times that he had strong faith and that he had doubt and then

he had strong faith. I mean, his his waffling back

and forth is like a person's heartbeat.

I mean, it's just up and down. And so Abraham, though, is

coming to a final product of completion.

And so we have another test, another proving time for you,

Abraham. And it's perhaps going to be one

of the most ultimate test, a man of Abraham's journey and of

Abraham's life. And so we know this is a test.

God's already tipped, tipped us off.

God tempted or tested Abraham, but Abraham doesn't know it's a

test. And that's a big one, Brother

Trout, we all know. But the one who's being tested

don't know that this is a test. There's no lines coming up on

the screen saying this is only a test and a weird high pitched

beep saying no, this, this is another life in the day of

Abraham. And again, he's been tested with

various issues. He was tested with leave your

father, your country, your country didn't go to a, a, a

place that I will tell you, which was hundreds and hundreds

and hundreds of miles away. I mean, almost 1000 miles away.

He's been tested with what do you do during times of famine?

Happen to trust he's been tested with will you separate from your

your, your family lot? Will you choose different planes

in different areas as your home? Been tested with that?

He's been tested that whenever he went and fought for getting

locked back, would he take spoils from the king of Sodom or

would he just leave it be and say God is my exceeding great

reward? He's being tested.

He's been tested and waiting. He's been tested in his

obedience over and over again. And that's just hitting the tops

of the trees that we have in scripture of Abraham being

tested. But now as he's reaching the

apex of his purpose in life, the apex of his mission in life,

really, Isaac, Amen. He's coming to a place where

he's going to be tested again and God wants to prove Abraham

motives in this grand finale. He wants to prove the motives of

Abraham and it's a little bit really about priority because

God knows that Abraham loves Isaac even said whenever he

started defining what son he wanted, he said thy son, well, I

got you know, you should not know thy only son named him

specifically Isaac, whom thou lovest.

God knew that he loved Isaac, but he had this test, this

ultimate test about whether he loved Abraham, loved the matters

of heaven more than him himself and more than his earthly love.

He will needed to know whether Abraham was going to make it

more about him or he's going to make it about God because in

essence, let's think for a moment.

We see that Isaac is going to be sacrificed, but in the sacrifice

of Isaac is really the sacrifice of Abraham's will.

He's the one that he loves. For that matter, I've already

told one to go on his way. This is the only one that's here

left. Amen.

And so with that request of the Lord, will you do this?

You got to start then channeling all the years before this of

frustration, of reiterated promise after promise after

promise that God's told him, the constant waiting.

I know what you say God, but where's it at?

And to have that after all these years, all the ups and downs,

all the self doubt, all the wondering if it would or if it

wouldn't be, here it is. And now you're going to request

that I give that back. Now the very vein through which

everything that you say is going to happen for my life should be

accomplished through, you're saying give it back to me.

And it's not just me giving back, Isaac.

I'm giving back then the great nation.

I'm not just giving back to Isaac.

I'm giving back the land my descendants are supposed to

have. I'm not just you understand it

it it's not just a moment. It's everything of all those

years prior to that moment that is resting on Isaac, he said in

Isaac shall thy seed be called you're.

You're asking me to give all of that back.

I know it looks like just a lone son, but all of that is hinged

upon Isaac. So he he he's dealing with this

moment right here and just again, God, so that there isn't

any confusion. He's very exact.

Thy son, Isaac, whom thou love. I want you to offer.

Yes, that one that Sarah from the very beginning waited for 25

years. Yeah, that's the one that I

want. And I know, Abraham, that right

now, positionally, as far as who's close to you, that that's

the only one close to you. That's the only one that you

have ready at hand because you already, you already, you

released Ishmael and you already released Haggard.

And so I understand Abraham. I understand that you you

released Ishmael and you grieved over that.

You were sorry full over that. And that was just that, the son

of your handmade. But I'm wondering how much

harder this must have been for Abraham to sacrifice.

Not send away, but sacrifice this son Isaac, who isn't the

son of his handmaid, but the son of his wife.

That's what I'm requesting. Abraham.

I want you to give him back. Note the scripture though.

He says I want you to offer him verse 2 there in the land of

Moriah at a mountain that I'll specify.

So I want you to offer him there for a burnt offering, folks.

I mean, this has turned from from releasing the sun to

becoming gruesome because as burnt offerings go and will

become that we see the prescriptions for in the book of

Leviticus, a burnt offering was completely 100% surrendered to

the altar of fire for consumption by the fire on the

altar. There isn't anything kept back.

No, there's no keeping. It's not like God and Abraham's

going half east. No, it's a burnt offering.

It is a complete surrender, putting all of Isaac up on that

offering for a burnt offering. Not only that, there is going to

be a death, there is going to be bloodshed.

And he's like, is this what this has come to in this moment?

How in the world, God, are you asking this of me?

Because I released Ishmael, but you're telling me I'm going to

have to slay. There's going to be some

cutting. There's going to be some taking

of life from this because this is a burnt offering unto you.

You want all of Isaac. You want all that I love and you

want me to surrender it to you on an.

So if you thought he had some difficulty in lingering and

letting Ishmael go. Sarah's idea, but God appointed.

What do you think he's experiencing concerning Isaac.

Note the language here and you'd have to go back a few few

lessons to Genesis 12. But notice the language here.

It's very, very similar to whenever Abraham got his initial

call from God in Genesis 12, whenever he left ER of the

Chaldees and and Haran at the urging of God in Genesis 12 and

verse 10. The Lord at that point told him

to get thee out unto a land. I will shew thee.

And now he's telling him in verse number, verse #2 He's

telling him to offer him meaning, Isaac, offer him up on

one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of.

I mean, couldn't we just be playing God?

Well, what's the whole thing of this?

You know, I will tell you. I will show you stuff.

Trust, trust. And yet both of these episodes

of leaving the land and going where he knows, not taking the

son and sacrificing up on the mountain, he's yet to be

revealed. Both of these relate to a view

of Abraham, where he came from. False gods, I want to remind

you. False gods, right?

Pagan gods. Little G Little O Little D

Little S that were worshipped. If you'll remember Abraham's

family, Abraham's family had worship.

The Bible talks about Tira worshipping strange gods.

I believe it's in the book of Joshua.

But nonetheless here they were worshippers of false gods.

That's what God pulled Abraham out of to call and make it to

himself. A people set apart and different

from those of that day. We'll back several several

lessons, like part 25 if you really need to know, from Babel

to Blessing. Amen.

We talked and talked about how Abram was urged to leave ER of

of Chow these and Haram. And I'm just going to hit this

real quickly. Just kinds of review.

You remember the whole tower of Babel, they said was kind of

like a cigarette, kind of like a pyramid.

Remember that had the steps that's called a cigarette.

Those were often Pagan temples. And at the very top was a room

that was reserved for a false deity.

And so ER and Haram both had cigarettes and they both served

the moon gods. And so whenever God called him

away from the places of Ur and Haran in that day, they believed

that false gods were gods over regions, localities, places.

And so whenever God was saying, I want you to leave your

country, your kindred, your people leaving the place that in

essence was leaving their God, it was something that he asked

of Abraham and his family. But now God is even asking

something else of him. He is asking him to sacrifice

Isaac on a mountain that he will specify in the land of Moriah.

Now here's something interesting.

We know according to biblical record, you'll read it if you

read your Bible, that among the Canaanites there were times that

people offered up their children, sometimes even their

babies, and to a false God called Molech, they would make

them pass through the fire. It was a God that they would be

able, a fire inside of its arms would become burning hot with

heat and they would lay their child upon it and it would

basically be incinerated or burn up.

They were doing that for their God.

They even believed many times that their gods expected that

they're gods expected offering those types of things.

Amen in scripture. Amen.

So parents would cause their children to walk through the

fire or pass through the fire because they're worshipping

these false gods. And although it was less common,

some of Mesopotamia, which was where, uh, of child deeds was

located, There's some old Mesopotamian texts that indicate

that children were occasionally offered in desperate rituals.

Even there that there were children, sometimes even infants

that would be sacrifice in in modes of extreme circumstances

in order to appease their deities or avert some type of

disaster in that land. That means where Abraham lived,

where his father and them had served false gods.

So here's the fact. Other people of that time and

generation were willing to sacrifice their children to

false gods. Dennis Prager even said this.

He said in the ancient world, child sacrifice was universally

considered acceptable and even admirable.

So when God asks for Isaac, this isn't foreign to Abraham.

This practice not foreign to Abraham.

Amen. In that world that Abraham had

lived, God, sometimes have they seen it, demanded the children

as proof of their devotion to those gods.

So here's God, I've asked you to leave your country, and by

virtue of leaving your country, leaving your God, he says.

I'm testing you right now to see if you have the same passion for

me as all these others that serve other gods, have passion

and devotion for their God. That brings a whole lot of stuff

in my mind. I'll only talk about a little

bit of it, but the Bible says in Romans 6 and verse 19, I'm

reading this from the ESV, Paul says it to the Church of Rome.

He says I'm speaking in human terms because of your natural

limitations. Watch this now, he says.

For just as you once, everybody say, once presented your members

as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more

lawlessness, he says, so everybody say now, now present

your members as slaves to righteousness leading to

sanctification. You know what Paul was saying?

Will you do for me and be as passionate toward me and as be

as rendering of your members toward me as you did your former

life? He says.

As adamant and as passionate, You were worldly.

Will you be as adamant and as passionately godly?

In other words, will you treat me like the lifestyle that you

used to live? Will you be just as engaged?

You know what he's looking at motive.

I actually leave your land, which is leaving your God.

But I'm asking you, will you surrender to me what you were

willing to surrender to that or are you going to keep some back?

Is there certain areas you're going to say no, that's off

bounds. That's my little private

protected thing. Will you let it all go?

Because if we're not willing to let it all go for him, but we

did for this, it's still proving to us really who our God is.

Amen. So will you.

I mean, Abraham's building an altar.

He's going to build an altar, right?

This what's going to and Abraham's not an office at

building altars. We we've seen that enough even

since his growth pattern for maturity for the Lord, he's been

building altars, but on this altar is going to be a little

different. He's putting, he's putting Isaac

on this altar, something that he loves.

There's a whole lot of preaching the word folks.

He's taking something that he loves, something that's very

unique, right? Because there's just one of

them. And he says I'll put that on the

altar. Let me ask us tonight, are we

willing to put some of the things that we love and lay them

on, build the altar and lay it on the altar?

I'm not even borrowing someone else's altar to put this on.

I'm putting in the blood, sweat and tears to build the altar, to

lay this thing I love on the altar.

And yet in the moment the Bible says, and we'll get there.

I'm going to be a little bit around about in this, these

first 14 verses right now. And the Bible says, though

whenever Abraham is in that moment, he's, he has the wood

made, the fire is there, and he lays the sun on there, and he

has that knife in his hand that finally the Angel of the Lord

cried out to him, Abraham, Abraham.

And he's like here in my eye. And that the Angel stopped him

from harming Isaac. And look what the Bible says

there in verse #12 it says for now.

For now I know that word no, doesn't mean like just

knowledge. It's a word that that if you

look at it, actually means it has been demonstrated to him.

God's like. Now I know because it's been

demonstrated. It's been acted out.

For now I know that thou fearest Amen, which isn't talking about

trembling. It's talking about reverence.

It's talking about respect. Now I know that you reverence

and respect God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son, whom

thou lovest, which is the only one upon whom all these other

things are predicated and hinged.

The great nation and the land, it's all really on the altar, as

Isaac is laying on the altar, he says.

But for now, I know because you didn't withhold from me what or

who you loved. I wonder if he knows I have a

reverence and respect for him. I wonder if he really knows.

Can he know based upon the demonstration of what I'm laying

on my altar? He says if I'm putting terms

like this, Abraham, you've presented to me like others has

offered to their gods, you're not willing to give me less than

what men have given to them. Now I know we need a now I know

moment with God. Now I know you're not playing

games. Now I know you're not just in

this thing for the blessing. Now I know that you'll be with

me as long as I scratch you, right?

But if I get sandpaper with you, you're going to turn on me.

Now I know, now I know. And God asked Abraham, look at

this year. God asked him to surrender Isaac

at a mountain in the land of Moriah.

That's what Jesus 22 says. We don't have time to look at

this deeply, but just for consideration.

The Mount of Moriah, even in the land of Moriah, is the same

location that in the future will become the site for the temple

that Solomon would build. The Bible says in Second

Chronicles chapter #3 and verse one.

Then Solomon begin to build the House of the Lord at Jerusalem

in Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father,

in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor

of Ornan the Jebusite. There's a lot of history with

Mount Moriah and that land. It's not just where Abraham

offers Isaac. It's where David pauses whenever

there's the sword that's drawn toward Jerusalem.

And David's like Ornan. I would like to have your oxen.

I'd like to have the, the, the, the, the, the yoke that's upon

them. I want to buy them because I'm

going to make a sacrifice right here.

I'm going to build an altar. I'm going to make a sacrifice.

And he's like, oh, you can have, He says, no, I don't want to

give to God something that doesn't cost me something.

And he says, I'm going to buy them.

And he built an altar. He made a sacrifice and later in

the Scripture tells us that Solomon at the very place of

that altar, that's where he started building the temple.

So there's a lot of history. Isn't it amazing and this is the

way my mind works tonight that the future side of the temples

were Abraham willingly offered Isaac as a sacrifice to God.

And yet sister Sheila in that I see a truth for every generation

that the future of the church, however I say future, the future

of the church depends on our surrendering our children to God

with abandoned. That's where the church will be

built and go on because if you don't surrender your kids, you

don't have a generation for a future church.

It's good as brother Fred is around here.

He's he's mowed for years. He'll do anything.

I asked him if I called him he would anytime he would do it.

But he's going to push up tulips on these days.

And I'm not trying to be morbid, but he's going to push up tulips

one of these days. And if there's no children, if

there's no younger generation, if there's whenever Bishop and

them go, if there's not a younger generation, if we don't

teach our kids, if we don't instruct them, if we don't show

them the necessity and all these things, there won't be a future

church. Yeah, overall there will be.

I think God's going to have a remedy.

He always has. But I'm talking about there will

never be a future church if we don't learn to surrender our

children today. It's on that that a future

church exists. So we go back to the previous

chapter. I know, oh, he's going back.

We ain't going to get done. He thinks he's going.

But in verse 14, we had Abraham rose early in the morning to

release Ishmael. Now we have Abraham rising early

in the morning verse #3 to start his journey for the sacrifice of

Isaac. Again, is, is this prompt

obedience for Abraham? I don't know.

Is he wanting to go undetected? So we understand that God spoke

this to Abraham. We, we don't have record that he

ever shared it with his wife. Matter of fact, there were other

times that God promised thing to Abraham.

He didn't have a conversation with his wife about it.

He, she had to find out from God.

So I don't know if this this is prompt obedience or if he's

trying to go undetected. All right, there's a reason why

even Jewish tradition and Jewish old, old commentaries, they even

believe that the death that happens in the next chapter,

chapter 23, which is the death of Sarah, is because she come to

learn of the near death that almost happened for her son

Isaac, Amen. So I don't know.

But nevertheless, he got up early, he leaves.

Look at this now he leaves his location before journeying

prepared for sacrifice. It's amazing to me.

The Bible says he clave wood or he cut wood before he went.

He didn't wait till he got there then cut the wood, which he

could have because that area had plenty of of wood in the area to

do so. But he cut it before he went.

He cut the wood, he claved the wood before he went.

In other words, Abraham's not going to arrive at the scene, at

the place and then begin to excuse himself because he has no

wood for sacrifice. He's thinking about sacrifice

before he ever left the house. He's planning and preparing for

sacrifice before he ever gets at the appointed spot.

He's can I tell you today that we prepare for sacrifice before

we ever reach the place of sacrifice, just to see that I

don't get here and say, OK, I'm going to worship, I'm going to

sacrifice. No, no, no.

As I'm getting ready and then on a Wednesday, even whenever I

wake up in the morning, I'm already thinking about sacrifice

on Wednesday night. Because whenever I come with

wood already prepared, I don't have to waste time cutting wood.

I'm all ready to lay wood in order.

Some people got to get here early enough.

They got to pray through all their dilemma in order to have

church. Well, honey, if you just had the

daily prayer time at home, you wouldn't have to do that when

you got to church. Got to prepare after.

We know you prepare before you ever get here.

He's bringing along the wood. He's even bringing along the

sacrifice from the place of origin, from where he leaves.

He's prepared for this and that, folks, is something that's

rooted all throughout Old Testament.

Old Testament is built upon the sacrificial system.

You see it, it's bloody. There's animals being that

that's being killed and being slain and being offered for sin

offerings, trespass offerings, peace offerings, all these

different types of offerings. Amen.

That's taking place in Scripture and Leviticus is very good about

it. It's prescribing what type of

animal, how old it should be, what else should be brought with

it for this particular offering. If you want to sin, offering it

takes a certain animal at a certain age and certain things

accompany it. You know what that meant?

That meant nobody went to the Tabernacle scratching their

head. Well, I wonder why I'm going to

give God No, because it required a certain animal, a certain age,

certain things with it for certain sacrifices.

And so if you wanted a sin offering, you had to be

premeditating about that before you ever got there to have the

right sacrifice at the right age with the right accompanying

things to offer to God. You know what that was?

That was a safeguard for God's people not to be mindless in

their worship, but they would engage their not mindless

worship, but mindful worship. What is that that's preparing

before you leave the house? You, you have premeditated

murder when somebody needs to have some premeditated worship,

premeditated sacrifice. Listen, you don't show up

meetings where you know that they're going to take up an

offering and open your wallet and say, well, look at there, I

don't have no money. There's nothing premeditated

about that. They've been advertising it for

three months that they going to take up an offering, special

offering for XYZ. You know what you do, you make

sure you're ready. Then whenever you go, you're

going to be able to give. If not, maybe you do that

because you don't want to give. Well, they're going to hope that

they keep me in Idaho somebody. Amen.

So he's mindful of this first instance of worship in Scripture

right here, right? Our dear Pastor Wilkes told us

about the law first mentioned. It's true for Scripture.

First time a word is mentioned usually gives its purest

definition, or at least its definition origin.

It might get broader, a little deeper, but that is the core of

what it means. And so whenever Abraham talks to

the two lads that are with him and he's going to go to this

Yonder mountain, that's afar off, says me.

And the lads going to Yonder mountain to worship, Abraham

knew what was going to take place on that mountain

Sacrifice. And he called it worship because

at the heart of worship is sacrifice.

So that's where we're going. So three day journey, three day

journey from the time he left to get into the mountainous region

or area. Folks, do you understand the

mind games that could happen in three days?

Toton Wood, having your son there, knowing he's soon to be

no more? Do you understand the

contemplations, the reconsiderations that can happen

in three days? And here he is journeying with

all of that. And yet the Bible tells us that

Abraham stayed committed to the request.

And there even seems to be a sense of faith.

Everybody say faith at the final curing for this, this metalwork

Abraham, this is the proving. This is like a final, final work

here. Abraham has a sense of faith and

he says to those two that stay servants that stay, I am the

lad, go Yonder and worship and come again to you.

Who's going to come again? The young lad and I, that's

faith. Hebrews tells us about his faith

in Hebrews 11 and verse 17. The Bible says by faith Abraham,

when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received

the promises offered up his only begotten Son, of whom it was

said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called look. 19

accounting that God was able to raise him.

Who him? Isaac.

To raise Isaac up even from the dead from whence also received

him and a like figure. What do you say?

Abraham had so much faith. He believed that even if Ioffer

him up as a sacrifice, God can resurrect him.

Now we're sitting here saying, Oh yeah, right.

Yeah, no, Abraham, you're saying that with having read the Bible

and seen countless read resurrections and Christ

resurrected himself. But I'm talking about a man.

To this point, we have no recorded mention of a

resurrection in Scripture yet. And he's saying without

precedent, God raise him up. Now that's some heavy faith.

It's like it'd be like the day seeing something happened that

you didn't even know God could do, you know, or there was no

precedent of him doing before. Well, I think God will just do

this. I'm just saying this is the

faith that we're seeing Abraham, and so his faith is at its peak.

Has it always been like that? No, we've seen Abraham the

doubter, but he's there right now.

He believed dog would resurrect Isaac even if he sacrificed

Isaac. It's amazing.

It's amazing for a man who had struggles.

I mean, he's having a good day. Praise God, he's having a good

day. If he's having one of his bad

days, he might not have made a three day journey.

But in this chapter, and we see a lot of these, if you're

getting worried because I'm not to verse 14 yet, it's OK because

verses 15 through 24, there won't be a whole lot to mention

there. In case anybody's getting

nervous. Sister Maya, she's biting her

fingernails and stuff. No, I'm joking.

She isn't. I don't think she is.

There's a lot of typologies here in the Scripture, right?

A lot of typologies of Christ, a lot of foreshadowing that's

taking place here in Scripture. And I'm not going to say all of

them, but there are several of them, right?

For one, Isaac is labeled as the only son of his father that's

destined to be sacrifice. That sounds like another only

son that the New Testament talks about destined to be a sacrifice

upon the tree. And for a portion of the way.

The Bible tells us there is a one position whenever they get

to the base of that region of of of the land of Moriah and the

mountains that the Bible particularly tells us that

Abraham took the wood and he placed it upon his son Isaac and

Isaac carried the wood. We know that there was a part of

the journey that Christ had wood on his shoulders to that he

carried to the place, or at least with the aid of another,

carried to the place of sacrifice.

And in all of this we got to pause.

You've all had Doctor Lane come through here at one time.

You probably don't remember it when we talked about the binding

or the, the acada of, of, of Isaac, which is the binding.

Isaac in Scripture here is old enough to carry wood.

We know that for a fact. Josephus, who writes the

Antiquities of the Jews, says that in this moment now Isaac

was 25 years old at the time of the binding.

Some Jewish rabbinical commentaries, Bareishis Raba,

says that Isaac was 37 years old at the binding.

They take the fact, Sarah being 90 whenever she had him in 127

when she died. They believe him that her death

was prompted by the near death of her son.

So if anywhere even between 25 and 37 years old, Isaac being

Isaac with his dad being hundreds of years old could have

rejected if he wanted to reject. This ain't man putting a

helpless boy on an altar. This is a man allowing another

man. Operative word is allowing

allowing another man to place him up on this altar, which

mirrors another New Testament story.

Christ said they didn't take my life.

I gave my life. I could have got off the cross

if I wanted to. Foreshadowings.

Typology's here in the Scripture.

Oh, it sounds like something else.

So much is recorded though, in the Bible, and I've already

alluded to this, but there's a lot recorded about Abraham and

there's a lot recorded about Jacob and there's a whole, whole

lot recorded about Joseph in the last several chapters of the,

of, of the book of Genesis that we'll get to one of these years.

But Isaac just gets a meager little mention here in the

Scripture, little mention, and then like passed over.

And that's all right. Not a whole lot of notice had it

not been for his willingness to be sacrificed.

It's like the gleaming moment of his life.

Let me tell you, if you're known for anything, let it be known

for your sacrifice. Not a whole lot written about

him, but the thing that was written about him and noted his

sacrifice. But everything doesn't.

Everything. Every glimpses of Calvary, all

those foreshadowings, all of those typologies, they don't

just stay with Isaac. And the Bible does this.

It switches to Isaac to something else, switches from

Isaac, begins to carry over to the ram that's caught in the

thicket. Right, Because Isaac asked his

dad. He's noting the fire.

He's not in the wood. Of course it's on my shoulders.

Dad, where is the lamb? We are everything we need, but

we don't have a lamb. And the feigned reply of Abraham

to his son was God will provide himself the lamb.

I mean Abraham's, I mean Isaac's had a place.

You know, Dad, how in the world, how are we going to, how are we

going to accomplish this without a lamb?

But with certainty, his Father says God will provide him.

And no doubt that foreshadows a ram being found in a thicket in

verse 13. But even greater than that, it

foreshadows what John said. Behold, the Lamb of God, which

taketh away the sins of the world.

And every generation since Isaac Ford, I believe, have wrestled

with the same question. How in the world is this thing

going to be pulled off? And before Calvary, it's always

been God will provide. And ever since Calvary, it's

been God has provided, Amen. God has provided a lamb, a ram

caught, the Bible says in verse 13, in the thicket by his horns.

A thicket is a dense growth. It's a dense growth of bushes or

shrubs or small trees with intertwined branches.

But in the ancient Near East, it often meant a patch of thorny

brush. Thorny brush?

So a ram entangled in thorns by its horns.

Bible tells us in New Testament Scripture that the soldiers

planted together a crown of an emblem of sin, right?

All the way back to Genesis 3, when the ground is cursed, a

curse as a result from sin, thorns and thistles will grow.

And yet now we have this crown, if you will, that's placed upon

the head of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was placed upon His head according to Matthew 27, right?

A ram caught in the thicket, Jesus with the entanglement of

thorns up on his head. And the Bible says in verse #13

Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt

offering in the stead. Everybody say in the stead, in

the stead, or as they substitute for his son.

The New Testament scripture says it over and over and says it

many different ways. But just pull a couple of

phrases from Romans chapter #6 The Bible says that God died for

the ungodly. It says God died for us right

pre adventure someone even dared to die, but God commended his

love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, he died for

us. What in our stead he was our

substitute. We see that all the way back in

this moment. So this very place then Abraham

calls Jehovah Jireh or the Lord our provider in the Hebrew, it's

year a literally means see to it concerning the sacrifice.

They were basically saying the Lord will see to it.

The Lord will see to it. So the place where David made a

sacrifice of oxen and with the wood of of of the yoke had that

costly, costly offering he gave to the Lord because he had

counted the people. It's also the place then where

the temple would stand someday and what's going to take place

at that temple. Myriad of sacrifices would be

brought to this place, Abraham says, in this mount, in this

mount, the Mount of the Lord, it shall be seen, or in the Mount

of the Lord it shall be provided forever.

Now recorded in Israel's history, when the people would

approach that temple there in Mount Moriah with sacrifices,

they would recall this day of Genesis 22 that God would

provide for them. And all the sacrifices to the

Old Testament is based upon that premise that He will provide, He

will see to it, He will give the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

Genesis 22, verse 15, We're doing all right.

Genesis 22:15

Give me 5 minutes at a time. Verse #15 And the Bible says in

the Angel, the Lord called unto Abraham, Abraham out of heaven

the second time, and said by myself, I have sworn, save the

Lord for because thou has done this thing, what thing?

The sacrifice. And that's not withheld by son,

by the only son. That in multiplying this should

sound very familiar. We've regurgitated this over and

over and over and over and over. Amen.

That in blessing I will bless thee.

In multiplying I will multiply by seed, as the stars of the

heaven, as the sand which is upon the seashore, and by seed

shall possess the gate of his enemies.

Let's just note here, just for a quick minute, that blessing

seems to be tied to obedience here.

Or at least obedience brings a confirmation to what has already

been spoken over Abraham's life, right?

And we hear about promised descendants, stars of the sky,

sands along the seashore, but also the land is entangled in

here too, because he says he shall possess the gate of his

enemies and gates denoted cities that denoted, if you will,

property. And in thy seat you all the

nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my

voice. So Abraham returned unto his

young men just like he said he would.

And they rose up and went together to bear Sheba and

Abraham dwell at bear Sheba. You know a principle that I see

happening right here in Scripture.

He says in multiply, and I'll multiply thee and blessing I

will bless thee The descendant stars, the sky.

All this I see a New Testament principle in from the book of

Matthew. But the Lord of the master of

the house said you've been faithful over a few things.

I'll make you ruler over Abraham.

I can entrust you with multitudes because I've

witnessed how you've handled 1 in multiply.

And I'll multiply you because I've seen what you've done with

Isaac. You've not kept him back.

You gave him to me, and so I'm figuring if you gave him to me,

you'll give anything that comes through your loins to me.

OK, let's go on verse #20 Brother Reese, will you read

this for me? I'm just joking.

It's a genealogy. And it came to pass.

Yeah, and it came to pass after these things that it was told

Abraham saying, behold, Milka, she has also born children to

thy brethren. Nahor.

This goes all the way back, all the way back to to Haran, right.

His brother Nahor, he also has children, his first born Buzz,

his brother Kim Mule, the father of Amram and Hassad and Hazo and

Phil, Dash and Jidlath and Beth. You'll look at verse 23 and

Beth, you'll begat Rebecca. Everybody say Rebecca, these

eight Milka did bear to Nahor Abraham's brother and this

concubine whose name was Ryuma, she bear also Tiba and Gaham and

the Ash and Makkah. Interestingly, between the the

the wife and the concubine, there's 12.

Jacob will later have 12. Ishmael has 12.

But what's most important again? And it it says, and it came to

pass after these things. So we got a passage of time.

We got unfolding events, however long this was.

But the sharing of the descendants is really for this

purpose, right? Because genealogies are always

doing something for us. They're connecting this to

something else. They're bridging a gap.

And that's what Beth Yule, who has a daughter named Rebecca,

not spelled like yours. The importance is that's teeing

up the ball for just two chapters over Genesis 24, which

is the longest chapter of Genesis.

When the servant goes to find a wife for Isaac and that wife

will be Rebecca. Spoiler alert.

Look, God does. Spoiler alert.

It's like little, little Easter eggs to discover Rebecca.

What's interesting about that? And I'm I'm closing.

I am, you can stay on me. So we see the sacrifice

concerning Isaac. We don't even see Isaac show up

again until Rebecca is presented to him as a wife.

And if Isaac does have some typology or foreshadowing of

Christ, that's interesting because two major events, the

sacrifice and receiving his bride, receiving this bride, and

you'll hear he kind of just kind of off into the horizon with

Rebecca. They go into the scene kind of

closes essentially on Isaac once he receives his bride.

Folks, I'm awaiting that day when the curtain closes and he's

received us as his bride. Amen.

Purchased it at the altar, but receives it then later.

Amen, Someone say Amen. Next week we're going to talk

about death. Sarah dies, folks, I'm telling

you. I mean, if you had a baby at the

age she was, she probably died pretty soon too.

But she going to die. She going to die, so we're going

to talk about we got to got it all.

She's going to die and then we're going to talk about a

wedding. I mean, that's kind of how it

all happens. Death, wedding, baby bedding,

you know, baby dedications that kind of all go together.

So that's right Hatch patch dispatch.

Sometimes you do the patch. Amen.

Hallelujah. So please just remember tonight,

tomorrow night prayer at the church.

All right, God still provides. God still provides.

Father, we come to you tonight. We're so thankful again God,

that we had this opportunity. I pray, O Lord, continue to open

our minds of night and revelation, God, concerning your

word. In them are the words of life,

God, words to live by. I pray, O Lord God, for

conviction, Lord Jesus, God, that turns our hearts, Lord,

towards you. God, help us, Lord, to repair

our ways. God, anywhere that there may be

no alignment. I pray, Father God, we want to

be as you would want us to be, God.

We want Lord, to surrender and render our bodies and the

faculties of our being, Lord to the same passion, Lord, as we

did when we were serving and other things.

The Lord toward you God will give the glory and the praise

God for what you accomplish. The Lord, this week in Jesus

name I pray and the church say Amen.

Amen. God bless you tonight.

Jesus name Hallelujah.