Genesis 22 "The Lord Will Provide"

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That's a powerful clip to me. Sorry, that song earlier, I'll tell you about it.

I'll get into that in the sermon, but I'm Derek Harris, because I haven't met you.

I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm very happy to preach the Word of God this morning.

That video, I hope, resonates with you the way it does with me, because you can feel his pain.

I feel it when I see his face, and we all know what it's like to be in a situation, don't we, where it's so hopeful,

and then it suddenly turns out to be something so broken, right?

We all long for a hero to make things right, to rush out of the stands, right, and carry us.

Someone who will turn the bad things into good things.

Someone who will save us from our distresses, our loneliness, and our fear, and who will protect us forever.

And we look to that hero in so many things that aren't that hero, right?

We look for our spouses to be that hero, our image, our work, our money, our reputation.

And underneath all of that, we're really just longing for a hero who understands our pain, our fear,

and has the power to actually change our world and our distressing circumstances.

We want someone to walk across that ultimate finish line with us the way that dad did,

and not merely a hero who just makes things better or is a rainbow in our pain,

but one who can completely erase all pain, all death, and all suffering forever.

We want that ending that says he or she lived happily ever after, and we look for it in so many things.

Well, in our passage today, Father Abraham was also longing for that hero.

He was also longing for an escape from those circumstances.

And he trusted a God who would deliver him from the horrific circumstances that just seemed like they would drag on and drag on.

So let's look at these verses together from Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

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

Abraham, Abraham, and he said,

Here I am.

He said,

Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah,

and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I shall tell you.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac,

and he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose,

and went to the place of which God had told him.

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

Then Abraham said to his young men,

Stay here with the donkey.

I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and he laid it on Isaac, his son.

And he took in his hand the fire and the knife.

So they went both of them together,

and Isaac said to his father, Abraham,

My father.

And he said, Here I am, my son.

He said, Behold the fire and the wood,

but where's the lamb for a burnt offering?

Abraham said,

God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.

So they went both of them together.

And when they came to the place of which God had told them,

Abraham built the altar there, and he laid the wood in order.

And he bound Isaac, his son, and laid on him the altar,

laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.

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

Abraham, Abraham.

And he said, Here I am.

He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him,

for now I know that you fear God,

seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he looked,

and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.

And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up

as a burnt offering instead of his son.

So Abraham called the name of that place,

the Lord will provide.

As it is said to this day on the mountain of the Lord,

it shall be provided.

And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,

and said, By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord,

because you have done this and have not withheld your son,

your only son, I will surely bless you.

And I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven

and as the sand that is on the seashore.

And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.

And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,

because you have obeyed my voice.

So Abraham returned to his young men,

and they arose and went together to Beersheba.

And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

So this verse is very chilling, right?

It's these verses.

This is a story that we're all very familiar with,

but when we look at it very closely,

it's a striking story.

We have Abraham, the father,

the patriarch formerly known as Abram,

the promised father of all nations.

He and his wife Sarah have been waiting for a son

because Abraham and God had talked about it.

If we look at Genesis 15 here,

Behold, you've given me no offspring,

and a member of my household will be my heir.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him.

This man shall not be your heir.

Your very own son shall be your heir.

And he brought him outside,

and he said, look toward heaven

and the number of the stars,

if you're able to number them.

Then he said to him,

so shall your offspring be.

And he believed the Lord,

and it was counted to him as righteousness.

So they have this conversation, right?

And then Abraham and Sarah wait and wait,

and they trust and they trust,

and they grow older,

and they grow older,

tick, tock, tick, tock.

And after 10 years of waiting,

Abraham gets antsy.

And he decides to make other arrangements for the child

and take matters into his own hands.

So he decides, well,

God must have meant that I need to have

a child with my servant Hagar.

I'll take it from here, God.

And the child was named Ishmael.

Now, imagine how tough this was for his wife Sarah

to see this happen.

Imagine the despair in her heart.

And Abraham thought that this would be his heir.

He had taken care of this promise that God made.

He trusted, but he also tweaked.

He tweaked God's plan.

He thought this was the promised child

who would grow into the nations as numerous as the stars.

But God had one plan all along.

And he didn't need Abraham to tweak his plan.

And he doesn't need us to tweak his plan either.

So after more waiting and more years,

God provides a child.

15 years after Ishmael was born,

25 years after that initial conversation

that Abraham had with God

about him giving him a child,

God had planned for Sarah to bear a son

at the youthful age of 90.

And Abraham was to be the 100-year-old dad.

That's why Sarah laughed when Isaac was born

because the name Isaac means laughter.

This son, though, would be the heir.

This son, Isaac, would be the seed of the nations.

His name that meant laughter.

And it's through Isaac that Abraham

would become a blessing

to all the families of the earth,

including us here today.

But right before this passage in Genesis 21,

Ishmael has been sent away with Hagar.

And God promises to take care of him

and to make him into a great nation as well.

But Abraham, he decided to push the reset button

and to go back and say,

this is the family.

I've messed up in some ways.

And push reset.

And he started over.

And he's left with Sarah and Isaac,

his only son.

So the world around us

drastically influences

how we understand our reality.

And if we read this passage here

from only our perspective,

we might miss the greater message.

When I say our perspective,

I mean American perspective.

We might get derailed

from the very beginning of this passage

because our passage begins with a request.

A request from God the Father

to Father Abraham

that some have called maniacal,

cruel,

and downright disgusting.

So if we look at verses 1 and 2,

we see the request.

Take your son, your only son,

whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah

and offer him there

as a burnt offering

on one of the mountains

of which I shall tell you.

So the first thing

that we have to consider

before moving forward

is the nature of this request.

This is where I found perspective

outside of an American perspective

to be helpful.

And that particularly

the perspective of how an Israelite

would have heard this.

An Israelite would not have understood

this request as maniacal

or cruel or disgusting.

They wouldn't have heard this

as an account of God tempting Abraham

to do something he shouldn't

and to sin.

It's not an account of Satan

tempting Abraham.

This was actually all about God

and they would have known that.

All of it.

God here is testing

one of his beloved servants,

one of his prophets,

so to speak,

of which Abraham was a type

to come,

the prophets to come later,

were often,

they were often tested

though with the most extreme circumstances.

It was a part of the plight

in their life.

And their life was a difficult one.

And if what they said wasn't true,

their life was actually taken from them

as a penalty.

So the Israelites would have actually

understood this

when hearing the gospel story.

So the request wouldn't have seemed

as odd as it may seem to us

and our modern American minds today.

If you think about it,

I've got a picture here

to put up here.

The passage begins

by giving us the motive here.

And we hear that the request is a test.

So when soldiers prepare for battle,

they must pass tests, right?

They must role play

in the preparation for the role

that they're going to play

in the future.

They've got to jump out of planes,

shoot guns many times,

risk their life.

But their instructors

are always preparing them for battle.

And certainly and always,

the well-being of the soldier

is of utmost importance.

The instructor's done this before

and knows how to best prepare

the soldier that he cares for

for what is ahead.

But the greater the responsibility

of the soldier,

the more extreme the test

is going to be for the soldier.

So here we have Abraham

and God's request for him

to complete a test,

to sacrifice his son,

the son of blessing.

And if you remember

how tough this must have been,

God had originally asked Abraham

to leave everything,

take everything he had,

and go to Ur.

So God had asked him

to sacrifice his past

and all that he had.

And now he's looking to Isaac

to be this blessing,

to continue to become

the nation of Israel,

and God's asking him

to sacrifice his promised future.

So how could a good God

ask for something like this?

Like the death of a child

to somebody that he loves?

That doesn't seem very good at all.

It doesn't feel good.

Does this mean that God

is not good?

You know, as I read this passage,

I had to struggle

with this question again.

And I think many of you

probably have struggled

with this question

in your heart before.

To me, it brought up

feelings of grief in my heart.

I had to wrestle with

whether or not

I would be able to do

what Abraham did.

And to this day,

I really don't think

that I would.

Which is why I'm so glad

that my faith

doesn't rest on my obedience.

But on the perfect obedience

and provision of someone else.

God himself.

Through Jesus Christ.

So, it made me think back

to times in my life

when I actually

was challenged

with the question,

God, are you good?

Because it feels so bad.

And I've not really shared this

much ever

from the pulpit.

But I remember the morning

that I watched my wife

on the phone

as she received the news

that her 23-year-old brother

had taken his life.

That moment changed

both of our lives forever.

It was followed by

a few years later

by the death of her mother

to cancer.

A time in our life

when it literally felt like

God had shaved off

all of our skin

and dropped us

in a pool of rubbing alcohol.

Pain, suffering,

looking for light

and escape.

Yet, I believe in God.

I trusted Him.

Many of you

may have experienced

something like this

in your life

or another type of tragedy

that changes you forever

from that point forward.

And it may have made you ask,

is God good

just when you think

you're going to win that race?

Right?

Your moment of joy

enters this brokenness.

Dan Allender calls this,

he's an author,

calls this,

the shalom shattered,

the peace completely broken

of the fabric that you know.

And I won't act like

I have all the answers,

but I have found rest in this.

Though God,

the creator of life

as we know it,

has the authority

to give life

and the authority

to take it away,

to create good circumstances

and to eradicate bad ones,

and though He has

full authority

to make this sort of request

that He makes to Abraham,

He's also the one

who sustains those

who are left

with any loss or pain.

He left the stands of heaven

to bring us home.

And though we experience

horrific loss,

my family and I,

that I honestly would undo,

I believe,

if God said,

you can snap your fingers

and undo this,

I would say,

okay,

my wife and I

have become closer

through all of this.

God's brought us closer

to Him

through all of this,

and He's done it

through His people,

the church.

church.

So it's the same God

who promises

that I will be

with my loved ones

in heaven forever.

So He allowed this

to happen,

but He sustained me

in the midst

of it happening.

And my loved ones

will be there

because they had faith

in the God

who provides,

Jesus Christ.

Heaven is real,

and when I'm there,

this loss

will no longer exist.

And if you have faith

in Jesus,

it won't exist

for you either.

So that gives me

reason to hope

in the midst

of dark circumstances.

And I hope

that it gives you

reason to hope.

I don't think you're here

by accident today

to hear this story.

When you find

that shalom shattered,

remember,

it's going to be restored.

The shalom will be restored

and it will be

never-ending peace.

Therefore,

it gives me faith

and it gives me assurance

of the things hoped for,

and that's how we keep walking.

And that's why we need each other.

And in this passage,

you see that hope,

you see that determination

in Abraham.

You see trust

and you see life.

The request is a test

but what is his response?

His response

is remarkable.

Absolutely remarkable.

I'm not going to read

all this verse

but I'll refer to it.

So when I took

Hebrew in seminary,

one of our assignments

was to translate

this chapter,

Genesis 22,

and it stuck with me.

When reading it

in the original language,

there is a tone

about commitment

and determination

and absolute heartache

all on the foundation

of unrelenting trust

in God

despite the seemingly

horrific situation.

There's something about it

you capture

when you read it

in the original language.

The faith of Abraham,

though,

it's astonishing.

You see it in his response here.

Even though all the circumstances

seem completely horrific,

go sacrifice your son.

I mean,

I don't know of a worse request.

He knew the true character

of God

and he knew the burden

that he carried

as Father Abraham.

And part of me wonders

if he even thought,

well,

maybe this is happening

as a punishment

because of the decision

I made to tweak God's plan

and have a child

with Hagar.

I wonder if he blamed himself

ever about that.

Have you ever thought that way?

Like,

something bad happens to you

because you've offended God

in some way,

even though you completely

don't believe

that's what happens

when you accept Christ?

But God

doesn't work that way.

He promises love

and blessing

and protection

for everyone

who trusts him

through faith.

That doesn't mean

that bad things

will not happen to us.

It means that bad things

are a part of the story

but that the ending

is greater

than we can possibly imagine.

Notice in verse 3,

Abraham doesn't argue.

He just gets up and goes,

at least in this account.

He rose early in the morning.

I bet he rose early in the morning.

I bet he didn't sleep

the night before.

Would you?

You know,

he rested in the restlessness.

You ever done that

where your mind

just races all night?

There's no mention

of him telling Sarah

what was going on,

what was going to happen,

but there's a tone

of that determined,

focused silence,

almost like a state of mourning.

So he saddles the horse.

He gets two of his men

to go with him.

He gets the wood

for the burnt offering

and then he and Isaac

set out for the mountain.

Mount Moriah

is what it was.

The journey took three days

and then at the base

of the mountain,

he asked his men to wait.

I don't think they knew

what was happening.

And the only person

that actually knew

the whole story

from beginning to end

at that point

would have been God the Father.

And the only person

who knew about the nature

of the request at this point

would have been Abraham.

So those two,

the only ones who knew

the big picture there.

Verse five,

you can see the faith

and the trust of Abraham.

Notice he says

to his two workers,

stay here with the donkey.

I and the boy

will go over there

to worship

and come again to you.

See,

he expected to walk out

with Isaac.

Yet,

he was willing

to fulfill the request

to the end.

We know this

because of Hebrews 11.

Let's look at that together.

And Isaac,

wait,

go to Hebrews 11,

please.

Thank you.

By faith,

Abraham,

when he was tested,

offered up Isaac.

And he who had received

the promises

was in the act

of offering up

his only son

of whom it was said,

through Isaac

shall your offspring

be named.

He considered that God

was able even

to raise him

from the dead

from which,

figuratively speaking,

he did receive him back.

So,

Abraham had

a resurrection faith.

That's what we can learn

going into this,

going into this request.

And he trusted God

and he knew that

even if he had to go

the fullest degree

with this request,

he expected that God

would bring his child

back to life.

So,

are we learning

be good

and have faith

like Abraham?

Never question

or doubt?

Never wonder?

No.

That's not what,

if that's what

this passage teaches us,

it's an element of it,

have faith.

But if that's all

that we see,

we're missing the point

of this passage.

It's not intended

to be a lesson

of do better.

But we do gain

a little bit more insight

between a relationship

between faith and works,

I think.

We can look at that here

through Abraham's response.

See,

we believe that we're saved

by faith alone,

through Christ alone,

in Christ alone.

What we're taught

in James 2,

was not Abraham

our father justified

by works

when he offered up

his son Isaac

on the altar?

You see that faith

was active along

with his works

and faith was completed

by his works

and the scripture

was fulfilled

that says,

Abraham believed God

and it was counted

to him as righteousness

and he was called

a friend of God.

You see that a person

is justified by works

and not by faith alone.

And what this means

is this,

our faith in Christ

justifies us

before God.

Our works,

in the case of the word

justify in that passage,

meaning demonstrates

our faith before men.

So,

Abraham was fully faithful

and God knew his heart.

God didn't need him

to show him.

Okay?

But other people

don't know his faith

and God certainly

knew his heart,

as I said,

but who needed

to see his faith?

We did.

Today.

And Abraham needed

to see the faithfulness

of his God,

our God.

And we need to see

each other's faith.

And we need to see

and hear how God

has sustained you

and me

and provided.

That's why he's

given us the church.

One of the many reasons

that's why he's

given us his word.

And when we live out

our faith

through our lives,

we tell a much larger

story of gospel redemption.

We extend the comfort

that God has given us

to those around us

by reminding them

that they're not alone.

And when we let others,

especially in our church community,

know us,

really know us,

the hard parts

and our stories,

our brokenness,

we can receive God's comfort

through them.

God is faithful

to provide what you need

when you need it.

And as the story continues

in Genesis 22,

Genesis 22:7

verse 7,

Abraham gives the wood

to Isaac to carry.

He takes the knife

and the flint.

As they're traveling,

we read one of the most

sobering verses

in the Bible,

I think.

When we hear Isaac

ask his dad,

my father,

and he said,

here I am,

my son.

Behold the fire

and the wood,

but where's the lamb?

I don't even

have a category

in my mind

for that conversation.

And I cannot imagine

what was going

through the mind

of either one of them.

As the narrative continues,

they reach the place

for sacrifice.

And Abraham's faithful

to the instructions.

He binds his son,

he lifts up his arm

to fulfill

his sacrificial duties.

And then,

our hero,

the trustworthy God,

the one who will

provide for you

and me

and has provided.

What happens?

The one who gives

life and love,

he rushes from the stance

and he speaks

through his angel

from the sky

and resurrection light

enters our dark scene

of brokenness.

You see this,

the resurrection

is real.

And if we are not

talking about the resurrection

or understanding it,

why do we have faith

at all?

It's what Jesus came

to save us from,

the resurrection

of the dead

to death.

He saves us

a resurrection

to life.

This is what

the gospel

is all about.

What an amazing

true story

we see here.

Verse 13,

you can see

God provides

a ram

caught in a thicket

of thorns

by its horns.

The ram

is provided

as a substitute

for his son.

Abraham's faith

then is ratified

and it's credited

to him

as righteousness.

The mountain

is named

Jehovah-Jireh,

which means

the Lord

will provide.

Verse 15,

you see God

reestablishes

his covenant

from Genesis 15

where he says

that he will

bless you

with descendants

more numerous

than the stars.

Well,

he takes it

even further

and he says

they're going

to be more numerous

than the sand

on the seashore.

And as the words

of that song

that owned me

at the beginning

say,

sometimes I think

of Abraham,

how one star

he saw

had been lit

for me.

He was a stranger

in this land

and I am that

no less than he

and on this road

to righteousness

sometimes the climb

can be so steep

I may falter

in my steps

but never beyond

your reach.

God,

you are my God.

during the loss

of our brother

and our mother

we would go

to the beach

sometimes down

there on 30A

if you've ever

been there

and there's this

beautiful sand

dune lake

and I would just

walk

and just listen

to that song

and just step.

So all I had to do

was just keep walking

and I don't know

where you are

and what you may

be going through

just keep walking

and keep looking

up at those stars

and remembering

that one of those stars

is lit

for you.

Abraham had

a resurrection faith

and he trusted God

but what does that

really mean?

It doesn't mean

just be good.

The meaning of the passage

is this

the Lord provides

a lamb

for a burnt offering

so that Isaac

who becomes Israel

may live

so that we

may live.

If you read

Matthew 1

Matthew 1:1

verse 1

we learn that

from all of this

came Jesus Christ

the book of the genealogy

of Jesus Christ

the son of David

the son of Abraham

and it goes into

great detail.

The Lord provides

a lamb

for a burnt offering

so that Isaac

so that Israel

may live

so that we

may live.

The ram you see

is a type of Christ

the lamb who was slain

for his people

are you one of his people?

This is not a story

about being good

it's not a story

about doing better

it's not a story

about a distant God

who doesn't understand

this is about

Jehovah Jireh

the God who provides

a sacrifice

for his chosen people

who does not spare

his son

as he did for Isaac

but a loving father

who gives his only son

to die in our place

as a substitute

on the cross

made of wood

so that we may live

for God so loved

the world

that he gave

his one and only son

that whoever believes

in him

shall not perish

but have eternal life

Abraham looked ahead

to the Christ

who would save the world

God would provide

God did provide

God is still providing today

we receive that eternal life

through faith

in Jesus' perfect life

atoning death

and glorious resurrection

Jesus is that ram

caught in the thicket

of thorns

to be sacrificed for us

in our place

on a cross

on a cross made of wood

wearing a crown

made of thorns

on his head

and as Abraham

and Isaac

journeyed

to Mount Moriah

this is amazing

is on that same mountain

over a thousand years later

that our lamb

our Lord Jesus Christ

would be sacrificed

as Isaac carried

the wood

for the sacrifice

so our Lord

would carry the cross

to the place

of his sacrifice

on our behalf

for those three days

on the journey

Father Abraham mourned

but through his resurrection faith

Isaac's life was spared

and in that sense

he was raised to life

off of the sacrificial altar

three days after

Jesus Christ

bled to death

for us

on the cross

made of wood

with the crown of thorns

on his head

he was raised to life

and he promises

that those who look to him

in resurrection faith

will have their lives

spared in eternity

because his was not

spared on earth

but on the third day

he rose again

from the dead

and he promises

that if we believe in him

we will not face death

in eternity

but we will receive

life forever

what then shall we say

to these things

as we said earlier

if God is for us

who can be against us

in all these things

we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us

I'm sure that neither death

nor life

nor angels

nor rulers

nor things present

nor things to come

nor powers

nor height

nor depth

nor anything else

in all creation

will be able to separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord

the Lord provides a lamb

for a burnt offering

so that Isaac may live

so that Israel may exist

so that Jesus Christ

may be provided

and may be sacrificed

for us

so that we may live

the ram's a type of Christ

who was slain

for God's people

the lamb who was slain

are you one of his people

because you can be

through faith

you can be adopted

into his family

as sons and daughters

of God

I was talking with a child

this morning

who just put their faith

in Christ

and we talked about this

you're in the family now

you're adopted

as a child of God

see what kind of love

the Father has given us

that we should be called

children of God

but what's the ending

of the story

of those who are adopted

into God's family

through faith in Christ

what's the finish line

that he carries us across

it's nothing less

than victory over death

let's read the end

of our story

then I saw a new heaven

and a new earth

for the first heaven

and the first earth

had passed away

and the sea was no more

and I saw the holy city

new Jerusalem

coming down out of heaven

from God

prepared as a bride

adorned for her husband

I heard a loud voice

from the throne saying

behold the dwelling place

of God is with man

he will dwell with them

and they will be his people

and God himself

will be with them

as their God

he will wipe away

every tear from their eyes

and death shall be no more

neither shall there be mourning

nor crying

nor pain

anymore

for the former things

have passed away

and he who was seated

on the throne

said behold

I'm making all things new

also he said

write this down

for these words

are trustworthy and true

and he said to me

it is done

I am the alpha

and the omega

the beginning and the end

to the thirsty

I will give

from the spring of water

of life without payment

and the one who conquers

will have this heritage

and I will be his God

and he will be my son

are you here today

stuck in the struggle

to trust God

this is the beautiful promise

for you

are you here questioning

whether you're ready

to take that step

to put your faith in Christ

for maybe the first time

or maybe recommitment

maybe you've lost your way

this is the beautiful promise

for you

Jesus is the truth

that will set you free

God has provided for you

remember

this provision

through faith in Christ

you will be equipped

whatever you're called to

whatever test you're called to

you're equipped as his saint

to do the work of ministry

this means sharing your story

letting yourself be known to him

and trusted others

holding his hand

renovating this world

one relationship at a time

until he walks you

across the ultimate finish line

when he returns for you

and makes it all brand new

forever

that day when our hero

our dad

takes us home

and we live

happily ever after

let's pray

Father in heaven

may you be glorified

magnified

and receive praise

thank you for providing

the sacrifice

of your son for us

when we don't deserve it

Lord Jesus

thank you so much

Father

for the truth of the resurrection

may we never forget

its reality

every time we take

the Lord's Supper

may we remember

for the reality of you

being raised to life

sitting on the throne of grace

where we may receive mercy

and help in our time of need

and I pray that anyone

in this congregation

here today

that's hurting

they would find their need

in you

they would find

the balm for their soul

Lord Jesus

and that they would run to you

they would experience your grace

and that the people

in this congregation here

would envelop them

with love

and that that love

would envelop this community

Father

and this world

thank you for the truth

of scripture

thank you for providing

and it's in Jesus name we pray

Amen

For more information

visit us online

at southwood.org

we hope to find out

next week

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