Genesis 22 Verses 1 to 18 The Results of Obedience July 23, 2023

How Great Is Our God  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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To understand that God has a plan for our lives that is much better than our own plans.

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Genesis 22 Verses 1 to 18 The Results of Obedience July 23, 2023
Class Presentation Notes AAA
Background Scripture:
Hebrews 11:17-19 (NASB) 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
James 1:12 (NASB) 12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Main Idea: Throughout history in the word of God, God has tested His children.
Study Aim: To understand that God has a plan for our lives that is much better than our own plans.
Create Interest:
· Faith and Obedience belong together. If our faith is in the Lord of our lives, we obey without questioning Him. Abraham had this kind of faith and obedience. The theme of testing, which is prominent throughout the life of Abraham, comes to a climax in Genesis 22. This is the account of Abraham’s obedience to God’s command to sacrifice his son Isaac. This has been called the greatest chapter in Genesis. Judged simply by its literary qualities, it must be acclaimed a masterpiece. Judged by its spiritual qualities, it is sublimely inspiring. If ever an interpreter stood on holy ground, it is here.[1]
· It is one thing to claim to trust God’s word when waiting for something; it is quite another thing to trust and obey His word after it is received. This was a test of how much Abraham would obey God’s word.
o Would he cling to the boy now that he had him, or would he still obey and return him to the Lord?
§ In other words how far would Abraham go in obedience?
o Did he really believe that God would still keep His word and raise the seed of promise?[2] We will explore that question in our lesson today.
Lesson in Historical Context:
· Sarah had once laughed at God—disbelieving his promise of a son. Then she had tried to fulfill the promise herself, and found only heartbreak. But now Sarah laughed with God, because his goodness was almost too good to be true—and not only because of her old age.
· God’s goodness to Abraham and Sarah was also too good to be true because it was so undeserved! Even if we hadn’t seen the continued sin of Abraham and the unbelief of Sarah in previous chapters, Genesis 21:9–12 would be enough to convince us that God was not good to them because they had been good to him.
· No, Abraham and Sarah were, again, being treated better than they deserved. Not only had Sarah devised her own worldly-wise plans to get a son through her servant girl, but also Abraham had gone along with those plans. But now we find Sarah wanting to kick that servant girl and her son (whom Sarah had arranged for) out of the house.
· Isn’t this amazing? Sarah, who had been shown such kindness by God, and who was rejoicing in God’s good provision, now shows utter contempt for another human being—her husband’s own son, no less.
o What a reminder to us that God was not good to Sarah because Sarah was good. God was good to Sarah because God is good!
o And the same is true of us. If God has been good to us, it is “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5).
· By the time we come to chapter 22, many years have passed. Abraham and Sarah had finally settled in. Their days of wandering about and living in makeshift tents were over. Sarah had probably gotten their home decorated just the way she liked it. Perhaps Abraham had planted a little garden. The servants had learned the ins and outs of the surrounding hillsides, perfecting the seasonal routines of cattle-driving and shepherding.
o And best of all, there was Isaac. He was becoming a young man now. He had proven to be a faithful and obedient son. He was learning to worship the God of his father. His shoulders were broad and his face was becoming like that of a man. Everything seemed just right.
· And now this? Now, after God had given them every earthly blessing, comes this? “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (22:2). “Why?” Abraham must have thought. “Why this? Why now? O Lord, anything but Isaac!”[3]
Bible Study:
Genesis 22:1-2 (NASB) 1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
· When did the events of Genesis 22 take place? Verse 1 says it came to pass after these things. What are “these things?
· The spiritual history of Abraham was marked by four great crises, each of which involved the surrender of something which was naturally dear to him.
o First, he was called on to separate himself from his native land and kindred (Gen. 12:1);
o Second, he was called on to give up his nephew, Lot (Gen. 13:1–18);
o Third, he had to abandon his cherished plan about Ishmael (Gen. 17:17, 18);
o Fourth, God bade him offer up Isaac as a burnt offering.
· The life of the believer is a series of tests, for only by discipline can Christian character be developed.
· Frequently there is one supreme test, in view of which all others are preparatory. So it was with Abraham. He had been tested again and again, but never as here.
o God’s demand is, “Son, give Me thine heart (Pro. 23:26). It is not our intellect, our talents, our money, but our heart, God asks for first.
Thoughts to soak on
o When we have responded to God’s requirement, He lays His hand on something especially near and dear to us, to prove the genuineness of our response, for God requires truth in our inward parts and not merely on the lips. Thus, He dealt with Abraham.[4]
· This doesn’t say how long after which earlier events.It had to be long enough for Isaac to be able to make this trip. The word lad in verse 5 is “naʾar”, the same word used to describe the young men. Isaac was 40 when he married (25:20). He had to be old enough to carry the wood for the fire.
o So this incident must have been when Isaac was a young man, not a child.
· Vs. 2:Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac”. Ishmael is also his son, but Isaac alone remains the apparent heir, the “beloved.” The similarities between the episodes of Ishmael’s expulsion and Isaac’s sacrifice (chaps. 21; 22) reinforce the comparison of the two sons.
o “Whom you love” is not to imply Abraham did not love Ishmael, but his love is explicitly stated to emphasize the precious possession Isaac is in the eyes of the old man.
o The passage shows if anything that the expulsion of the elder lad made his heart fonder of the lone remaining boy. More important, it makes the test as severe as is thinkable; no test could be any more probing of the patriarch’s loyalty, for even the taking of his own life would not pass the trial since the future promise lay with the boy.
o Perhaps the mention of the name “Isaac” (“he laughs”) by the Lord and repeatedly in the narrative (vv. 3, 6, 7, 9) is designed to recall the joy of the boy’s birth to the elderly couple (21:6–7)[5]
· God told Abraham to go into the land of Moriah. He said He would show Abraham a specific mountain when he arrived. Then the Lord told Abraham, he was to offer Isaac there as a burnt offering.
· The land of Moriah. This term, though applied in 2 Chron. 3:1 to the mount on which the temple of Solomon was built, is here the name of a country, containing, it may be, a range of mountains or other notable place to which it was specially appropriated.
o Its formation and meaning are very doubtful, and there is nothing in the context to lend us any aid in its explanation. It was evidently known to Abraham before he set out on his present journey. It is not to be identified with Moreh in Gen. 12:6, as the two names occur in the same document, and, being different in form, they naturally denote different things. Moreh is probably the name of a man. Moriah probably refers to some event that had occurred in the land, or some characteristic of its inhabitants. The land of Moriah comprehended within its range the population to which Melkizedec ministered as priest.[6]
o The burnt offering received its name from the fact that it was totally consumed upon the altar as a gift to God (see Lev. 1:1–17; 6:8–13).
o No part of this sacrifice was ever returned to the one making the offering or given to the officiating priests as food.
§ It was strictly a gift to God, offered as an act of total commitment and surrender to Him.
§ The burnt offering acknowledged God’s complete ownership of the worshiper and all that he possessed.
📷 Therefore, when God used this term to describe Isaac in Genesis 22:2, Abraham knew he was being told to slay his son.
· The word translated did tempt can also be translated “tested (NIV, HCSB). Only the context determines which is meant.
o God often testedor proved His people in the Old Testament (see Ex. 16:4; 20:20; Deut. 8:2; 13:3), but they were forbidden to test Him (see Ex. 17:2, 7; Num. 14:22; Deut. 6:16).
§ God tested them to determine the sincerity of their devotion to Him.However, it was regarded as presumptuous for them to doubt His faithfulness and reliability toward them.
§ The Scriptures also make it clear that while God tested men, He never tempted them to do evil (see Jas. 1:13). The same experience can be a test and a temptation. God’s purpose in testing is to strengthen faith; Satan seeks to tempt people to sin.[7]
Thoughts to Soak On
· God did not test Abraham that Abraham might prove himself to God.
o God knew Abraham’s heart. God knows all things.
o But Abraham needed to know his own heart, and all future believers needed a picture of what absolute surrender to God means, a testimony that man can love God supremely.
o Man can make an absolute surrender and sacrifice of himself to God (all he is and has), and God can take care of him, no matter what may confront him.
· Thus, the testing of Abraham took place in order to show and teach several things to both Abraham and succeeding generations. Note the following
o Abraham demonstrated that a person can know God personally. This is shown by the name used for God (Ha ‘Elohim) (v. 1). It was the personal, true God (Ha ‘Elohim) who spoke to Abraham, not just God (Elohim, the general name used for God). (H.C. Leupold. Genesis, Vol.2, p.619.)
§ Revelation 3:20 (NASB) 20 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
§ John 1:11-12 (NASB) 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
o Abraham demonstrated that a person can love God supremely. A person can love God before all else, even before his son or daughter (Ge. 22:2, 10).
§ Matthew 10:37 (NASB) 37 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
§ Matthew 22:37 (NASB) 37 And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
o Abraham demonstrated that a person can glorify God above all else. A person can glorify God by obeying God’s Word just as it is given, no matter the cost (Ge. 22:2, 10).
§ Matthew 7:21 (NASB) 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
§ John 15:10 (NASB) 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
o Abraham demonstrated that a person can be completely surrendered to God. A person can give back to God the greatest gift of all, the very gift that God had given the person in the first place, his body and his life (Genesis 22:1-2, 9-10)..
§ Matthew 5:15-16 (NASB) 15 nor does anyonelight a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
§ Acts 1:8 (NASB) 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
o Abraham demonstrated that a person’s faith can be victorious over all, no matter the trial (Ge. 22:1f).
§ 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB) 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
o Abraham demonstrated that a person can put God first, before all else, no matter the cost (Genesis 22:1-2, 9-10).
§ Matthew 6:33 (NASB) 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
§ Luke 5:27 (NASB) 27 After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me." [8]
§
Genesis 22:3-12 (NASB) 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
Put yourself in Abraham’s sandals😊
· Note: Over the years Abraham had learned to trust God. He knew that God was dependable. Again and again, He had declared, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” It was inconceivable therefore that Isaac could die before he had children. Even if he were to be slain, Abraham reasoned, God would have to raise him up from the dead. In that confidence in a God who is utterly dependable, Abraham went forth to his test. It was a test made no less severe by Abraham’s magnificent faith.[9]
· Vs. 3-4: And Abraham rose up early in the morning”—the customary response of Abraham to God’s demands. It had cost him much, as when he had to part with Ishmael, but never so much as now, when what had at last seemed clear risked being clouded over again. His preparations were methodical: an ass for carrying equipment, two servants to help, split wood for the offering, and in the middle of the list “Isaac his son”. He might busy himself with the preparations, but always in the center of the situation was “Isaac his son”. True worship can never be merely a matter of methodical processes; it always involves looking at things, however dear they may be, against the claims of God and then saying, “Yes”, to God. So he “rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him”.
· A three-day journey gave him ample time for reflection. He must not be allowed to obey God on the strength of a surge of adrenalin. He needed time to consider, to reckon, to weigh up relevant factors.
o There are many instances in the OT of people who had three days in which to face up to their decisions, and the experience was often sobering.
§ Israel went three days into the wilderness, found no water, found bitter water at Marah, then saw the waters “healed” by God’s power (Ex 15:22–26).
§ Similarly, when they were approaching Jordan in their journey to Canaan, they stayed for three days before the final approach to Jordan to prove the power of God to open a way through for them (Josh 3:2).
§ On their journey, then, Abraham had three days in which to reflect on this latest and greatest proof of God’s power and care. Hebrews 11:19 says that he reckoned “that God is able to raise up, even from the dead” (RV).
📷 He had seen God’s power to bring life out of death, but this was a step further, God’s power to raise dead people.[10]
Genesis 22:5-6 (NASB) 5 Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
· Continuing obedience. The ascent to the place of sacrifice was too steep for the donkey. So “Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife” (v. 6a). Significantly the Genesis Rabbah, a pre-Christian Jewish midrash, commented that Isaac with the wood on his back was like a condemned man, carrying his own cross. Indeed the image was truly prophetic of Jesus, who John’s Gospel describes as “bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull” (John 19:17).[11]
Genesis 22:7-14 (NASB) 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 12 He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and 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 place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."
· Vs. 11-14: Then, at the last possible moment, the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven.In order to get his attention, the angel called, Abraham, Abraham. When the patriarch responded, the angel told him not to harm to Isaac.
o Can you imagine the flood of relief and joy that Abraham and Isaac felt? Abraham had fully expected to slay Isaac, and the son had fully expected to die on that mountain.
o Abraham had passed the test. Now God knew that Abraham’s professed faith was genuine. God said, Now I know that thou fears God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
· Abraham had told Isaac the Lord would provide a burnt offering, and he was happily surprised at the accuracy of his prediction. When Abraham looked up, he saw a ram caught in a thicket by his horns.God had delivered an offering to them at just the right time and place.[12]
· God did provide the sacrifice that was needed, and a ram took Isaac’s place on the altar (Gen. 22:13). Abraham discovered a new name for God—“Jehovah-jireh”—which can be translated “The Lord will see to it” or “The Lord will be seen.”
The statement “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen” helps us understand some truths about the provision of the Lord.
· Where does the Lord provide our needs?
o In the place of His assignment. Abraham was at the right place, so God could meet his needs. We have no right to expect the provision of God if we are not in the will of God.
· When does God meet our needs?
o Just when we have the need and not a minute before. When you bring your requests to the throne of grace, God answers with mercy and grace “in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Sometimes it looks like God waits until the last minute to send help, but that is only from our human point of view. God is never late.
· How does God provide for us?
o In ways that are usually quite natural. God did not send an angel with a sacrifice; He simply allowed a ram to get caught in a bush at a time when Abraham needed it and, in a place, where Abraham could get his hands on it. All Abraham needed was one animal, so God did not send a whole flock of sheep.
· To whom does God give His provision?
o To those who trust Him and obey His instructions. When we are doing the will of God, we have the right to expect the provision of God. “When God’s work is done in God’s way, it will not lack God’s support.” God is not obligated to bless my ideas or projects, but He is obligated to support His work if it is done in His way.
· Why does God provide our every need?
o For the great glory of His name! “Hallowed be Thy name” is the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9–13), and it governs all the other requests. God was glorified on Mount Moriah because Abraham and Isaac did the will of the Lord and glorified Jesus Christ. We must pause to consider this important truth.[13]
Thoughts to Soak On
· One advantage of the inclination in scriptural stories to refrain from telling us what people were thinking or feeling is the way they draw us in and make us think about such questions. Then by the way we answer them, we discover things about ourselves and the way we understand God and our relationship with God.
o But the story’s direct interest is what God is doing and what is going on between God and Abraham. When Abraham made inescapably clear that he would do the terrible deed, then God stopped him. The point of the test has been achieved.[14]
· Abraham could depend on the promise and provision of the Lord.
o He had already experienced the resurrection power of God in his own body (Rom. 4:19–21), so he knew that God could raise Isaac from the dead if that was His plan.
o Apparently, no resurrections had taken place before that time, so Abraham was exercising great faith in God.
· According to Ephesians 1:19–20 and 3:20–21, believers today have Christ’s resurrection power available in their own bodies as they yield to the Spirit of God.
o We can know “the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10) as we face the daily demands and trials of life.
o When the situation appears to be hopeless, ask yourself, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14)
o Remind yourself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13, NKJV).
Genesis 22:17-18 (NASB) 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
· Abraham passed the test and was found to be a trustworthy repository of God’s promises. God responded to Abraham’s acts of faith by reaffirming His promises in the strongest terms yet given: “indeed I will greatly bless you. … because you have obeyed by voice”. For the original audience of Genesis—a people who had witnessed the revelation of God’s requirements at Mt. Sinai—Moses had forged a connection between faith and obedience.[15]
In closing
· We should not be surprised when God allows unique tests to come into our lives to enable us to become more mature in our Christian experience.
· Abraham’s test of faith was certainly unique in human history. As far as we know, God has never asked any other father to do what He asked Abraham to do. In fact, the laws that He later gave to Moses vehemently forbade human sacrifice (Lev. 18:21).
· However, Abraham knew that Canaanite fathers actually did offer their firstborn offspring as a sacrifice.
o On the other hand, he knew this request contradicted God’s promise to produce a great nation through Isaac (Gn 17:19). The author of Hebrews allows us to understand how Abraham resolved the tension he must have been feeling:
📷 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises, and he was offering his unique son, the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced through Isaac. He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, and as an illustration, he received him back. (Heb 11:17–19)[16].
[1]Ross H. McLaren, Family Bible Study, Spring 2005, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, 2005), 117. [2]Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,”in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 64. [3]Kurt Strassner, Opening up Genesis, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009), 92–94. [4]Arthur Walkington Pink, Gleanings in Genesis (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005), 226. [5]K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, vol. 1B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 290. [6]James G. Murphy, Notes on the Old Testament: Genesis(Boston: Estes and Lauriate, 1873), 338–339. [7]Ross H. McLaren, Family Bible Study, Spring 2005, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, 2005), 118–119. [8]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Genesis (Chapters 12–50), vol. II, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 134–135. [9]John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 22:3–12. [10]J. Wesley Ferguson, What the Bible Teaches: Genesis, What the Bible Teaches (John Ritchie, 2010), 142–143. [11]R. Kent Hughes, Genesis: Beginning and Blessing, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 302. [12]Ross H. McLaren, Family Bible Study, Spring 2005, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, 2005), 124. [13]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Obedient, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1991), 111–113. [14]John Goldingay, Genesis for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 17–50, First edition., Old Testament for Everyone (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 49–50. [15]Paul Wright, Genesis, Shepherd’s Notes (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 1997), 59. [16]Gene A. Getz, Life Essentials Study Bible: Biblical Principles to Live By (B&H, 2011), Ge 22:1–19.
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