Faith and Trust like Isaac

1. Intro

a. Pray

2. The Story of Isaac and Rebekah

a. Isaac, the son of Abraham.

i. God’s promise to Abraham.

ii. Abraham marries Hagar and has Ismael

iii. Abraham and Sarah laugh at the thought of a child at 99 and 90 (Gen 17)

1. God tells Abraham, he laughs.

2. The three angles visit. Sarah laughs and then denies laughing

iv. Isaac born when Abraham was 100 and Sarah 90. Isaac means “he laughs” (Gen 21)

v. Ismael and Hagar sent away. Isaac will be the heir (Gen 21)

b. Abraham almost sacrifices Isaac (Gen 22)

c. Isaac and Rebekah

i. Abraham’s servant promises to get a bride from the family (Gen 24)

1. The well, water for himself and the camels. Gives nose ring and bracelets to Rebekah. She is give to him for Isaac. Isaac loved her, Gen 24:66

d. Isaac 40 when they marry (Gen 25). Rebekah is barren.

i. Isaac prays for a son.

ii. Married twenty years when Esau and Jacob born.

e. Isaac loved Esau, Rebekah loved Jacob. Parallels Abraham with Sarah, Ismael, and Isaac. The brokenness is perpetuated.

i. Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of soup. Gen 25:27-34

f. Gen 26:1-6, there is famine. God tells Isaac to stay, don’t go to Egypt. Repeats his covenant with Abraham.

i. Isaac tells Abimelek and the Philistines that Rebekah is his sister for fear he will be killed. Parallels Abraham’s actions with Sarah.

ii. Isaac is blessed and prospers. Philistines are jealous. Isaac keeps moving.

iii. God makes his covenant again, with Isaac, at Bersheeba. Gen 26

iv. Jacob tricks Isaac and steal’s Esau’s blessing. Jacob flees. Gen 27

1. Isaac blesses Jacob and commands he marries a relative and not a Canaanite.

v. Isaac dies at 180. Gen 35

3. Trust and Faith

a. Isaac is a patriarch and in the hall of faith (Heb 11:20)

b. When Abraham was promised a son, he gave up waiting and took Hagar.

c. Gen 25:19-26

Genesis 25:19–26 NIV

19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

d. Isaac waited twenty years for a son

i. God had made a covenant

ii. Isaac interceded for Rebekah to have a son.

1. Isaac responded by turning to God.

iii. Isaac chose trust

4. Conclusion

a. What has God spoken to you? Are you waiting on God to fulfill his promises?

b. Let’s choose trust. It may not make sense.

c. God always keeps his promises. Let’s turn to him and trust him, even when we can’t see it.

i. Rom 9:6-9

Romans 9:6–9 NIV

6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

ii. God’s promises may not make human sense.

iii. It isn’t through human power but through God.