The Sacrifice of Isaac
Notes
Transcript
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
The Lord’s Great Test
The Lord’s Great Test
We know it’s a test, but Abraham doesn’t have the same info
the purpose of taking a test
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Emphasis on Abraham’s love
Identification of Isaac’s covenant role
How could God demand this?
Isaac was a particular and unique gift of God in fulfillment of promise
God was asking Abraham to give Isaac back
If it wasn’t Isaac it would be wrong
If it wasn’t a sacrifice it would be wrong
Abraham’s Faithful Obedience
Abraham’s Faithful Obedience
Abraham carries the knife and fire while Isaac carries the wood
There is intimacy betwen Abraham and his son
“Went on together” (v. 6, 8)
The journey is long
Preparation (donkey and cut wood)
Traveling (3 days)
Leaving the servants some distance away
Climbing the mountain
Building the altar
Binding Isaac
Taking the knife
Abraham believes God will provide a lamb
7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
Abraham’s faith is not demonstrated by how he feels about what God has called him to do, but by what he does
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
Abraham has seen a dead womb bring forth life, a dead land bring forth fruit, and now anticipates seeing a dead child brought back to life
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
The Lord’s Generous Provision
The Lord’s Generous Provision
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
There is urgency in the angel of the Lord’s call (2x)
Abraham has passed the test
The Lord provides a substitute
Abraham as a Model of Faith
Abraham as a Model of Faith
What do I have to give up to become a Christian?
Abraham’s faith was not some abstract feeling of confidence, it was a painful commitment to trust that God would make his promises come to pass.
God calls us to faith in his Son who is our sacrifice
Over our family
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Over our comfort
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Over our righteousness
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Biblical Theology of Offering a Son
Biblical Theology of Offering a Son
The time will come where God takes a son from his people’s enemy
12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
God will demand a son from his people
20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
God will have a son of his own
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
God will offer that son as a sacrifice
16 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.
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?