Here I am Father

Here I am Father

Genesis 22:1-12

June 19, 2024

Bull Rider video:

Is this man perfect? No. What we saw in that video is the uniqueness and the distinctness of what a man is. Moms can do unimaginable things, but there is a strength, a willingness, and a uniquely equipped heart to lay in front of a 2,500 lb bull that comes from a masculine man who loves so deeply that they sacrifice everything for the right thing.

In God’s Word, who would you say was a great father? Other than God The Father, who would you say got it right from start to finish? Think about that for just a minute. I would argue that you are hard-pressed to come up with that one that you can defend.

Examples: David? Horrible dad. Solomon? Horrible Dad. Moses is an absent father and passive. Adam, the only man who was created with no sin from the start and walked with God, yea, his oldest kills his little brother. Anyone else we want to talk about? Eli, Samual… Not necessarily great examples of fathers, while we can identify with these guys, when it came to fathering, some left a lot on the table.

The direction for Godly manhood is here in the Bible, but we need to be willing to do the work and apply it. The reason I started with that question, “Give me an example of a father that did it right” is because there really isn’t a man in the Word of God that nails it from start to finish. There are great sections where some men did exactly what was needed when they had to be that great father.

So, what does a Godly Father look like? We do have men who demonstrated great acts of fatherhood that we will learn from today. These men had one commonality and it is a recurring theme that describes situations and periods in men’s lives where they get it right. That one commonality all centers around one word, FAITH.

Please open Genesis 22 and we are going to look at one event that makes the main character in our reading very special.

READ TEXT Genesis 22:1-11

I know what you are thinking, sacrificing your son does not make you a great father! Frankly, Abraham is not a winning example of awesome parenting. But this even shows us dads, men, and ladies what true faith looks like. True faith is the end result of simple obedience.

1. The dad simply obeys, in faith.

Vs 1 “After these things God tested Abraham”

How can faith and love be real? It must first be tested. It is the way of a man to be tested by the fires of life. Notice, young men, others do not take you seriously until you have proven yourself to be trustworthy. There must come a time of testing. It was AW Tozer who wisely wrote, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.

The hurt that Abraham was getting ready to go through is missed by us because we can’t get our heads around doing this to our own children. It is almost too outlandish to even think about, but it is God Himself who reminds Abraham of how much this was going to hurt.

Vs 1 “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…”

As if it were not enough to the sacrifice of your only child God seems to cut deeper into Abraham with the descriptions of Isaac. Almost as if to make it worse. By calling Isaac “your only son,” it seems like God further irritates the past wound and failure when Abraham banished his firstborn Ishmael just a chapter before. So, what hope would there be for further children? He's 130 years old!

Each word in the Hebrew that God uses is in the “emphatic.” Meaning it comes with it more and more grief. The word “slay him whom you love.” Is not just referring to the love of that of an earthly father but also that which came from great faith. Imagine, you live the bulk of your adult life in faith that God is going to do something (provide you a son of promise). And that son was being taken from Him. It had to confuse Abraham. But even in the complexity, he trusted God for who He is.

By this point, Abraham understood the promise that Isaac was to fulfill. Remember the words are written in the emphatic. When God said, “Take your son” it was “TAKE NOW”. You are not to wait but do it now. And to this command, Abraham responds out of complete obedience.

Vs 3 “So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey…took two of his young men…cut wood and arose and went to the place…”

There was zero hesitation, dragging of feet, or negotiation. As the passage shows, complete obedience did not just start in the morning. He had concluded that He was going to obey the second God gave the command. How much sleep could he have gotten? He “rose early” meaning he resolved to complete this task without hesitation. This is what men do! We fix problems and execute to get it done.

Interestingly, Abraham negotiates with God to save Sodom back in Chapter 18 but there is NO negotiation on this. Abraham is doing the hard thing, by himself a distinguishing quality of a man with conviction. By the way, Sarah is still alive at this point. But, she is 100% absent from this and for that, I am very glad. I’ll explain that later.

But the fact that Abraham is responding is such faith, such obedience clearly shows how masculine he is. A coward would not comply. A weak man would not say “Here I am Lord.” A weak man would have folded.

Hebrews 11:17-19

17 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, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.[1]

In complete faith and love and out of worship, Abraham willingly and completely obeyed the command of God. This action was the ultimate act of worship to a Heavenly Father that is worth trusting.

Vs 5 “5 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.” 6 And 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 they went both of them together.[2]

I was talking to Matt Mangeac the other day about worship. You see, worship is not just singing. He and I agreed that worship, true worship, is sacrificing, costly, and an intimate show of love. The heart of worship is all of you at the feet of Him who is worthy of your worship. Look who carried the fire and the knife? In an act of true worship, Abraham himself was carrying the instrument that would end it.

On a side note, worship starts Saturday night, into the parking lot on Sunday AM, into songs, prayer, sermon, prayer and Sunday School.

Dads, how would you handle that knife as you walked up that mountain? How would you have handled that fire as you stepped over rocks counting down how much longer before those devices would be used? Where does a 130-year-old man get such strength? Faith!

You may say, I would never pass this test! Yea, not many would! That is okay, God has you on your test here and now. Be obedient where you are now, in faith, God will get you past these hurtles.

And yet, in perfect confidence and faith, Abraham told the young men, “WE” will come back. He knew that after Isaac’s death, God would bring him back, somehow, some way. It still could not be easy.

2. The son complies, in Faith.

I feel bad for old Isaac. He doesn’t get enough credit for this event. By this time Isaac could be anywhere between 14 and 20s. Abraham was no less than 110 old up to 130 years old. Isaac could not be too small because his dad put all the wood on his shoulders. Think about how much that would need to be to burn an offering completely. I bet most 12-year-olds could outrun, a 110-year-old.

Vs 6 “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son.”

Look closely at that verse. It was like Moses (the author of the book) took one more stab at the intimacy of father and son. “laid it on Isaac his son.” I wonder, do you think that Moses was tearing up as he wrote this? I would have! This is one of the most heart-wrenching events recorded in human history.

Vs 7 “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 is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

You think he knew? Yep! In complete confidence in Dad, he tenderly asks the question about the impending sacrifice. If there was a time for pushback on old dad, that was the time but what did Isaac do? He is watching true manhood in obedience. He was watching Dad worship the heavenly Father in complete and total obedience.

Dads and moms, do you know why we keep the kids in worship with us? We want them to watch you be obedient to your heavenly Father. Dads, look at the power of your influence! When you are obedient in strength, you kids will see it! Isaac’s obedience as he watched His dad’s worship cast a powerful influence on his own obedience that led to true faith. Dads, your voice is uniquely special in the ears of your children and the young men around you! Your family will go the way you go.

Getting back to the text, we know that Isaac had watched Dad worship before. “Where is the lamb?” I want us to look at one critically important word. It has a powerful cross reference that we must not overlook. Isaac was more than just a kid to be sacrificed. He was the “son of promise” that would play a pivotal role in human history.

Vs 6 “and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son.”

Guys, if you cannot see the cross reference, I want you to concentrate. The Gospel is here in this place. Can you see it?! Can you not see that the picture of an old man, willing to give His very best as a picture of other wood to be placed on Isaac’s seed many years from now?

The word “Laid” This verb typically refers to setting something up or in its place[3]

John 19:17

So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. [4].

Laid and bearing are linked together in verbs. Both sons of promise carried their load to the sacrifice.

I would remind you of the story of God’s covenant with Abraham in chapter 15 of Genesis. God clearly said that Abraham would have a child and that by God Himself, swore that Abraham’s seed would be more numerous than the stars. After hearing this from God, “he believed the LORD and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham was saved in 15:6 as a result of faith in God.

The power of this passage can not be more vivid. Obedience has eternal consequences and eternal outcomes. Imagine, if Isaac had not allowed this to happen. In humble obedience to his earthly father, we see what Godly masculinity looks like. A real Godly man is a God follower.

3. The FATHER provides

Our best example in all of human history of doing fathering well is the one who started it all. God The Father. I could go through history and tell of all the wonders He has done but to do that would be to repeat what He has given you in your laps. God the Father Himself sacrificially gives and gives and gives all the more for His children.

Vs 8 “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering my son.”

In our passage today, we all know how this ends. Just as Abraham is ready to plunge the knife deep, God shows up and says “Stop”. Then in a time of need, God Himself provides the means of obedience for Abraham and Isaac.

Vs 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and 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.[5]

In verse 8 Abraham says something in faith. He said that God would “provide for himself the lamb.” Notice that the FATHER will provide the sacrifice. In Abraham’s mind, God already provided the sacrifice before leaving the tent and it was the one carrying the wood. Thankfully, God provides a ram this time instead of Isaac.

But next time will be THE Son for humanity. God provides for Himself the means to redeem you and me through His Son, Jesus.

The difference though for the heavenly Father is that He doesn’t hold back. He willingly and lovingly sacrifices it all for your sake. No angel is swooping in to stop the death of Christ. It was pre-determined and foreshadowed here in Genesis that Christ would die for the sins of the world.

Do you know the weight that God took on as He put His only Son whom He loves on the cross?

John 3:16, the greatest picture of unimaginable love:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”

Do you want to know what Godly Fatherhood looks like? Look to the Father who did more than jump in front of the bull in the video. He sacrificed it all for you. In faith find your strength in following His lead! Have faith in the One who has given everything so that you can lead your families well in obedience. Have faith in Him to never leave you strengthless, helpless, or abandoned.

4. Be uncompromising in your obedience to God.

In our text today, did you catch the “Here I am s?” That is the most intimate form of response you can offer. Abraham is saying, I am here to obey you 100%, Father! I am here to serve you 100%! As Abraham responds to Isaac, “Here I am for you, my son.” My question is, what is your track record for responding to your Heavenly Father?

Abraham’s track record throughout his life was horrible! I should hope that by the time you get into your 90s you would have it figured out! But, he was still making complete and total mistakes even when he was old. If God is the coach, this would be a great way to sum up Abraham’s performance up to this point.

PLAY SAVAGE COACH VIDEO

If Abraham was in a batting lineup, he’s batting last. He’s the kid you try to hide in the backfield and pray the ball never comes to him. In football, he would have the “get back position”. The “get back to the bench position.”

But, at the end of his life, when it mattered most, humble obedience changed a life of failures to a memory of faith and obedience. Abraham did not necessarily understand the complexity of what God’s plan was. But that did not so matter as much as his trust that God was going to work this out. Abraham was a normal dude, full of mistakes and yet finishes on this high note! Look at the buildup for a man who finishes well. He ends as a champion of faith.

We may start like Abraham, not well. But God redeems a life like Abraham. There are no lost causes. God the Father redeems a child full of failure and tests him in a way no normal human could succeed with. Imagine dads, could you do this? Moms? Could you do what Abraham did?

But, through God, even the “get back to the bench players” become heroic fathers who throw themselves between 2500 lb bulls and their kids.

Matthew 19:26 says:

“26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.[6]”

If Abraham can obey in faith and be remembered for eternity, you can obey in faith as well! Now we may never be asked to do what Abraham did. But you will need to take your stand for your obedience to your Heavenly Father. We must be uncompromising in our obedience to the Word of God in a show of true love for our Father.

Jesus clearly says “15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments[7] In John 14:15. Meaning, obedience is Love in action. Obedience and faith as a RESULT of our love for the Heavenly Father who equips us to obey. We must be relentless and unyielding and willing to “Rise early, saddle your donkey” to obey the words of the Father. What flows out of obedience is LOVE.

Fathers, you may be saying, how do I do this pastor? It simply goes right back to the basic description of a man. Obey God’s commandments and you will see your faith carry you in all situations. Don’t assume how He will provide for you. If you have faith, you will see Him move. If you think obeying is a weakness, then you clearly missed the point of today. Men, and women, we all must be willing to never compromise on our faith and obedience.

Gentlemen, masculinity is not found in tattoos or four-letter words. True masculinity is a faith in Christ. Godly masculinity finds its strength in loving obedience to God’s Word.

THE UNBELIEVERS ASIDE:

Maybe you are here today and you say I can’t understand why a loving Father would ever give up His son for anyone or anything. Yea, that’s a great question. Why would he send His Only Son whom He loves to save sinners like you and me? I wouldn’t especially if you sinned and purposely rebelled against me.

But He did! He sent Jesus to carry the cross of shame for the sin of rebellion in your life. The Father placed on His innocent shoulders the weight of your sin so that you may be free from it’s cost. He is offering salvation from sin and death through the innocent blood of His son. Call out to Christ, and respond in obedience to His call. The first step comes from regeneration. Want to be a man of uncompromising faith, Start with Faith!