Abraham's Decision - Camp session
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 29:31
0 ratings
· 8 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Lesson Two
Good decisions are based on trusting God (Genesis 22)
This morning we are going to look at another difficult decision that someone in the Bible had to make.
A time when someone had an opportunity to step up and trust in God.
What did you hear in Matt’s message last night?
I want to begin with a question again.
"Have you ever had to trust someone completely, even when you didn't understand why?"
Last time, we looked at the story of King Josiah.
We learned through his story that good decisions are based off of knowing and obeying God’s word.
Up to that point in the southern tribe of Judah’s history, he was the 16th king, and of those, only 6 did what the Lord commanded.
The previous two kings had done evil things.
They had rejected God and chased after false gods.
Allowing the worship if Baal and Asherah to take place in the Lord’s temple.
Josiah wanted to be a good king, from the age of 8, but didn’t know how until he made the decision to restore the temple.
In that process they found the Book of the Law.
They found what would have been the Bible up to that point.
The high priest then read the book to Josiah.
Josiah faced a decision once he had received all the information.
When truth was revealed to him through scripture, he had a choice to now follow or not.
Josiah chose to follow.
He tore clothes as a sign of mourning, he assembled the people and had the Law read before all of Judah.
As a country, during Josiah’s reign, they repented of their evil ways and turned to follow the Lord.
This morning we are going to build on that.
The people didn’t know what God had said until the Law was found.
But we are in a different situation ourselves.
We have the Bible readily available to us.
Even if we have not read it much, if we have been in church, we have heard it and know the truth.
But knowing what God has said doesn’t help you if you do not trust what God has said.
We are going to look at the story of another man in the Bible this morning.
Abraham.
God chose Abraham and brought him of the land of Ur of the Chaldeans.
God brought Abraham to what we know is Israel today and made Abraham a promise that that land would belong to his descendants.
Pray
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
But there was a problem - Abraham and his wife Sarah, could not have children.
How can you have descendants that are as numerous as the stars if you can’t have any kids?
Well some other events took place, and God allowed Abraham’s wife Sarah to become pregnant, miraculously, at an old age.
Their son was born and named Isaac.
So we pick up with Abraham's decision in
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 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.”
Making sacrifices was not uncommon.
SACRIFICE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT The manipulation of an animal, vegetal, or liquid as religious devotion. This can include ritual slaughter, division, reconfiguration, cooking, consuming, and/or complete burning.
Something of value, often an animal, food, or other items, offered up to God as an act of worship, devotion, or penance.
The purpose of the act was to impart the impurity of self, onto the sacrifice being offered.
Sacrifices had to be made in order to make payment for sin.
The first sacrifice was actually made by God when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.
He sacrificed an animal and clothed them.
This action, what Abraham is being told to do here is very odd though.
God is testing Abraham.
Take your only son - Isaac
You remember how I said - Isaac was a miracle child.
A child of God’s promise to Abraham.
Now God is asking Abraham to sacrifice his son.
Abraham faced a choice.
Will I believe God -
Will I trust God and the promise that he made to me?
We don’t know how old Isaac was at this point exactly.
The Hebrew word is vague and used to describe a wide age range.
Isaac was older than 4 or 5 and younger than 36 or 37 when he was to be offered as a sacrifice.
In the story, we see he knew the procedure for sacrifices so I am assuming he was a little older - perhaps high school age today.
He was faced with a choice as well.
Do I obey my father?
Both chose to obey!
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and 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. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 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.
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?”
Isaac wasn’t stupid.
He knew something was up.
High school students may not know much, but they often know more that we give them credit for.
8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
Abraham knew what he was told to do out of obedience to God.
I have 3 sons - I could not imagine the pain/conflict Abraham was feeling in this moment.
But he says - “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
Abraham knew that God had provided Isaac.
Abraham knew that God would continue to keep his promise - he didn’t know how but knew he would.
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter 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 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.” 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. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Abraham was obedient to God -
Abraham trusted God -
What was God’s response?
God provided substitute sacrifice!
· “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
o God had provided Isaac
Isaac was obedient to his father.
He could have left.
He could have likely overpowered this old man.
He was 100 when Isaac was born!
Isaac allowed himself to be bound and put on the altar.
Isaac trusted his father Abraham.
More importantly, Isaac trusted God as well!
The amazing thing about the Bible, and especially the OT is that it all points forward to something.
More specifically - to someone.
That someone is Jesus.
o God did provide the ram to take Isaac’s place
This event foreshadows God sending his son Jesus to be the sacrifice that is required for you and I to live as forgiven saints today.
To make payment for our sin today.
In order to be in a good relationship with God, we are required to make a sacrifice as well.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Who made the law? God.
Who made the first sacrifice? God.
Now ,today, that sacrifice has been made!
o God provided His Son Jesus to take our place!
All you need to do is trust in Jesus.
That he willingly went to the cross.
He allowed himself to be bound, beaten, and sacrificed upon the cross.
· Abraham trusted in God’s promise
o God had promised Abraham a son in his old age - Isaac
o God had promised that Abraham’s descendants through Isaac would be a great nation.
o “Now look toward the heavens, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” [God told Abraham], “So shall your seed be.” (Genesis 15:5)
o Abraham did not understand how God would do this if Isaac was sacrificed, but Abraham trusted God.
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.
· If God had to raise Isaac back from the dead, Abraham knew that God could.
Each of you here this week has a decision to make.
Like Abraham - God is calling us to trust and obedience.
To live a life devoted to him.
God will call you to sacrifice some things that important to you in order that you might better serve him.
Like Isaac - God is calling you to trust and obedience.
God may not call you to give you life as he did Isaac.
But he might.
He has asked some!
What God does ask is that you give your life to him.
Serve him with you all your heart, all you soul, all your strength.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
God is call each of us to Trust in Him, even when it doesn’t make sense to us.
God has a plan, but He doesn’t have to give you all the details, but His plan is perfect and right, and He will work out the details in his time.
Our role is to be faithful and step forward in obedience.