A Promise Tested
Notes
Transcript
Big Picture Pt. 7 “The Promise Tested”
Recap/Opening Questions:
Recap/Opening Questions:
(Q) Where’d we leave off?
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GREAT PROMISES to ABRAHAM—ABRAHAMIC COVENANT....
3 PROMISES:
1. Make of Abraham a GREAT NATION/multitude of descendants
2. PROMISED LAND (Canaan) goes to descendants
3. Through him (& descendants) ALL the NATIONS of the earth would BE BLESSED
Problem all along?? –no kids.
SOLUTION: HAGAR & BABY ISHMAEL Then Hagar & Ishmael
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THEN: GOD SAYS: SARAH = MOTHER…BABY ISAAC = COMING...
PROBLEMS:
HASN’T BEEN WORKING FOR DECADES,· Old age for both parents
BIOLOGICAL IMPOSSIBILITY—SARAH’S BEEN THROUGH MENOPAUSE
HASN’T BEEN WORKING FOR DECADES,, SUDDENLY IT’S GOING to WORK??
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Last week:
AFTER 25 YEARS: PROMISE = FULFILLED!!
BABY ISAAC
>>> LAUGHTER of DOUBT TURNS to LAUGHTER of JOY!! <<<
TEXT ENDED:
ISAAC WEANED
HAGAR & ISHMAEL SENT AWAY
(T) So, now, we’re going to see what happens next, if you’d look with me at Genesis 22. If someone wants to begin by reading…
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Teaching Passage: Genesis 22-23
Teaching Passage: Genesis 22-23
Setting: God’s Testing of Abraham
Setting: God’s Testing of Abraham
READ (V1): Genesis 22:1-24 ESV After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
TIME HAS PASSED—WE DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH...
GOD DETERMINES to “TEST” ABRAHAM...
CALLS to HIM: ABRAHAM RESPONDS: “HERE I AM”
REPORTING FOR DUTY....
3x IN TODAY’S TEXT...
ALSO ISAIAH 6:8
Isaiah 6:8 (ESV)
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE WHEN GOD CALLS...
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Inciting Incident: Abraham’s Test
Inciting Incident: Abraham’s Test
READ (V2): 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.”
PROBLEMS:
AFTER 25 YEARS—ISAAC = FINALLY HERE...
NOW GOD WANTS HIM BACK???·
GOD DOESN’T APPROVE of HUMAN SACRIFICE… HAS NEVER DESIRED IT…APPROVED of IT...
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BEYOND THIS: ABRAHAM LOVES ISAAC....
Gordon Wenham points out nicely, “obedience to God and love for his son will tear him in diametrically opposed directions.”[1]
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Rising Action: Abraham’s Obedience & Faith
Rising Action: Abraham’s Obedience & Faith
READ (V3-4):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.
***NOTE ABRAHAM’S IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE:
SETS HIS ALARM SO TO SPEAK—RISES EARLY!
GETS SUPPLIES READY
CUTS WOOD, ETC.
HEADS OUT to WHERE GOD TOLD HIM...
AFTER THREE DAYS HE SEES the MT. in DISTANCE...
ILL: SLEEPING on BIG DECISIONS...
HOW MANY FOLLOW the POLICY—SLEEPING on BIG DECISIONS?
BUYING HOUSE/CAR
GOING to SCHOOL/PICKING COLLEGE
NEW BUSINESS, ETC.
SLEEP on the DECISION—ENSURE IT’S NOT LAST NIGHT’S PIZZA! YOU’LL THINK CLEARLY in the MORNING...
ABRAHAM NOW—FOR 3 DAYS—HAS CONTINUED in HIS OBEDIENCE…
SLEEPING on BIG DECISIONS...
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READ (V5-8) 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?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
GROUP SEPARATES...
SERVANTS REMAIN—ABRAHAM TAKES ISAAC ONWARD...
REF: V5… WHAT’S ABRAHAM SAY?
“WE’RE COMING BACK”
DOESN’T HAVE ALL the ANSWERS—BUT HE’S GOT a MEASURE of FAITH....
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IMAGINE BEING ISAAC:
HEADING OFF ALONE W/ DAD...
PLAN is to WORSHIP/SACRIFICE...
CHECKLIST:
WOOD? CHECK.
FIRE? CHECK.
KNIFE? CHECK.
TWO GUYS to OFFER the SACRIFICE? CHECK.
THE SACRIFICE.........? UNCHECKED...
THINGS GETTING PRETTY UNCOMFORTABLE...
ISAAC SPEAKS UP:
DAD??
ABRAHAM RESPONDS: “HERE I AM, MY SON...”
“DAD, WE’VE GOT EVERYTHING BUT the MOST IMPORTANT PART....”
ABRAHAM RESPONDS: GOD’S GOT THIS TAKEN CARE OF…HE’LL PROVIDE FOR HIMSELF a LAMB.
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Climax: The Sacrifice of Isaac
Climax: The Sacrifice of Isaac
READ (V9): 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.
REMEMBER,, THIS ALL = GOD’S PLAN & DOING...
(V9) PLACE of WHICH GOD TOLD HIM...
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HERE WE SEE ANOTHER LAYER--
ISAAC’S SUBMISSION...
ISAAC = PROBABLY a TEENAGER
ABRAHAM DOESN’T KILL HIM FIRST
ISAAC YIELDS HIMSELF UP to HIS ELDERLY FATHER in PERFECT TRUST....
ISAAC = BOUND,, LYING UPON an ALTAR...
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READ (V10-14) 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.”
RISING TENSION:
ISAAC BOUND
ON the WOODPILE,, JUST NEEDS LIT...
ABRAHAM TAKES the KNIFE to KILL HIS SON....
>>>AT THAT VERY MOMENT,, ANGEL CALLS FROM HEAVEN!!
2X— “ABRAHAM!!”
ABRAHAM RESPONDS: “HERE I AM”
DON’T DO IT!!
NOW…I KNOW YOU FEAR GOD.
FEARING GOD = REVERENCE MANIFESTED in LIVING a GOD-HONORING LIFE...
Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
IRONY:
WHAT HAD ABRAHAM SAID ABOUT ABIMELECH & HIS PEOPLE??? (((GEN. 20)))
THESE PEOPLE DON’T FEAR GOD… THEY’LL TAKE MY WIFE & KILL ME...
WE FIND OUT THEY DO FEAR GOD.
NOW the TEST COMES to ABRAHAM & HE PASSES: HE FEARS GOD...
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JUST AS ABRAHAM SAID: GOD WOULD PROVIDE
RAM = CAUGHT in THICKET...
SACRIFICIAL LAMB REPLACES ISAAC
PLACE NAMED: “THE LORD WILL PROVIDE”
TECHNICALLY MEANS the LORD WILL SEE— WHICH BY IMPLICATION RESULTS in HIS PROVISION.
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Resolution: Reiteration of Covenant
Resolution: Reiteration of Covenant
READ (V15-19) 15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
NOW the PROMISES to ABRAHAM ARE REITERATED ((FINAL UTTERANCE of PROMISES to ABRAHAM in SCRIPTURE)) …BUT THEY’RE ALSO GREATER...
GOD SWEARS BY HIMSELF!
Hebrews 6:13–18 (ESV)
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”
15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
GOD CAN’T SWEAR on ANY HIGHER AUTHORITY THAN HIMSELF!!
HE APPEALS to HIMSELF & the SURETY of HIS PROMISE!!
NOW GOD WILL “SURELY” DO X, Y, Z....
OFFSPRING WON’T JUST HAVE LAND,, BUT WILL POSSESS GATE of ENEMIES...
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Conclusion: Family Summary
Conclusion: Family Summary
20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
TWO THINGS:
REBEKAH’S GENEALOGY...
SHOWS THAT ABRAHAM WAS a BIT BEHIND on BABY RACE...
BROTHER HAS 12 SONS W/ WIFE
4 W/ CONCUBINE!
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Closing:
Closing:
· What in the world do we make of this story???
IS IT AN EXAMPLE to FOLLOW?
IN WHAT WAY??
WHY DID GOD TEST ABRAHAM LIKE THIS???
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PROPOSITION: THIS TEST = the SUMMIT of ABRAHAM’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
IT’S the FINAL,,, ONCE & FOR ALL TEST.....
WHY DO I SAY THIS??
ANYONE REMEMBER HOW ABRAHAM ((DESPITE BEING a GREAT MAN of FAITH)) HAS OCCASIONALLY BLOWN IT BIG TIME?? MULTIPLE TIMES??
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Stroll down memory lane:
GEN. 12---GOD MAKES PROMISES to ABRAHAM (AGE 75)
GREAT NATION
DESCENDANTS—LAND of CANAAN
IN YOU ALL NATIONS = BLESSED...
PROBLEM? —NO KIDS.
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1ST FALTERING:
END of CHAPTER--- IN EGYPT,, “SHE’S MY SISTER”
DIDN’T WANT to DIE...
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GEN. 15: GOD AGAIN BRINGS PROMISES to ABRAHAM...
ABRAHAM COMPLAINS: MY SERVANT is MY HEIR!!!
PROMISE of DESCENDANTS LIKE STARS:
Genesis 15:6 (ESV)
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
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2ND FALTERING:
GEN. 16—10 YEARS HAVE PASSED...
SARAH HAS GREAT IDEA....
HAGAR & ISHMAEL
ABRAHAM—AGED 86— IS a FATHER (WRONG WAY)...
SARAH = JEALOUS—SENDS HAGAR AWAY
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GEN. 17—GOD APPEARS to ABRAHAM AGAIN....AGED 99 YEARS!
COVENANT of CIRCUMCISION
REITERATED PROMISES
PROMISED SON—THROUGH SARAH— “ISAAC”
TIMELINE: NEXT YEAR!
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GEN. 18—GOD APPEARS to BOTH....
REITERATES PROMISE W/TIMELINE, NEXT YEAR!
SARAH = MOMMY-NEXT YEAR!
NOTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD!!
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3RD MAJOR FALTERING:
GEN20—ABIMELECH TAKES SARAH
“SHE’S MY SISTER”
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PROBLEM ALL ALONG:
IF GOD = PROMISE-KEEPING GOD....
THEN ABRAHAM & SARAH AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE WITHOUT KIDS.
THEN ISHMAEL COMES—PROBLEM SOLVED…???
Genesis 17:21 (ESV)
21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”
Genesis 21:12 (ESV)
12 But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
SO WE FIND OUT:
ALL GOD’S PROMISES = TIED UP W/ KIDS...
THEN.... WITH A KID…NAMED ISAAC!
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TODAY:::
GEN22 COMES & GOD SAYS, “KILL HIM.”
(Q) DO YOU SEE the DILEMMA HERE?
W/ ISAAC DEAD & GONE, GOD = A LIAR.
25 YEARS of PROMISE = DOWN the DRAIN WITHOUT ISAAC.
PLAIN & SIMPLE,, THERE’S NO OTHER WAY AROUND IT AT THIS POINT.
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THIS = FINAL TEST FOR ABRAHAM.
ABRAHAM,, YOU’VE BLOWN IT in the PAST....
YOU DIDN’T TRUST ME in the PAST...
DO YOU TRUST ME NOW???
NO MORE WISHY-WASHY FAITH.
NO MORE VACILLATING
ABRAHAM. DO YOU TRUST ME?
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GOD HAS PROVEN HIMSELF,, BABY CAME @ APPOINTED TIME...
TURN & READ: Genesis 21:1–3 (ESV)
1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.
2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.
3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
GOD HAD PROVEN HIMSELF to BE a PROMISE-KEEPER.
NOW.....
PROMISE CAN’T BE FULFILLED WITHOUT ISAAC....
ABRAHAM,,, DO YOU TRUST ME?
WILL YOU OBEY WHEN IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE…
WHEN IT’S A TOTAL IMPOSSIBILITY???
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ABRAHAM WAS SERIOUS. DON’T YOU THINK?
THE ANGEL HALTED the KNIFE…NOT ABRAHAM.
TURN & READ: 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.”
ABRAHAM MEANT BUSINESS.
HE SO TRUSTED GOD,,
HE BELIEVED HE’D KILL ISAAC & GOD WOULD BRING HIM BACK...
GOD HAD PROVEN HIMSELF to ABRAHAM.
HE RAISED a DEAD WOMB & a MAN AS GOOD AS DEAD...
HE KEPT HIS PROMISE AFTER 25 YEARS...
WHY WOULD HE FALTER NOW??
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****IF YOU DON’T SEE THIS EPISODE in CONTEXT of ABRAHAM’S ENTIRE LIFE---IT WON’T MAKE ANY SENSE.
THIS ISN’T GOD TELLING YOU to DO THIS.
THIS ISN’T SOME RANDOM GUY,, THIS = THE PATRIARCH
ON LIFE-LONG JOURNEY W/ GOD… AND HE’S BEEN WISHY-WASHY in HIS FAITH & TRUST in YAHWEH.
THIS = the CLIMAX of ABRAHAM’S JOURNEY of FAITH. IT’S THE TEST.
DEREK KIDNER: “The test, instead of breaking him, brings him to the summit of his lifelong walk with God.”[2]
ABRAHAM PROVED:
HE LOVED GOD
HE TRUSTED GOD
ONE SCHOLAR HAS SAID, “ABRAHAM SO LOVED GOD,, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON”
AND WE KNOW THE END of the STORY...
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(T) THINK of ABRAHAM’S LOVE FOR GOD---HOW MUCH GREATER IT MUST’VE BEEN THAN HIS LOVE FOR ISAAC........
TO SACRIFICE SOMETHING SO DEAR to YOU...
THIS = WHAT GOD DID FOR US.
John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 8:32 (ESV)
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
THE FATHER GAVE… &&& the SON SUBMITTED HIMSELF.
HE COULD’VE APPEALED for 12 LEGIONS of ANGELS (MATT. 26:53)
RESPONDS to PETER’S CUTTING of EAR: JOHN 18:11
John 18:11 (ESV)
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
THE SON WHO YIELDED HIMSELF to the FATHER’S WILL,,
ASCENDED a HILL NEAR JERUSALEM
W/ WOOD FOR SACRIFICE on HIS BACK...
-----THIS SON DIDN’T GET OUT OF IT-----
HE WASN’T SPARED @ LAST SECOND...
HE UNDERWENT THAT SUFFERING—FOR US.
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IN LIGHT of THIS LOVE TOWARDS US… WE LOVE.
1 John 4:19 (ESV)
19 We love because he first loved us.
Matthew 22:37–38 (ESV)
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.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
LOVE = MANIFESTED in OBEDIENCE...
John 14:15 (ESV)
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
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GOD WON’T ASK FOR OUR CHILDREN LIKE HE DID ABRAHAM…BUT HE STILL WANTS OUR ALLEGIANCE...
ABRAHAM ROSE EARLY & OBEYED in FAITH WHEN IT DIDN’T MAKE SENSE....
HOW GREAT is YOUR DEVOTION to GOD?
HOW MUCH DO YOU TRUST HIM?
IS HE the GREATEST of ALL YOUR LOVES??
OUR LOVE FOR HIM OUGHT to BE PROVEN THROUGH ACTION,, LIKE IT WAS WITH ABRAHAM...
CLOSE in PRAYER
[1]Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16–50, vol. 2 of Word Biblical Commentary(Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1994), 104.
[2]Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1 of Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1967), 153.
