We Have the Good News of a Savior Who Gives Himself in Our Place based on Genesis 22:1-18

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you look in most new Bibles in English, then you will see a short summary of different passages of the Bible that describe the passages. If you look in the ESV Bible for Genesis 1:1 you will see a short summary of the first verses of the Bible that reads, “The beginning of creation.” Those words were not a part of the original writing of the Bible. The original words in English for Genesis 1:1 are: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The original words of the Bible did not have chapter divisions and verse divisions. That idea started a few hundred years ago to help people study the Bible easier. Instead of telling someone that a verse is in the first half of Genesis after certain words, the idea to divide the Bible into chapters and verses makes studying with other Christians much easier to do.

At the start of Genesis 22 different translations of the Bible have different phrases to describe the first part of the chapter. The NIV has the words, “Abraham tested,” to describe the first part of Genesis 22. That seems like a natural way to sum up that first section of Genesis 22. After all, Genesis 22:1 begins, “After these things God tested Abraham”. When Abraham was around 75 years old, the Lord promised to Abraham that he would have a son through his wife, Sarah, even though she was around 65 years old and she had not been able to have any children. Abraham had to wait 25 years for the son of the promise of God to be born by Sarah. So when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old, their son, Isaac, was born.

In Genesis 22 we are told that God told Abraham to take Isaac to a certain place called Moriah. The son that Abraham had waited 25 years for was supposed to be sacrificed as a burnt offering. We are not told how old Issac was at that time. He most likely was a young boy maybe around 12 years old. Abraham was told the Lord would tell him on what mountain to kill his son. Abraham probably did not tell Sarah about this as he left with Isaac and two young male servants. Amazingly, Abraham started traveling first thing in the morning. Maybe he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Or maybe Abraham was a morning person who liked to get up early each day. I am sure Abraham did not sleep much the night before that journey. The fact is Abraham was willing to do what God had commanded him without asking questions.

Is the testing of Abraham the main idea of this passage though? Does Abraham point to the testing of his faith later and say that he was tested? As Abraham went away from the spot he later said about the place, according to Genesis 22:14 : “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.’”

So “Abraham tested” does not give us the main idea of the passage in Genesis 22. The ESV Bible gives us a little different summary of the passage with the words, “The sacrifice of Isaac.” That is not the best way to understand the passage either. Isaac was not sacrificed. He was very close to be killed and offered as a burnt offering by his father, Isaac. Genesis 22:11–12 tells us, “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ 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.’”

The main point of this narrative is not that Abraham’s faith was tested, although that is true. The main point is not that Isaac was sacrificed although he almost was sacrificed. The key idea of Genesis 22:1-18 is that the Lord provided a sacrifice of an animal in place of the sacrifice of Isaac. That is what was most important to Abraham and Isaac. When Isaac questioned his father about the lamb for the burnt offering, Abraham told his son that the Lord would provide the lamb for the burnt offering.

The New Testament book of Hebrews gives us a special look into what was going on in the mind of Abraham. Hebrews 11:17–19 informs us, “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, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” What an amazing faith God gave to Abraham. He believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead after he sacrificed him.

Abraham believed that the Lord would provide. The Lord did provide the lamb for the burnt offering. Genesis 22:15–18 gives us the remarkable words: “And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.’”

Are you struggling to believe God’s Gospel good news promises today? Is poor health behind those struggles? Or money troubles? Or family difficulties? The same God who provided for Abraham and Isaac is the same God who will provide for you in your struggles. You are surely blessed like Abraham was blessed. Moriah is mentioned one other time in the Old Testament of the Bible in 2 Chronicles 3:1 “Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.” The temple in Jerusalem was built on Mount Moriah. That was the same place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. If you go to Jerusalem or see a picture of Jerusalem, the Golden Dome of the Rock is built over a rock where Abraham is thought to have nearly sacrificed Isaac and the place where the temple King Solomon built once stood. The many animal sacrifices and burnt offerings in the temple in Jerusalem pointed ahead to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross outside Jerusalem not far from that Golden Dome of the Rock.

Jesus, the Son of God, was the one John the Baptizer pointed to when he said in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus, the Lamb of God, offered Himself as the once for all sacrifice for all the sinners and wrongdoers of the world, including each one of us here today. Jesus, the Lamb of God, provides the forgiveness we all need so desperately. Jesus, the Lamb of God, suffered the pain of being forsaken by His Heavenly Father when He died on the cross. Jesus, the Lamb of God, gives us the Gospel good news that we have a Savior who gives Himself in our place. Because of Jesus, the Lamb of God, we have all our physical and spiritual needs provided for us. Food, clothing, family, and friends are provided for us by our gracious God. Forgiveness of wrongs, spiritual peace, and the sure hope of everlasting life are provided for us by our gracious God.

Maybe a better phrase to sum up Genesis 22:1-18 might be: “The Lord saves and provides a sacrificial substitute.” Or maybe simply putting a cross above this section in Genesis 22 might be even better. The words of our Epistle reading are a fitting conclusion to this sermon in 2 Corinthians 5:17–19, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.