Worship requires a response

God will test the hearts of His people. (Genesis 22:1)

Explanation: Abraham experienced his greatest crisis of belief in this section of Scripture. An unspecified amount of time has elapsed since the exile of Hagar & Ishmael and the covenant making between Abraham and Abimelech. The narrator informs us that Abraham “sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines” (Gen 21:34) and it is possible that Isaac is a teen or a young adult. Abraham has possibly had two decades to enjoy and to possibly pamper the son of his old age.

After these things God delivers an important testing of Abraham’s faith. The KJV translators use the word tempt, but the context and character of God clearly reveal this is a test. A temptation has the understanding of enticing and/or leading into sin and that is NOT the character of a Holy God (cf. James 1:13-14).

Illustrate: This is a test similar to the testing grounds for vehicle safety. The engineers in the lab throw out challenges to the design in order to prove the safety of a given vehicle

Argument: God knows the end from the beginning and He already knew how this test would unfold and He already knew the result. Abraham, however, living inside time and space and confined to his present time, could not know. Hence, it was a real test for Abraham - and when He tests us, it is a real test!

So, what was the test? God called Abraham to take Isaac out on a mountain and offer him up as a whole burnt offering. Not what the Patriarch was expecting!

Several important things to Note about this particular test

God was not asking Abraham to do that which the old man could not even conceive.  The rite of sacrificing the oldest son was practiced in the A.N.E. In that culture the firstborn male had a special role in the community, a role that was addressed later in the Mosaic Covenant when God told His people that the firstborn belonged to him, men and animals (Numbers 18:15-17). As Tim Keller puts it, “Abraham understood that God was calling in the family debt” (Counterfeit gods)

The reason God tested Abraham in this specific manner. Note that Isaac was not Abraham’s oldest, nor was Isaac the only son.  What is going on?  Isaac was the son of the Promise, the son for whom Abraham and Sarah had waited 25 long years.  This was the son who had the very real potential of snaring Abraham’s heart and becoming an idol.  God refers to Isaac as the son “whom thou lovest.” This was a test of which was the greater love.  Jesus addresses this same issue using different language (Luke 14:26) but the idea is the same:  God is to have first place.  God will have us to lay our “Isaacs” down that He might be the pre eminent One!

Application: a lawyer once asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Let’s look at His answer in Matthew. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt 22:37). The first and greatest commandment is that we consider who or what has your heart. When God puts you to the test, will you lay your Isaac down?

The believer CAN respond with obedience. (Genesis 22:3)

Explanation: Abraham “rose up early in the morning” and got started on the journey. He saddled up the donkey, got Isaac and 2 helpers, the knife and the wood and went in the direction God had provided. Abraham was obedient to the clear call of God.

Argument: He did not pretend to be confused or unclear about what God was asking. He did not argue with God, nor did he attempt to bargain. He simply obeyed the revealed will of God. The text does not inform us of his sleep pattern for the previous night, nor do we have a record of his thoughts. Abraham was a father with human limitations and he was most likely very troubled by what lay ahead. In spite of the difficulties, Abraham trusted God so he obeyed God.

Application: You CAN be obedient to God’s will. When God speaks to you through His word and His Spirit, He is not simply giving us additional knowledge. He is revealing Himself to us that we might serve Him. He is the King, and we are the servants. He has the authority to issue the order; our part is to obey. As several commentators note: delayed obedience is disobedience.

Easy to state, but more difficult to practice. How can we be obedient? Let’s look at how Abraham accomplished his obedience:

The believer responds with obedience through the gift of faith (Genesis 22:4-5)

Explanation: Abraham and his party travel to Mount Moriah and arrive on the 3rd day. (many things of great significance occur on the 3rd day in the Bible). Abraham had the 2 men remain with the donkey while he and Isaac went up to worship. It is important to realize the power in what he said to the 2 helpers as he was about to take Isaac to be sacrificed. He said, “I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you” (Gen 22:5).

Abraham understands his purpose is to worship. He recognized that God was worthy of all things. Abraham’s offering of Isaac was an act of worship.

Abraham believed that even though Isaac was going to be killed, that God would restore him. Abraham knew that God had promised to give him a son, and Abraham knew that God had promised that “in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Gen. 21:12).

Argument: Abraham probably did not understand how God was going to accomplish giving Isaac children if Isaac was going to be slain on an altar, but he had faith in his God. He had experienced the goodness and faithfulness of God and he trusted God to be true to His promises.

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. (Hebrews 11:17–19)

Abraham had a reverential fear of God and was acting on that belief. He was giving up his beloved son of the Promise as an act of worship. He understood that worship is a verb; it requires a response!

Application: Too often we equate worship with emotions. We “feel” a certain way and consider that we have worshiped. God brought Abraham to a crisis of belief, and the old man adjusted his plans to worship. How are we responding to God in our worship?

In His grace, God provides for Himself an acceptable offering (Genesis 22:6-14)

Explanation: God’s plan was never for Isaac to actually be killed. This was a test for Abraham, and Abraham passed the test. God stopped the Patriarch from making the sacrifice, and He provided a substitute (cvv 13-14). Abraham experienced God in an new way and came to see his God as the One who Provides - Jehovah Jireh.

Argument: The substitution of the ram for Isaac was a type, as this event finds its fulfillment at Calvary. God’s provision of the ram instead of Isaac foreshadows the Cross where the Father does indeed sacrifice His only begotten Son. God prevented Abraham from this action, but He Himself carried it out. The death of Christ served as a payment for the sin debt for humanity, and serves as a substitute for those sinners who receive it in faith.

CONCLUSION: Note Abraham’s response to the call of God - in the Hebrew it is simply, “Here I.”

Here I (v. 2) Abraham was reporting for duty, even before God had laid out the challenge.

Here I (v. 7) Abraham responds to Isaac’s question without evasion.

Here I (v. 11) Abraham again has a ready response to the call of God, this time with great thankfulness for God’s intervention

Is this your response? Is it mine?