God Will Provide For Himself the Lamb
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Intro
Intro
Chapter 22 is one of my most favorite passages in the Old Testament.
It is one of the clearest shadows and types of the Gospel we have
It ties in beautifully with the scarlet thread of Jesus Christ woven throughout the Scriptures.
Most Christians should be familiar with this passage and its Gospel parallels
however, I hope to proclaim it again
and pull out a few points that maybe you had not considered
It’s been a while since we were gathered, but in the previous chapter, we had the
the long-awaited birth of the promised son, Isaac
His weaning, officially becoming Abraham’s heir, and the expulsion of Ishmael and Hagar.
Lastly, we had the diplomatic meeting of Abimelech and his advisors with Abraham
perhaps with the eye to arrange a marriage with Abraham’s heir, but more clearly to establish friendly relations with this man who had so obviously been blessed by God,
to reap some of those blessings by being in an alliance with him.
Body
Body
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now 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.”
How long “after these things”?
Isaac was weaned somewhere between 3-5 years old.
In the next chapter, we have the death of Sarah at 127 years old.
She had Isaac at 90
Isaac would be about 37 at her death.
We don’t know the exact time frame for this event, but Isaac must have been between 5 and 37 years old.
The early church fathers tended to believe Isaac was a teenager or young adult.
The words translated into english as “boy” or “lad” would align with this understanding, contradicting the later rabbinical teaching that Isaac was around 37 and a patriarch in his own right.
When God called Abraham, Abraham was quick to answer.
Take your son, your only son...
For most of us, the New Testament reference that is most likely to come to mind is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
But if we look at the Greek in the Septuagint for Genesis 22, we will get even better references.
“take thy son, the beloved one, whom thou hast loved—Isaac”
The key difference is that instead of the emphasis being on “only” son, the emphasis is on “beloved” son.
the greek word used in John 3:16 is monogenes - unique one
The greek word found in the septuagint of Genesis 22 is agapeton - beloved
you’ll recognize the root word - agape
The same phrase is used elsewhere to describe Jesus in the gospels for two different events:
His baptism
His transfiguration
Matthew 3:16–17 “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””
Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!””
Those familiar with Genesis should have understood this was a reference to Isaac being sacrificed.
This is the one who the Father is going to willingly sacrifice.
Abraham is instructed to go to the high land and God will instruct him which mountain to ascend.
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
Abraham, Isaac, and two servants set off on this quest.
Abraham brings wood for the burnt offering with them.
On the third day, when they are approaching the high lands God had directed them to go to, Abraham dismisses his servants from continuing the trek.
Keep in mind, Abraham is intent on sacrificing his beloved son.
That is the purpose of this venture.
But he tells his servants “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU.”
Abraham is taking a knife to kill his son, and the fire and wood to completely consume the body, but “We will come back to you”
There is no coming back from this apart from faith
there won’t even be a body to bring back
Isaac’s body will be dead and fully consumed by the flame as a sacrifice.
Isaac is loaded up with the wood to be used in the sacrifice of his own body to walk up the mountain.
A clear foreshadowing of Christ being tasked to carry the wood of the cross for his crucifixion.
And as father and son begin the hike, Isaac says: I see the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?
Abraham replies “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
With the same resolution and composedness of mind, after many thoughts of heart, he applies himself to the completing of this sacrifice. He goes on with a holy wilfulness, after many a weary step, and with a heavy heart he arrives at length at the fatal place, builds the altar, lays the wood in order for his Isaac’s funeral pile, and now tells him the amazing news: “Isaac, thou art the lamb which God has provided.” Isaac, for aught that appears, is as willing as Abraham; we do not find that he raised any objection against it. that he petitioned for his life, that he attempted to make his escape, much less that he struggled with his aged father, or made any resistance: Abraham does it, God will have it done, and Isaac has learnt to submit to both, Abraham no doubt comforting him with the same hopes with which he himself by faith was comforted. Yet it is necessary that a sacrifice be bound. The great sacrifice, which in the fullness of time was to be offered up, must be bound, and therefore so must Isaac. But with what heart could tender Abraham tie those guiltless hands, which perhaps had often been lifted up to ask his blessing, and stretched out to embrace him, were now the more straitly bound with the cords of love and duty! However, it must be done. Having bound him, he lays him upon the altar, and his hand upon the head of his sacrifice; and now, we may suppose, with floods of tears, he gives and takes, the final farewell of a parting kiss: perhaps he takes another for Sarah from her dying son. This being done, he resolutely forgets the bowels of a father, and puts on the awful gravity of a sacrificer. With a fixed heart, and an eye lifted up to heaven, he takes the knife, and stretches out his hand to give a fatal cut to Isaac’s throat. Be astonished, O heavens! at this; and wonder, O earth! Here is an act of faith and obedience, which deserves to be a spectacle to God, angels, and men. Abraham’s darling, Sarah’s laughter, the church’s hope, the heir of promise, lies ready to bleed and die by his own father’s hand, who never shrinks at the doing of it.
But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
In this moment, Abraham’s Faith in God is vindicated.
He did not know what the plan of God was, only the God would provide for himself a lamb and that Isaac would return home with Abraham.
Hebrews 11:17–19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”
And on the third day since God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham received his son back from the dead.
Another foreshadowing of Christ.
Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.
While Abraham had gained Isaac in his time away from his brother
His brother’s family had increased quite a bit more.
We are introduced to Rebekah who will come into the narrative in a couple chapters.
Conclusion/Application
Conclusion/Application
Isaac, the beloved son of Abraham foreshadows Jesus, the beloved son of God
He was lead up a mountain, bearing the timber to be used to destroy his body.
Abraham was/is a Christian.
A Christian is someone who trusts that “God will provide for Himself a lamb”
As post cross Christians, we know and believe that Jesus was that lamb.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, and David didn’t know the lamb would be Jesus.
they didn’t understand the whole plan
But they trusted that “God will provide for Himself a lamb”
This Genesis narrative is part of our story.
By faith, we are grafted into the family of God.
Unlike the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, we can say that Abraham is our father.
God requires obedience
Now atheists will use this narrative to accuse God of being malicious
“How could a loving God command his follower to sacrifice his son? That’s evil!”
“I would never kill my son if God asked me to. I am more moral than God.”
God is the standard of morality.
Apart from Him, we do not have a basis for good or evil.
God cannot sin
If God commands you to do something, it is not sin.
God will not ask you to sacrifice your child in this way.
The whole sacrificial system was to point us towards the necessity of Christ, so no parents hearing this need to be concerned that God will require this of them.
But God does require us to sacrifice.
We have to sacrifice our desires, our hopes, our goals sometimes to be faithful to Him.
Sometimes we will have to sacrifice relationships with families or friends to be faithful to Him.
Often times, we will have to sacrifice comfort
