The Testing of Abraham

Introduction

Matthew 1:1–2 CSB

1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham fathered Isaac…

Have you ever wanted something so bad then you receive it and it was not what it was cracked up to be

maybe that happened this Christmas

a gift you thought you wanted, then you get it and realize… it is just not what I thought

this was not the case for Abraham when he received his son Isaac

Abraham was a man that loved his sons

not having any kids until he was in 80s and then Isaac when he was 100 years old.

at one point asking God if he would bring the promise through Ishmael, because he loved him

when he finally receives his son, from the woman that he has loved for decades, I can only imagine how much he loved him

but then… after receiving the son that he had been waiting for, God asked the unthinkable

How do we respond when our faith is tested

when God does something that is unthinkable

Genesis 22:1–14 CSB

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.” And he replied, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.” 12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”

Pray!

Our faith will be tested. Those who endure to the end will be given the crown of life.

Answering the Call

Mother Theresa was called to go and serve the poorest of people in Calcutta

I wonder if she ever thought she heard wrong

we joke about mission trips to nice places

Can’t I be a missionary to Hawaii

Too often people believe that if it is hard, it must not be from God

We give Satan too much credit sometimes

if something is hard, it must be Satan making it hard

Genesis 22:1–3 CSB

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about.

We must understand that our God does test us

this does not mean that he tempts us

temptation is offering something leading you to sin

James 1:13–15 CSB

13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

difficulties or hard calls will come that will put your faith to the test

this is not the kind of message that so many people

because we do not understand why this is better for us

we believe that God being for us means that God does what I want

we are a lot like the worldly people we complain about in that way

we live in a a society that says if you do not call me what I want, affirm all delusions and desires I want, you are being evil against me,

but if you love me, you will affirm me

Abraham’s test is one that is hard to understand

explain what God was telling him

sacrifice like other animals had been sacrificed

this was a common practice in the pagan religions in his time

other gods required that children be pass through the fire

meaning they would burn their babies alive

this is not much different than the child sacrifice we see in our country today

that is what abortion is

sacrificing the baby so that we do not have to live with the consequences of decisions

or because we do not want to deal with whatever difficulty that we perceive will come from the baby

we cannot fathom that God would ever call someone to do this

we immediately jump to, “I could never do this.”

God is not calling you to do this… but are you willing to do what he is calling you to do, the test that he is giving you?

our tests are different

meaning each of have different tests

some are given a lot and that is a test

some are given a little

does our heart long to save the stuff that we have, long for the stuff we do not

or do we long for God and see stuff as an instrument to glorify God

We should face the test like Abraham

he gets up early and gets going

he takes everything that he needs to do the sacrifice except the one item that they normally have, the lamb

I am a procrastinator, I am a professional, I come by it naturally, I get it from my mother

when we were preparing for hard times we tend to put off going through it

a tough conversation we might avoid the person

a tough

following the Lord is not an easy road to go down

narrow and hard is the road and few find it

Matthew 7:13–14 CSB

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

Why would we ever want to walk down a difficult road

it leads to life, it leads to Jesus

The Walk of Faith

Those who walk by sight walk alone. Walking by sight is just this—“I believe in myself,” whereas walking by faith is, “I believe in God.”

Charles Spurgeon

Abraham could have disobeyed… yet he woke, got ready and walked… for days

Genesis 22:4–9 CSB

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together. 7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.” And he replied, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood.

Abraham did not leave or walk in doubt

full expecting to sacrifice the only son that he had

Ishmael has left the scene with his mother, Hagar

taken a wife from Egypt where Hagar was from

the temptation is to put my own feelings and logic into the text

Truth - I would run the other direction like Jonah

he wasn’t sacrificing anything, just telling somebody he hated to repent

I want to say that he was torn up for three days as he walked with his son

he may have been, but with expectation that God would do something miraculous

the phrase in v5 tells reads, “the boy and I will go and return”

he believed that the same God who brought life from a dead womb, could return life to a dead body

that is the gospel!

life came to a womb of a virgin

and life came into a dead man’s body defeating the grave

this is the faith of this man and this is the faith of each and every believer

Abraham prophetically speaks (v8)

Isaac asks a question that would cut the heart of a father, where is the lamb

God will provide a lamb for the sacrifice

whether he meant it as a prophecy or not, it certainly was

God has provided a lamb for the sacrifice of all mankind

John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

This walk was not one where expected to be stopped along the way

there was no looking back with every step thinking he would hear to stop

this is how we do this so often

take a step… expect praise for doing as we were called and to be done

Abraham went… expecting God to provide, built an altar, expecting God to do a miracle

too often we walk expecting an easement

that comfort will come with every step

I do not know if that is the case

the comfort does not come with the ease of the walk, or the peace that comes with it

the comfort comes from knowing what we are walking toward

a closer relationship with him

every step is a step closer to the father and a bit more of our sanctification where we look more and more like his son

“God became man that man might become like God.” Augustine

The Provision of the Father

In 1865, a man named George Müller was a struggling orphanage director in England. He had no money, and yet he trusted God would provide for the needs of the children. One morning, with empty plates and no food in sight, Müller prayed for breakfast. Just then, a baker knocked on his door. He felt led to bake bread for the orphans. Shortly after, a milkman offered fresh milk he couldn’t deliver. God had provided! Müller’s unwavering faith teaches us that when we trust God, He often responds in the most unexpected ways.

Genesis 22:10–14 CSB

10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.” 12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”

Sacrifices are gruesome

they are messy, bloody and are meant to show what sin does

it brings death, as was promised from the very beginning

your sin brings death

either you die for your sins, or Christ died for them

to sacrifice an animal they would slit the throat so that it would bleed out

this is what Abraham was preparing to do, even to the point of placing the blade to his throat

notice, Isaac is on the altar, he is bound

most believe that by this time, Isaac is about 13 years old

Had somebody that used to tell me that people need to know what we are saved from

sin brings death, it is gruesome and painful

but that is not the full picture or story, the death we face because of our sin is an eternal death

the full wrath of God

first we need to know this so that we can appreciate the lamb that was provided for us

can you imagine the tears of joy Abraham had knowing that he did not have to go through with this

this is the same reaction a believer has when contemplating what Jesus has done for us

the tears of joy, appreciation, and thanksgiving

second we need to understand that God is justified in this punishment

we all deserve death

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

it is his grace, his mercy and the love that he has for his people that he saves us from the punishment that we deserve

This is the life of a believer and the one who endures to the end will receive the crown of life

James 1:12 CSB

12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Do not fall victim to the easy grace, no sacrifice life that is promised by false prophets and heretics

take the hard steps that God has called us to, submit to him in humble obedience and endure to the end so that you may be crowned with the crown of life