Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Everyone loves a good story.

So much of our world’s entertainment throughout all of human history is made up of stories: love stories, war stories, stories of adventure.

Most stories are very much alike even though they are told about different people, set in different places and times.

Usually the hero meets a girl, problems arise, boy loses girl to bad guy, boy rescues girl, and they live happily ever after.

That’s the plot to hundreds of thousands of movies, shows, plays, novels, and tales.

Only once and a while does a story come along that is so unique that it stands out and captures the imagination of people of all ages and in all ages.

A tale that people tell generation after generation after generation.

Such is the tale of Abraham and his call by God to sacrifice Isaac on the mountain.

This is perhaps the most intriguing and interesting story in all of the Old Testament.

And that is the story we are going to look at tonight.

However, before we get to that moment on the mountain, we must first look at this story in its context.

This test of Abraham’s faith in is actually the climax and culmination of a whole life of faith, testing and failure that comprises 10 chapters of Genesis.

So tonight what we are going to do is take a 20,000 foot view of these 10 chapters that comprise Abraham’s life and then we are going to zoom in at the end on Abraham and Isaac on the Mountain.

Structurer

I’m going to break this 10 chapter story up into 4 sections for you today:

God’s First Test: -12:9

God Tests Abraham about the Land:

God Tests Abraham about the Seed:

God’s Final Test:

Main Point

So, much of the world’s literature consists of stories: love stories, war stories, stories of adventure.

Most of these are very much alike, though they are told about different people and are set in different places and circumstances: boy meets girl, a problem arises, boy loses girl, the problem is overcome, boy gets girl again, they live happily ever after.

Only occasionally does a story come along that is so unique that it captures the imagination of people, not merely in one age, but in all ages.

The historical record of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac is one of these stories.

As F. B. Meyer wrote, “So long as men live in the world, they will turn to this story with unwaning interest.

There is only one scene in history by which it is surpassed: that where the Great Father gave his Isaac to a death from which there was no deliverance.

So we are going to look at 4 tests and what we are going to see in these 4 tests - what I want you to learn tonight is that God is faithful even when Abraham’s fail’s God’s tests and that God is faithful to shape Abraham’s faith through Abraham’s failures.

Put another way God shapes Abraham’s faith and remains faithful even when Abraham’s faith fails.

God shapes your faith and remains faithful to you even when your faith fails.

Let’s begin by looking at God’s First Test, open your bibles to Genesis 11

1.

God’s First Test:

A. Background ()

This narrative begins with multiple obstacles to be overcome.

First, there is a tragic death in the family of Terah, “28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.”

Secondly, Abram and his family are in a foreign land of Ur which is in the land of the Chaldeans located near Babel.

Lastly, we see in verse 30 that, “30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.”

Abram’s brother is dead, they are living in a foreign land and his wife is barren meaning that his line will most likely end with him.

We can safely say that at this point things aren’t going well for Abram and his family.

B.

God calls Abram ()

In the midst of this difficult background God comes and speaks to Abram.

Look with me at verse 1, ““Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.”

This is very important.

Circle the word Go for me in your bibles.

That is a very important word in this story.

The Lord comes to Abram and commands that Abram go and leave his father’s house and go to a foreign land.

Think about that.

He was called to make a massive sacrifice and separate from everyone and everything he had known in order to follow God.

God doesn’t stop there though, He makes covenant promises to Abram starting in verse 2, “ 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

First we see that God promises to Abram that He will make him a great nation.

We see God has chosen Abram to make a great nation and make his name great.

Next we see that God promises to bless Abram.

Though Abraham all the nations - all the families of the earth will experience this blessing.

In summary, God promised Abram a Land, He promised to make Him a great nation, implying that He would grant Abram an an offspring and lastly, He promised that Abram would be a blessing to all the nations.

Write this down next to chapter 12: Land, Seed and Blessing.

What did God promise Abraham?

Land, Seed and Blessing.

God is in the process of returning mankind to the rest and blessing they had in Eden.

God created Adam and Eve and placed them in paradise - in the garden of Eden and he blessed them and then he rested.

Blessing and rest.

Those two things are tied together.

But, you know the story, Satan tempted Eve, Eve and Adam sinned and they were kicked out of the garden.

Instead of blessing there was curse.

Instead of rest there was toil.

Then came Noah and the flood.

Does anyone know what Noah’s name means?

It means rest - what does Noah mean?

Rest.

After God gave the world a giant bath - also known as the world wide flood He blessed Noah with the exact same blessing he gave to Adam and Eve in the garden.

Again what does Noah’s name mean Rest?

God blessed the man who’s name means Rest.

Blessing and rest tied together again.

God also made a covenant with Noah and if you remember in that covenant he promised never to flood the earth again but He also restrained the curse on the ground and put the fear of man in animals.

God’s covenant promise brought a small picture of rest- he restrained the curse and made man’s work less toilsome.

So now, when we get to God’s promise to Abraham to bless him we can see that this language of blessing naturally ties this promise of the Noahic covenant to Abraham and the nation that will come from him.

Though Abraham all the nations - all the families of the earth will experience blessing - the same blessing and rest that Adam and Eve had in the garden.

Do you see that connection?

In summary, God promised Abram a Land, He promised to make Him a great nation, implying that He would grant Abram an an offspring and lastly, He promised that Abram would be a blessing to all the nations.

Write this down next to chapter 12: Land, Seed and Blessing.

What did God promise Abraham?

Land, Seed and Blessing.

In summary, God promised Abram a Land, He promised to make Him a great nation, implying that He would grant Abram an an offspring and lastly, He promised that Abram would be a blessing to all the nations.

Write this down next to chapter 12: Land, Seed and Blessing.

This language of blessing naturally ties this promise of the Noahic covenant to Abram and the nation that will come from him.

Furthermore, it is through Abram’s nation that all the nations will be blessed.

In summary, God promised Abram a Land, He promised to make Him a great nation, implying that He would grant Abram an an offspring (or seed) lastly, He promised that Abram would be a blessing to all the nations.

Starting in verse 6 we see Abram’s response, “ 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.

Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.

When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh.

At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

Abram acts in faithful obedience to God.

He goes to the land of Canaan.

God promises Abram that this land will be the land of his offspring.

What is significant about this land is that it is in the center of the known world.

To travel down to Egypt you must go through Canaan.

To travel up to the lands of Syria you must go through Canaan.