The Life of Abraham: Abraham Tried and True

Genesis 22:1-19 Abraham: Tried and True Introduction: For this—the last, the highest, but also the steepest ascent in Abraham’s life of faith—all God’s previous leadings and dealings had been gradually preparing and qualifying him. In this chapter the narrator gives a deliberate parallel development between Genesis 12:1-9 and Genesis 22:1-19. In Genesis 12 the Lord commanded Abram to “go”, offer up his past (country, kindred, father’s house), and receive the promises of the Lord’s rich blessings. In this narrative the Lord commands Abraham to “go”, but now to offer up his future, “your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love.” We are told that God was testing Abraham. When God test his people he does so to bring out true faith, he does not do it to cause us to sin. But to prove the character that he has been working in us. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The tests of God are to bring about or result in a greater revelation of Jesus Christ which brings praise glory and honor to his name. This is exactly what we see in this chapter; Abraham is tried by God which results in a greater revelation of who God is. 1. The Tension: “Take 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 that I will show you.” a. Problem #1 i. How Could God ask Abraham to kill his son? ii. This seems to go in direct contradiction to the Character of God 1. Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” 2. Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” 3. Deuteronomy 12:31 “You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.” 4. Leviticus 18:21 “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” b. Problem #2 i. This request seemed to go against all that God had previously said and promised to Abraham. 1. Isaac was the Son of promise. a. Ishmael has been recorded as been cast out in the last chapter, and before that God had even said this one shall not be your heir but through Isaac, God had promised to fulfill his word to Abraham. 2. Isaac was the future. a. In him all the blessings God had promised were guaranteed. Through Isaac Abraham would become a great nation- without Isaac it could not come true. Isaac was the embodiment of all of God’s promises. b. God asks Abraham to burn his bridges in front of him as he had burned his bridges behind him and to walk with God alone, to rely solely on God. 3. More was at stake here, it was through Isaac that Abraham was to become a blessing to “all the families of the earth”. Calvin says, “in the person of this son, the whole salvation of the world seemed to be extinguished and to perish.” 4. God is asking Abraham to sabotage his own future, all that he had waited for. 2. The Tension Rises. a. Ten times this narrative uses the word “son” to indicate the enormous sacrifice God was requiring of Abraham. b. Moreover, it is now Abraham’s only Son, the one he loves. i. Interestingly, this is the first time the word love is used in all of scripture. It isn’t used in the context between lovers, or even in Genesis 2 where we find the first marriage but it is used to describe a father’s feelings, and commitment to his son. ii. Abraham's trust was to be weighed in the balance against common sense, human affection, and lifelong ambition; in act against everything earthly. 3. Abraham the man of faith rises to the occasion. a. “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.” b. Abraham's faith is even demonstrated as we see that he arises early and makes preparation for the journey. His response is immediate. i. Abraham, amazingly, obeyed God. But the question is, “Why?” Was he just morally good-natured? No. We’ve already seen what kind of a sinner he was. So how does a sinner like Abraham come to a place where he is able to obey God so steadfastly in such a difficult situation? By faith! 1. Faith is not in the unknown, but faith is rooted in God and his character so that we do not fear the unknown. a. Faith is the response to the goodness of God, the faithfulness of God and the power of God. b. Abraham basis everything on God’s revealed character and his past faithfulness. God has been faithful to Abraham even when Abraham was faithless; he has been gracious to Abraham when Abraham has failed to obey and glorify God. i. God had promised to make Abraham, through Isaac, a great nation. Abraham believed that. Thus, Abraham believed that somehow, in some way, God would spare Isaac’s life through this ordeal. c. It is on this basis that Abraham can walk forward in obedience and confidence that God knows what he is doing even though it makes no sense to Abraham. i. Hebrews 11:17 “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.” c. Abraham displays faith by his perseverance in God’s call. i. It was a three day journey to the place of sacrifice. This was not a rash in the moment kind of decision; but for three days, Abraham would be thinking, wondering, agonizing over what lay ahead of him, the death of his son by his own hand. d. Abraham displays his faith in his conversation with the young men. 1. The assurance that Isaac as well as Abraham would come again from the sacrifice was not an empty phrase: it was Abraham's full conviction, on the ground, "in Isaac shall your seed be called" (21:12) as this verse clearly shows 2. Isn’t that astounding? God’s instructions seemed to contradict God’s character and God’s promises. But, instead of disobeying God’s instructions and doubting God’s promises, Abraham was busy brainstorming how God might make it all work together for his good! And he came up with a possible solution—resurrection! e. Abraham displays his faith in his response to Isaac’s inquiry about the lamb. i. Abraham's "God will provide" in response to Isaac's question is a picture of his complete certainty of God. ii. God's method was his own affair; it would take them both by surprise. f. Abraham continues to show faith in his building of the altar , and the binding of Isaac, even to the point of laying him on the altar and lifting up the knife to lay the death blow. 4. God's provision is found to have been ready and waiting, the victim becomes a substitute for Isaac. a. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 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.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 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.”And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 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, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.” Conclusion: 1. Why did God call Abraham to do such a thing if it was only a test? a. What is God’s response to Abraham’s obedient action? i. “now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” b. In every one of our lives there is a tendency to mistake the blessings of God, for God himself. c. God will puts our hearts to the test to see if he really is everything to us. i. Abraham’s most prized possession—was his son, his only son, whom he loved, Isaac. And thus, the loss of Isaac would be the keenest test of Abraham’s faith in and love towards God. 2. What is it in your life that you hold in such high regard that if God took it from you it would destroy you? a. For some it is the loss of security and comfort - that’s what it was for the church in the book of Hebrews. For others it’s the loss of reputation. For some it’s the death of a loved one. For others it’s goals and achievements, if God doesn’t fulfill they’re wishes and wants they’re tempted to turn away or doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness to them. b. Abraham’s most prized possession—was his son, his only son, whom he loved, Isaac. Would he still love God if God took away his good gifts? Would he still follow God if God took away his son, his only son, whom he loved, Isaac? These are questions we must ask of ourselves: “Would I still love God if...? i. God is asking us are you willing to sabotage your life for my sake? You’ve given me your past, but I also want your future? 3. What was the revelation that Abraham received? a. In the introduction I quoted from 1 Peter 1, "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” b. Abraham calls the place Jehovah-Jireh meaning: "the Lord sees” or “the Lord will provide" and from this the Jews had a saying which was "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided" or "On the mount of the Lord it will come clear." i. Jesus, speaking to the Jews thousands of years later, would say, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:56-58) c. Abraham foresaw in the lamb that took Isaac’s place that God would provide himself as a substitutionary sacrifice that his people might live. d. Abraham saw the Gospel fully displayed there on Mount Moriah. i. If Abraham had not obeyed God’s command he would have never seen this perfect picture of what God would do through his seed and how he truly would be a blessing to all the inhabitants of the world.