The Child of Promise Takes a Bride

Isaac: The Child of Promise  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  33:45
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Genesis 22:1-19
Genesis 22:1–19 NIV
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Context:
God has blessed Abraham and promised further blessing, a land, and a numerous nation
God has covenanted with Abraham and reminded Abraham numerous time of that
The first step of becoming a nation has occurred and Isaac was born
Isaac is the future
Introduction: The Lord has been greatly blessing Abraham wherever he has gone according to the promise God made to him in Genesis 12. The promise for a great nation however appears to hinge on this one son, Isaac, as there are no grand kids. In the account this morning we look at each of the three main characters to see how God kept the promise to Abraham and what that means for you.

ABRAHAM - OBEDIENCE AND TRUST (Vv. 1-6, 8-9)

1. Call and response

Calls Abraham - immediate response “here am I” -3x (different each time?)
Jacob when fleeing Esau / Moses at the burning bush / Isaiah responding to God’s call to proclaim the Word of the Lord; neg - Adam and Eve
call for the sacrifice of ‘only’ son
this is a test “some time later” “After these things”(ESV) - uncover or reveal what is there
Job - not to see if it’s there, but to uncover that it is there
Hebrews 11:17-19
Hebrews 11:17–19 ESV
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.
faith confirmed
not a coincidence that Ishmael has recently been cast out leaving him only one son - Isaac. now he going to be gone, too?
Abraham was only becoming more wealthy, the nation was coming more into view
Offer him up - burnt offering - what is it?
Reading through Genesis - Noah
Israelites - Leviticus - complete, nothing left over but ashes (@ sinai - All that the Lord says we will do Ex 19:8)
Disciples - “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28)
Peter - ‘never lord’ response to Jesus explanation that he had to be killed and on the 3rd day be raised to life (Matt 16:21)
Abraham’s unquestioning response is presented in such a clinical way that it almost begs us to imagine the internal torture it must have been for Abraham to obey
21:11 “early the next morning” Abraham sent his 1st born son away with God’s alleviating his distress to do so
18:23 Abraham pleaded for grace to Lot in Sodom
15 - brought all the animals and prepared them as God commanded
gen 15.6 - Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (has the sense of ‘trusted’)
14 - took 318 of his fighting men to rescue Lot
Abraham responds as one who trusts the one commanding him

2. Sign of relationship

God calls him by name, he knows Abraham
the new name that God has given him!
By this point Abraham has had several interactions directly (‘Go’, ‘Sarah will have a son’ ) and indirectly (God protecting Sarah from Pharoah and Abimelech)
Burnt offering - most common
always an establishing or reestablishing relationship
Abraham sees to the prep work himself (v3)
could be out of sheer emotion - can’t sleep / could be out of commitment to the Lord
regardless the emotional state of Abraham he will place his relationship with God over even his relationship to his most beloved son
this is drawn out! so many opportunities to turn back / stop the show
3 days journey (leaving their home) / go and I’ll tell you when you get there / mountain in the distance
Solidly rooted- we are seeing Abraham’s faith being worked out - revealed for what it is, trust
James 2:23 - Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” - and he was called a friend of God
Abraham has ‘faith was completed in the obedience of the Aqedah’ (Faith without works is dead)
when aksed where the Lamb is Abraham replies “God himself will provide” ESV - “God will provide for himself”
there wasn’t a problem for Abraham, the problem was God’s to figure out

ISAAC - BELIEF & OBEDIENCE (V 7)

1. Result of discipleship

1st words of the promised child
‘behold’ - look there’s something missing [missing in NIV]
he’s seen the burnt offering before - numerous times
how old? - range of old enough to carry the firewood needed for a burnt offering (14
Adults - kids are watching and
Active at every stage
kids: continue to love your parents and listen when they tell you about what the Bible says
teens: your parents and the other Christians in this congregation are not perfect - judge God by the content of his character revealed in the Word, not the frailty of

2. Utter dependence

Unqualified/total/complete
Isaac is the future -
He has been told of God’s covenant,
lives with the consequences of his parents belief and doubt
from the way Genesis presents it, Isaac never met Ishmael - but certainly heard of him!
Isaac accepts Abraham’s response to the missing lamb
Isaac on the alter - I believe willingly -
What we see is not a forced or contrived obedience - whatever the motivation, the actions speak volumes
although this test is for Abraham and not Isaac, Isaac’s role is key

God: PROVISION (Vv. 10-19)

1. Supreme vision

latin ‘pro’+ ‘videre’ / greek - ‘pro’ ‘noe’w’ / Hebrew - Jehovah Jireh - really the root is see
16:13 - Hagar - the one who sees
12:7, 17:1, 18:1, 16:2, 24 - etc - “the Lord appeared to him”
The Lord will see to the promise nations/land/blessing
v16 “I swear by myself”
God not only knows what’s in the heart, he knows what is needing to be accomplished
‘God will see to it’ / ‘God will make it be seen’
John Piper - “wherever God is looking, God is acting”

2. Ultimate vindication

Abraham in stepping out in faith ram
Mount “God will provide” - lasting legacy of what God has done
not to be remembered for Abraham’s obedience or Isaac’s submission, but God’s miraculous provision
there is another son who was restrained by his arms and his legs
there is another son who who in fact was the lamb fit for the sacrifice
there is another son who put himself up for death
the Christ figure in this account is the ram
“Who killed Jesus? Who killed Him? It wasn't Judas out of greed. It wasn't the Jews out of envy. It was His Father out of love.” - Octavius Winslow 19th Century English Pastor
(v18) The results of this is a blessing to all the nations
No, God sees to it to keep the promised child is safe. For more than Abraham could know, Jehoviah Jirah is the one who provides (and only one who could provide!) for the great descendant Jesus of Nazareth.

Application

1. Be a relationship builder

What’s your relationship like with the lord - are you laying a good foundation? building on it?
what opportunities are you taking advantage of? godly parents
how are you involved in building up other’s relationship with the Lord? - discipleship of all ages, evangelism

2. Reside in the Lord’s sight

trust and obey
God has displayed his character
God has Promised, he will provide
no circumstances that arise, no doubts that pester you
Romans 8:31-39 - he has promised!
Romans 8:31–39 ESV
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 1:19-20
2 Corinthians 1:19–20 NIV
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
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