Isaac- The Making of a Hero

Review

Last week we continued our “Heroes of the Faith” series by looking at the life of Sarah. We learned that Sarah was one of those women about whom King Lemuel spoke, who did her husband good and not evil all the days of her life (Prov. 31:12).

A woman can only be that kind of wife when she believes that nothing is too difficult for God, and when she believes that God can use even her husband’s mistakes to bring glory to Himself and blessing to their lives. And a man can only be worthy of such a submissive wife when he has learned to follow God’s directions rather than pursue his own selfish goals, He knows he has no superiority to warrant his position of leadership. It is given to him by God. So he accepts it as a sacred trust and discharges it in full submission to his Lord and unselfish consideration for his wife and what is best for her

Isaac

Today, I want to take a look at the promised child. The one about whom all this fuss was made. We’ve already gone over the story of the Akedah. The word Akedah refers to the binding of Isaac, when Abraham offered his son as a holocaust sacrifice to God on Mt. Moriah. This was the profound event when God provided a ram caught by his horns in the thicket of a thorn bush when the angel stayed Abraham’s hand from literally sacrificing Isaac unto the Lord. For centuries, the Jewish people viewed the Akedah as a vicarious sacrifice for all the descendants of Abraham as Christians we can see that it was much more than that, it was a type of the sacrifice that God Himself would make, when He sacrificed His own son for our sins.

So much of what we see in scripture- especially Old Testament scripture speaks directly to us as Christians. Sadly many Christians are of the incorrect belief that there is nothing more to learn from the Old Testament, and that the promises from the Old Testament are no longer valid.

Some go as far as to say that the Jews are no longer blessed, but in fact, cursed. They seem to believe that because Jesus was “killed by the Jews”, the Jews are under some kind of curse, and thus use this flawed understanding of scripture and history to justify within themselves a very ugly anti-Semitic attitude. Why do I say it is a flawed understanding of scripture? Well first of all, it wasn’t the Jews who killed Jesus, it was the Romans. The Jews did not have the authority to put anyone to death. Did they play a part? Of course, but then again, didn’t you? Didn’t you play a part in Jesus death by being a sinner? By extension then, no one is exempt from having put Jesus to death, we are all responsible, and if this is the basis for which some would say that Jews are cursed, and have some sort of twisted and evil hatred toward them, they that say that are under the very same curse for being just as responsible.

But that’s not what scripture teaches. Listen to what Paul says:

Romans 11:1–18 NKJV

I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: “God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.” And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, And bow down their back always.” I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Look carefully at verse 18. “Do not boast against the branches” Who are the branches? The Jews are the branches- the Jews that were cut off from the tree. Then what is the root? The root is actually their faith- it is their way of life, it is Judaism itself, because remember the first churches looked nothing like our modern church, it looked exactly like a Jewish synagogue, because it was. It was a group of Jewish people who had finally found their Messiah and were rejoicing in it!

So when scripture says the root supports you, it really means you are supported in your faith by the very faith of those who rejected Christ. In other words, Judaism. Now am I saying, we ought to all become Jewish? Of course not, but I want us to open our hearts to truth, not to hate or bad doctrine, and there is really bad doctrine called replacement theology that says the church the way it exists today has replaced all the promises made to Israel. The Bible is very clear on this point. Skip down to verse 25:

Romans 11:25–32 NKJV

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Look specifically at verse 26 – It says all Israel will be saved! This is something we need to consider very carefully, because if we have hatred or animosity toward the Jews, we hate our own brothers.

So back to our story of Isaac – the akedah, it was put in the Old Testament for two reasons.

To show the faithfulness of a God who keeps His promises.

To show the faithfulness of a man who trusted God to keep his promises.

What then was the result of this faithfulness? A new and improved promise!

Whenever God asks us to sacrifice something to Him – especially a promise He has made us, we get it back with interest. He always gives us something bigger than what He had originally given us.

So let’s look at God’s promise concerning Isaac and put that in context with what we know so far.

Genesis 22:15–19 NKJV

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.

Isn’t that an amazing blessing? Then is it any wonder that Abraham would be picky about the upbringing of His son. If you knew your son was destined for greatness, would you not make sure to send him to the best schools you could possibly afford, get him the best training, feed him the best foods – everything that you could possibly do to get him the best start in life?

Well, this is the mindset of Abraham at the end of his life. In Chapter 23 we see that Sarah dies at the age of 127. Abraham was 10 years older than she and he was 100 when Isaac was born, so at this point Isaac would be about 37 years old. A little old to be living at home, even by the standards of those days.

Abraham takes inventory of his life and comes to some conclusions. Let’s read:

Genesis 24:1–9 NKJV

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

What did Abraham conclude?

He was old – coming to the end of life.

He was wealthy (God had blessed him just as he promised).

Isaac had no wife.

The last one was a real problem for him because without a wife, Isaac was not able to fulfill his destiny of being a father of many nations. The real issue was that while there were plenty of women around, they were not the right kind of women.

Abraham knew that the women of Canaan were not fit for his son. He knew they were corrupt. Remember, the seed stock from which they came – their forefather for whom they were named was the one cursed by Noah for reporting and mocking his nakedness. These were his descendants. Abraham would have been unwilling for his son to marry one so cursed. The descendants of Canaan were to be slaves forever. Isaac and his descendants, however, were to be a nation of kings.

Abraham knew that he’d have to get Isaac a wife and the best place to do that was from amongst his own people. There was also a difficulty with this as well. God had called Abraham out of that land. Abraham was supposed to go to the new land and inhabit the land of blessing. The rub was that going home is always very comfortable. It is easy to o back to what is comfortable and familiar. It is really easy to go back to where you came from. Abraham did not want to provide that temptation for Isaac.

Men, let me talk to you for a second. Many of you know what God has delivered you from. You know that there are temptations that are common to men and that can drag you down. Just about every man deals with these temptations, and it is easy to fall back into old patterns. Notice that Abraham does all in his power to protect his son from the comfort and familiarity of the old and keeps him square in the promise land.

So what am I saying? Guys, it’s up to you to lead and provide an example to your kids. Don’t let them be looking at stuff on TV or on the Internet that will cause them to want to go running to the very things from which God has delivered you. Know what they are watching, know where they are surfing. Be brutal, be tricky, do what you need to do to get in their business, and guess what? These days it’s not just our sons that are at risk, it’s our daughters too. Parents, we cannot be passive about this!

Back to Abraham: ‎After having made excuses to leave the promise land during the famine, an older and wiser Abraham now entreats his servant not to remove his son from the place of blessing even if it means he cannot get a wife there.

Genesis 24:5–7 NKJV

And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Three times he says, “Do not take my son back there!” We should be so passionate about keeping our kids safe! Well, the servant goes off and this is no ordinary servant. This is a servant that is very specifically trusted by Abraham. Read what it says:

Genesis 24:10–14 NKJV

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

“For all his master’s goods were in his hand.” That is some trust. Can you imagine trusting someone so completely that you give them all of your passwords all of your account numbers and give them full access to all your wealth to do whatever they need? That is crazy strong trust! Can you imagine being trusted like that? The trust is not unmerited. In order to be trusted like this, we must be faithful.

Proverbs 27:18 NKJV

Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; So he who waits on his master will be honored.

In other words, be faithful in the work God has called you to do and he will sustain you with it. If you are unfaithful, then the fruitfulness will also fail you. Paul instructs Titus to admonish the laborers in his church:

Titus 2:9–10 NKJV

Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Are we faithful employees doing all these things? If so, then we are adorning the doctrine of God our Savior. If not, then we are making it profane. I think I’ve mentioned to you before that Christians can sometimes be the worst people to have as employees. I have had my share and especially once they find out I’m also a believer, they become really hard to manage. Saints, this is not the work ethic that God had in mind for us. We must be always on the alert to hear from God. This is the key to our success as employees and as believers that adorn the name of God rather than profane it.

Look at how this servant handles the whole bride for Isaac thing, he does something very insightful. He sets up a test. This isn’t an ordinary test because well, getting water from the well was not an easy task. Offering the man water to drink would speak of the woman’s hospitality. It would be an expected kindness in that culture to welcome a stranger and even to give them water to drink. But to water there camels would be an extraordinary step over and above! This would require an exceptional woman. Only a selfless woman because it would be hard enough to water one camel, much less 10! But Rebekah was up to the task.

Genesis 24:15–28 NKJV

And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.” So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?” So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.” Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.

So now we know something about Rebekah- Rebekah is a woman much like Sarah, and what do we know about Sarah? She’s a proverbs 31 woman. What then do we know about Isaac? He was raised by a man of faith, who was also married to a Proverbs 31 woman. Men, if you want the very best for your sons, then be the type of man who is worthy of a Proverbs 31 woman, and you’ll see that God will also grant him the kind of wife you have trained him to deserve.

Likewise with your daughters, train them up to be Proverbs 31 women, and they will have their choice of husbands. She will be able to discern who the correct man is because she will trust God to bring him to her.

Abraham set up his son. He set him up for success. Gave him an amazing wife, and all the wealth he could need, but he also gave him something that can’t be measured or counted. He gave him resolve. Look at what happens right away to Isaac after his father dies.

Genesis 26:1–6 NKJV

There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

Notice the difference? This time the man of faith believed God and did not run to Egypt. Instead, he stayed in the promised land, because that’s where God told him to go. Apparently he learned something from his father after all. Next week we find that not all he learned was good. Why not? Because he will face a situation like the one his father faced twice and failed at – twice! What is important about that is not that Abraham failed, it was that he never tried to fix it because there is no sign of repentance.

Conclusion

Heroes aren’t just born, they’re made. If you want your children to be a hero of the faith, then you’re going to have to do everything in your power to get them there. It doesn’t matter that you’ve made mistakes- as long as you are careful to give account for them, repent of them, and use them as an opportunity to teach your children the right way to go. It may be that your kids learn more from how you react to your failures than to how you handle your victories.

Let us pray,

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’