Genesis 22-23 Sacrifice of Isaac
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1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “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 of which I shall tell you.” 3 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. 9 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. 11 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.” 15 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. 20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. 1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, 4 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. 17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
Reflections Sunday Message Recap:
“Change it Up”
Pastor Louis H. Straker, Jr.
August 1, 2021
Genesis 42:6 - 8
Everything changed during the pandemic. Work, school, home, life.
We changed our health habits, some for the better, some for the worst.
Online learning was great for some, and terrible for others.
Working from home is great for some, while others became less productive.
These changes had to be made. They were outside of our control
Some change need to be intentional. You decided to change your living environment, clean out, throw away, remodel.
“Some people watch things happen, some make things happen, others wonder what just happened”
If you stop learning and working you will deteriorate in every area of life, mental, physical, and emotional state.
The pandemic isolated us. We are not called to be alone. Fellowship and community are important. Sometimes you need a remix. ‘90’s Hip hop & R&B.
Remix - to mix the elements in a different way.
Remastering - increase the quality of the original by removing removing the flaws.
Repackaging - Sometimes you have to repackage yourself
Reintroduce yourself - Coming out HOT!
Joseph did all the above. Remix, remastered, repackaged, and reintroduced himself.
Let God, remix, remaster, repackage, and then reintroduce yourself after God has His way.
David, Moses, Esther, & Ruth
ICE BREAKER:
In school, how did you typically feel the night before a big test?
Genesis 22:1-2
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “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 of which I shall tell you.”
Question #1:
Try to put yourself in Abraham’s shoes during this moment. What would you have thought? What would you have said?
Genesis 22:3 - 8
3 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.
Question #2: (Posed in group chat)
What words would you use to describe Abraham in this moment? What words would you use to describe God?
LESSON: How would Abraham respond? (v.3) “Abraham got up early in the morning...” God told Abraham to give up the one blessing in his life that he truly treasured most - a legitimate son. His response was to obey immediately. Abraham may not have understood how God would provide, but he knew that God would provide. So he avoided the counterfeits partial obedience and delayed obedience (which are both really disobedience anyway). He followed God boldly into the unknown.
LESSON: (vv. 4-6) When Abraham and Isaac reached the mountain, Abraham told his servants, “...The boy and I will go over there to worship; then come back to you” Abraham believed that he would be coming back with Isaac. The book of Hebrews helps us understand what Abraham was thinking.
Hebrews 11:17 - 19
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, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
Abraham knew the promise was through Isaac, but he also knew that God had commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. so he concluded that God would bring him back from death. Abraham could believe in resurrection because he had already experienced God resurrection power. Sarah’s womb had been “dead” for twenty-five years; Abraham himself was past the age for child bearing as well. The author of Hebrews says in terms of reproduction, the couple was “as good as dead” (Heb. 11:12).
[NOTE: Abraham may not have had a front row seat to a literal resurrection, but he knew that the same resurrection power that brought Isaac into the world would somehow keep him in it.]
LESSON: (vv. 7-8) The situation became awkward when Isaac noticed the lack of an animal for the sacrifice. Abraham knew this was a situation he couldn’t fix. What he had been asked to do was a contradiction, but instead of unraveling, or trying to find a solution himself, he decided to wait on God.
OUR LESSON: When God puts you in a contradiction that has no apparent solution, He alone must be trusted to resolve it.
Genesis 22:9 - 14
9 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. 11 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.”
Question #3: What do you think of the statement made in verse 12, “...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.”?
LESSON: God know everything factual and potential. He had not yet experienced Abraham’s complete obedience. God delights in experiencing what He already knows. And God wanted Abraham to know, and realize his growth in faith.
[Note: Just like you delight in experiencing the love of your significant other. Just like you know and anticipate a healthy child will walk, and talk, when it happens everyone rejoices.]
LESSON: (v. 13) The ram must have been there all the time, but Abraham did not notice it until God wanted to reveal it. The answer to Abraham’s problem was already supplied, but it was only revealed when Abraham took his step of obedience and faith. While Abraham walked up one side of the mountain with his problem, God had arranged it so that up the other side was coming the answer. Please note, however, that God did not reveal the answer until obedience was complete.
SIDE NOTE: We are going to have some challenges in your faith. This walk is not for the faint of heart, we are going to be disappointed, frustrated, offended. But the question is are you going to give up? Or are you like Abraham going to continue to hold on to God’s promises, and believe.
Genesis 22:15 - 19
15 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.
This sounds familiar, but God takes it a step further. The author of Hebrews points out (v. 16, 17) God makes an oath
[NOTE: God repeated and expanded his promise to Abraham. “I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars… and the sand of the seashore, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring.”]
Hebrews 6:13 - 19
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
LESSON: What is the difference between a promise and an oath? God’s promises are what He is going to do once all conditions are met.
But and oath means that He is ready to do it. You may have to wait for a promise, but the oath means that the promise is well on the way to fulfillment. It is because of these two realities (promise and oath) that it is impossible for God to lie. His veracity assumes both.
Genesis 22:20 -24
20 Now after these things it was told to Abraham, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 (Bethuel fathered Rebekah.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 Moreover, his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
This is a set up for chapter 24 when Isaac takes a wife. One name should stand out, Rebekah.
Genesis 23:1
1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
Seems like a random detail, but it shows God’s gracious provision to Sarah. She had Isaac at 90 years old, and not only to old to have children, but to old to spend any significant time with them. And yet God gave her almost four decades with her son. This lets us know that even in the spam of our short lives God cares about such details.
Genesis 23:2
2 And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Question #4: What passing of a loved one impacted you the most?
Comment: Can you imagine Abraham recounting all that he and Sarah had been through.
[Note: What are some of the ways you have mourned the loss of a loved one?]
Genesis 23:3 - 20
3 And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, 4 “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The Hittites answered Abraham, 6 “Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” 7 Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. 8 And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. 17 So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
Question #5: Why all this talk of burial plots? Why do you think is was important that Abraham decided to bury his wife in Canaan rather than take her back to the family burial ground in Ur of the Chaldeans?
LESSON: Remember, Abraham was in the land of Canaan and saw his wife’s death the opportunity to seize the firstfruits of God’s promise. This explains why he insisted upon paying the full price for his burial plot rather than receiving it as a gift, as Ephron and the other local leaders desired (23:6, 11). Abraham knew he could not hold lasting rights on a gifted grave. An actual sale, on the other hand with an exchange of money (23:15) and a company of witnesses (23:16), would give him a toehold in possessing the land of Canaan.
CLOSING: Faith takes time and experience to develop, and even when you reach a new milestone the Lord will not put you to a new test, so you can go even higher, and have more impact on the lives around you. Then with that you will have to act, and be willing to pay the price necessary to receive the promise.
So the question is: What has God called us to be and are we willing to pay the price. Do we value what our Creator has for us?