God's Sacrifice
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
The ultimate sacrifice… Ironman death scene
The call to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord.
The call to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord.
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.”
“It is the final test of the man’s faith, the closing bookend to his discovery of God’s sufficiency”1
God tests Abraham’s continued faithfulness.
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.”
The request is difficult
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.”
Only son
whom you love
offer him as a burnt offering
The request had urgency
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.”
Take your son (imperative, command)
Go to the land of Moriah (imperative, command)
Offer him (imperative, command)
on one of the mountains (it had a specific location God had selected)
on the third day
4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
it took three days from command, preparation and the ability to see where God had commanded him go.
On the way to the land of Moriah
On the way to the land of Moriah
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.
Isaac questions where the lamb is for sacrifice
Abraham declares: “God will provide for himself the lamb.”
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 God could bring Isaac back to life and trusted God in the face of a strange request.
The mountain top experience.
The mountain top experience.
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.”
Abraham prepares the alter (Genesis 22:9)
Abraham binds Isaac (Genesis 22:9)
Abraham raises his knife (Genesis 22:10)
The Angel of the Lord calls out to him and stops him. (Genesis 22:11-12)
Abraham passed the test of trusting God completely. (“you fear God”)
Abraham proved everything he has is God’s. (“you have not withheld your son”)
God provided a sacrifice, the ram, for Abraham. (Genesis 22:13, also see Genesis 22:7-8)
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.
God provided the perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ.
God provided the perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ.
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
While Ironman, a fictional character, sacrificed himself to save all the people who were lost in the first snap, Jesus alone could sacrifice himself in order to save all who place their trust in him.
End Notes:
1 K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, vol. 1B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2005), 283.
