A Sneak Preview of Coming Attractions

1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now 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 and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

I read once about a couple who had their first little baby, and the father had been assigned the unenviable task all fathers have of eventually changing his first dirty diaper. Well he dreaded it like the bubonic plague, but finally gritting his teeth he took off the diaper of his little baby, only to discover that it was only just a little bit dirty. Well, he breathed a huge sigh of relief and was kind of chuckling to himself when his wife walked into the room, immediately sized up what had happened, and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't be too happy because that is just a sneak preview of coming attractions."

That is exactly what we have in the 22nd chapter of Genesis. Here we see one of the clearest pictures and prophesies of the Lord Jesus Christ found in all of the Old Testament. It is important to keep in mind as you read the Old Testament that all of the Bible is about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself said on one occasion, "Search the scriptures for...these are they which testify of Me." Of course, when he said those words he was speaking only of the Old Testament.

Again, Jesus said in John 8:56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." I believe there were a number of times that Abraham saw Jesus in the Old Testament, and I believe here in this 22nd chapter of Genesis is one such occasion.

In Genesis 22, Abraham receives a firsthand lesson from the Master Teacher Himself about Christ, Calvary, and the cross. One commentator called this chapter "A dress rehearsal for Calvary."

Because we see here in picture and in type a clear portrait of what the Bible is truly all about; a Savior dying for the sins of the world.

I. A Startling Statement, Genesis 22:2

“Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love."

Never in all of the Bible does God ever make a stronger or a stranger demand on one of his children than the one found in these first two verses: "Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Take now 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.'" (vv.1-2)

We immediately discern that this meant two things for Abraham:

A. A Powerful Trial

Abraham had waited one hundred years for this son Isaac to be born. Like another Son, born thousands of years later by a miracle birth, Isaac was a son of promise and prophecy.

God had prophesied that Abraham and Sarah would have a son, and He promised them that this son would be the son of blessing. All of Abraham's hopes, dreams, aspirations and goals, were wrapped up in that young man. God was asking Abraham to give up his son of promise forever. Even more, God asked Abraham to offer him as a sacrifice upon an altar.

Can you imagine how Abraham must have felt? His heart sank, his knees buckled, his stomach twisted into a knot. For a brief moment despair, doubt, disillusionment, and disappointment must have flooded his soul.

Notice the emphasis that God places on just exactly what this son means to Abraham. He didn't just say "get up Isaac." He says in v.2, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love." Abraham had been through many trials and troubles, but never one like faced him now.

I am sure you are asking the question, "How could God ask a man to give up his only son for Him?" Well, I think there is an even bigger question, how could God give up His only Son for man? Because that is exactly what God did when He gave his only begotten, beloved Son for you and for me. But an even greater question than how, is the question why? Why did God make this demand upon Abraham?

B. A Purposeful Test From the very beginning we are told "God tested Abraham," v.1

Now the King James Version has the word tempt, but the Hebrew word Nasa literally means "to test."

There is a tremendous difference between tempting and testing. A temptation is a demonic device meant to defeat us. A test is a divine device meant to develop us. One gives you a choice to do what is wrong. The other gives you a chance to do what is right. One is meant to cause you to stumble. The other is meant to help you to stand.

We know that God never ever tempts anyone to do evil. For the Bible says in James 1:13, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone."

Now in school a test is given to evaluate your level of learning. But in the school of life God gives a test to evaluate your level of living. This test was a climax of tests that God had given to Abraham throughout his life.

In chapter 11 God gave Abraham the family test. He called upon Abraham to leave his home, his mother and father and relatives, to move out of Ur and go to the land of Canaan.

In chapter 12 he was given the famine test. For when a famine came to Canaan the Bible says he departed the will of God and went down to Egypt.

In chapter 13 he was given the fellowship test. When a conflict arose between him and his nephew Lot, instead of demanding his way, he gave Lot his choice of land.

In chapter 14 he was given the fight test. Because we are told there he defeated all of the kings of Sodom who had kidnapped Lot, and he rescued him.

He also was given in that chapter the fortune test because he was offered all of the wealth of Sodom, but he turned it down.

In chapters 15 and 16 he was given the fatherhood test. God had promised to Abraham and Sarah they would have a boy. But they were impatient; they would not wait on God and he fathered the child called Ishmael by his servant Hagar.

But here in chapter 22 God has reserved for Abraham the greatest test of all, the faith test. God wanted to know and to show whether Abraham's faith was in his only Son, or his faith was in an omnipotent God.

It's so important to understand that God did not want Isaac's life, he wanted Abraham's loyalty. God did not want Abraham's son, he wanted Abraham's heart. He wanted Abraham to see that he could do without Isaac, but he could not do without God.

That's why the Lord said to Abraham in v.12, "And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.'"

Child of God, you need to remember that every trouble and every trial that comes into your life is a test. God is not nearly concerned with what happens to you as He is with how you respond to what happens to you. Elizabeth Elliott said, "Every experience of trial puts us to this test: 'Do you trust God, or don't you?'"1

II. A Submissive Servant, Genesis 22:5-6

5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.

Now you will not fully understand this story until you go beyond it, and get behind it, and see in Abraham a picture of God the Father, and in Isaac a picture of God the Son.

Verses 5 and 6 tell us that Abraham and Isaac left their party behind and went up the mountain together alone. Because this was a transaction that could only take place between the father and the son.

A. A Father Willing To Sacrifice His Son, Genesis 22:3

"So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and be split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him." (v.3)

The magnitude of Abraham's faith never ceases to amaze me. God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice his only Son on Mount Moriah. There is no debate, no discussion, no defiance, no delay. He just goes.

Here we see one of the greatest acts of faith in all of the Bible. Do you know why I believe Abraham had such strong faith? Because his faith had been fed by facts.

First of all, he was confident in the promise of God. Abraham remembered that God had said to him one chapter earlier in v.12, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." He knew that the purposes of God never contradict the promises of God, and God had promised him that he would have further seed and the seed would come through Isaac.

But he was also confident in the provision of God. "But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.' And the two of them went together" (vv.7-8)

How could Abraham be so sure that God would provide a lamb? Well he knew that the God that he served was the God who can "supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." He knew that where God guides, God provides.

Abraham also was confident in the plan of God.

Abraham makes almost an arrogantly cocky statement in v.5. He said to the two young men traveling with him, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."

Notice, he did not say I would come back, he said, "we" will come back. He knew that one of two things was going to happen. Either God was going to provide a substitute, or else he was going to raise Isaac back from the dead.

Hebrews 1l:17-19 tells us this very thing: "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,' accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense."

But the reason why Abraham was so confident in the promise of God and the provision of God and the plan of God, was because he was so confident in the person of God.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon wisely and well said, "Trust God, He cannot, He will not, fail you."

What trust, what faith, what confidence we see here on the part of this wonderful father. Abraham had determined in his heart, “If I can trust God with my soul, then surely I can trust God with my son."

I heard about a man who gave his business completely to God. He had hassled over it for years; wrestled with it and fought with it for two decades. One day he decided, "I've had it. That's enough!" He had heard from his pastor that Sunday morning about the value of turning all of your life, including your business and family, over to God. When he drove away from church he decided he had worried his last time. By the time he got home he had totally committed his business to God.

Well, that very night his place of business caught on fire. He got an emergency call. He rather calmly drove down to the commercial residence, and was standing on the street watching the whole place go up in smoke. He was smiling to himself. One of his colleagues raced to his side; could not believe his relaxed attitude, and said, "Don't you know what has happened to your business? It's burning up!"

"I know it, I know it, but no problem John. You see, this morning I gave that company to God and if He wants to burn it up, that's his business."

That is exactly what had happened with Abraham. He had totally committed Isaac to the hands of God. But Abraham was not the only submissive servant. There was also Isaac.

B. A Son Willing to Submit to His Father, Genesis 22:6

Now v.5 uses the word "lad" to describe Isaac. But that word is often used in the Bible to refer to a young man. I believe Isaac at this time was probably in his early thirties; maybe even the same age as the Lord Jesus Christ. But at any rate he was young and he could outrun his father. He was strong; he could overpower his father. He was mature; he could object to his father. But, like the Lord Jesus, he said, "Father, not my will but yours be done."

We read in v.6 how Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. "So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together." That wood represents the sin of the world. For it reminds us of Isaiah 53:6 speaking of Jesus, which tells us that the Lord "laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Isaac had to bear that wood up that mountain just as Jesus had to bear his cross up his mountain. Notice carefully this mountain of sacrifice.

Three times we are told that Abraham and Isaac went "to the place." We read in v.3 that Abraham "arose and went to the place of which God had told him." Verse 4 says, "Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off." Verse 9 tells us, "Then they came to the place of which God had told him." Where was this place?

Verse 2 tells us that this place was called Moriah. The word Moriah literally means "foreseen by God." It is not coincidental, or accidental, but fundamental that God said to Abraham, offer Isaac on Mount Moriah. In the mind of God this was "the place" and there was no other place any place like this place. Why did it have to be this place?

Because it was on Mount Moriah that the Lord Jesus Christ died for us. Luke 23:33 even puts it this way: "And when they had come to the place called Calvary."

II Chronicles 3:1 tells us that the temple was built on Mount Moriah. Today you can go to that same Temple Mount, walk a short distance to the north and you will run right into Calvary, the place of the skull.

Oh, do you see here a sneak preview of coming attractions?

I want to tell you long before God lit the sun; before He hung the stars; before He spun the planets into orbit; the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of this world on that place called Moriah, which means "foreseen by God."

III. A Substitutionary Sacrifice, Genesis 22:13

"Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son."

The scene now reaches a tremendous climax. Abraham has built the altar, brought the wood, bound the victim, now he bares the knife. "And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." The son has closed his eyes, waiting for that knife to fall. Abraham is determined to obey God even if it costs the life of his own son. Then an angel of God calls out, "But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.'" (v.11) I believe that when Abraham said, "Here I am," he was shooting up flares and waving flags! "Don't miss me, I'm over here!"

Abraham had passed his test with flying colors and now God was going to reward his faith with a ram. "Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son." (v.13)

Do you see here this ram wearing this crown of thorns? It says "he was caught in a thicket by its horns." There was another Lamb who wore a crown of thorns thousands of years later who died for you and died for me. That ram fulfilled two functions:

A. A Substitute for Man's Sinfulness, Genesis 22:14

Up until this point Isaac is a picture and a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the picture ends here. For you see, Isaac could not die, for only a lamb would do; a lamb without flaw, without fault, without failure. Do you know why Isaac did not and could not die? Because man cannot atone for man. No mere man can be sacrificed for the sins of man. Only a spotless lamb will do.

When God provides this lamb Abraham gave this mountain a special name. "And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, 'In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.'" (v.14) It is the only time this name for God is ever used in the Bible - Jehovah Jireh, which literally means "The-Lord-Will-Provide." Thousands of years later the Lord God saw his own Son led like a lamb to the slaughter. He saw that Lamb laid upon cords of wood. He saw that Lamb bound to that wood with spikes of steel and cords of rope. Then God Himself took the great knife of his wrath and plunged it into the heart of his own Son.

But this time there was no lamb to be found for His Son. Because His Son was the Lamb. That's why John could see the Lord Jesus and cry out to the world, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (John 1:26)

There is a major difference between atonement as set forth in the Old Testament, and as presented in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the sheep died for the shepherd. But in the New Testament the Shepherd dies for the sheep.

B. A Satisfaction for God's Holiness, Genesis 22:8

Do you notice in v.8 Abraham says, "God will provide for Himself the Lamb.” This Lamb was not only provided by God, he was provided for God. Now listen carefully. So often if you ask people why did Jesus die, they are quick to respond, "He died for the sinner." That is true, but that is only half of the truth. For you see, Jesus not only died for us, Jesus died for God. Jesus not only died for sinful man, Jesus died for holy God.

There were two reasons why Jesus died on that cross. Not only to atone for the wickedness of man, but also to avert the wrath of God. You see, before Jesus died for you, He first died for God.

That is the meaning of II Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

My friend, there is a truth that is found all the way through the book of the Bible. It begins with Adam and Eve and you can see it to the end of the book of the Revelation, and that truth is, somebody must pay for their sin. God is a holy God who cannot allow one iota of one scintilla of one part of one fraction of one sin go unpunished. God is a just God. But God also wants to be a justifying God. For God to remain God He must justify us without compromising his justice. That is exactly why He sent the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, Isaac would have had to take what that ram took if Abraham had not taken the ram. Likewise, you will have to take for all eternity what Jesus took on the cross if you don't take Jesus. All of the shame, all of the suffering, all of the sorrow, all of the separation of your sin, you will take if you don't take Jesus.

Can you even imagine how grateful Abraham and Isaac were for that ram caught in that thicket? How grateful we ought to be for the Lamb of God that wore that crown of thorns and died in your place and mine.

The story is told of a traveler who looked for unusual things in the cities he visited. During a tour of a town one day he was attracted to a remarkable spire over a public building. Turning to see it better he noticed about two-thirds of the way up a stone figure of a lamb on the wall.

The man stopped a passerby to ask if there was some significance to the lamb stone replica. He was told that it marked a place from which a workman had lost his balance and fell while the building was under construction. Well, the traveler asked, "Was he killed?" The local resident said, "No, it was a miracle. When his friends hurried down expecting to find his mangled body on the pavement, there he was shaking and badly bruised, but with not even a broken bone."

The traveler said, "What happened?" He said, "Well, there were several lambs that were going on their way to the slaughter, and when that mason fell he landed on the back of one of those lambs. The lamb was killed, but his soft body broke the mason's fall and saved his life. That builder was so impressed with that miracle that he had that stone lamb placed there as a lasting tribute."

I tell you today, on the castle of our heart there ought to be over the door a picture of the Lamb of God who has taken away our sins. We ought to sing for the rest of our lives, "Hallelujah, praise the Lamb. Hallelujah, praise the Lamb. My heart sings His praise again. Hallelujah, praise the Lamb.”

FBI Sermon Notes

TEXT: Genesis 22:1-14

TOPIC: A SNEAK PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

Pastor Bobby Earls, September 23, 2001

I. A Startling _______________________verse 2

“Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love."

A. A Powerful ________________

B. A Purposeful ______________

James 1:13, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone."

In chapter 11 God gave Abraham the family test.

In chapter 12 he was given the famine test.

In chapter 13 he was given the fellowship test.

In chapter 14 he was given the fight test.

In chapters 15 and 16 he was given the fatherhood test.

In chapter 22 God reserves greatest test of all, the faith test.

II. A Submissive _______________, verses 5-6

A. A Father Willing To ______________ His Son "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and be split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him." (v.3)

Hebrews 11:17-19, "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called.”

B. A Son Willing To ________________ To His Father

"So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together."

Luke 23:33, “And when they had come to the place called Calvary."

II Chronicles 3:1 tells us that the temple was built on Mount Moriah. “Moriah” means "foreseen by God."

III. A _____________________ Sacrifice

That ram fulfilled two functions:

A. A ____________________ for Man's Sinfulness

"And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, 'In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.'" (v.14)

"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (John 1:26)

B. A _____________________ For God's Holiness

"God will provide for Himself the Lamb.” (v. 8)

2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Romans 3:24-26 we are…"justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."