Genesis 22:1-13 God
Will Provide WC
McCarter
Overview
In
chapter two we read about the father of faith, Abraham. We also read about his
son and grandson who are the forefathers of the Hebrew people, Isaac and Jacob.
In the “lower story” of the lives of these three men, we read all sorts of
interesting events. In the “upper story” we can see that God is beginning the
long process to redeem His people from the curse of sin. He must build a
nation, and to do that he must choose a couple. God shows that this plan of
redemption will be completely accomplished by Himself; so, He chooses a highly
unlikely couple – Abram and Sarai (whose names are later changed). Abraham is
not perfect, and neither are Isaac and Jacob. Honestly, they are far from
perfect . . . but they trust in the promise of God. God chooses to take it upon
Himself to establish a binding covenant with these men and their descendants.
Introduction
I
would like to narrow in on a certain passage of Scripture for this morning’s
message. Of all the events in this chapter, one narrative really stands out. It
has deep theological roots, and it has considerable consequences for our own
lives.
The passage I am referring to is the one that describes
God’s testing of Abraham. Abraham is told to sacrifice his son of promise,
Isaac, as a burnt offering. Can you imagine being asked to give up the
thing/person that means the most to you? Why would God ask a person to do such
a thing? This was a test to see if Abraham truly trusted the plan of God. Of
course, Abraham was willing to do it – believing that God would raise Isaac
back to life again if necessary.
Scripture Reading
Testing and Trusting
To test someone is to stretch some part of them to the
limits. What is it that God is testing here? The text does not explicitly say,
but it is implied that God is testing Abraham’s faith. In the same way our
hearts may be tested with a stress test, God is seeing how strong Abraham’s
faith really is by stretching it to its limits. Abraham is expected to trust
God and obey Him in difficult circumstances. Of course, this is an isolated
event. I cannot think of anywhere else in the Bible where God gives a command
in order to test someone, but does not allow the person to carry the command
out.
The issue is basically whether Abraham identifies more so
with the covenant or with God. I fear this for many Christians. Do you
indentify more so with a church or building than Christ, your Redeemer? Do you
associate more so with the things of the faith than the object of our faith,
the person of Christ? I am a “Christian” not because of some political
move, or because it is the socially acceptable thing to do, or because my
parents and grandparents were. I am a “Christian” because I belong to Christ.
How about you? Why are you a Christian?
Abraham was about to do away with everything. He was about
to sacrifice all the promises of God, the covenant, and much more. He was about
to send history in a tailspin. If Isaac is sacrificed, mankind will be sent
back into the period of darkness and sin with no hope. This is the family of
the covenant. This is the child of promise. This is beginning of God’s plan to
solve the sin problem, to save us. It is about to all be sacrificed and God is
the One who has demanded it. As Abraham had trusted God in the past, he trusts
God about this as well. As difficult as it was, he got up early in the morning,
loaded a donkey, split the wood, and left with his son.
The Two of Them Went
Together
God said go, and Abraham went. God said sacrifice your son,
and Abraham took the knife to slay his son. What drama! What a heart wrenching,
soul stretching, emotional event. Twice in the text it reads that “the two of
them went together.” Was Isaac so naïve? Maybe, but perhaps he knew what was
asked as well and was willing to lay down his life for his God. We already know
from verse one of the chapter that Isaac would not be sacrificed. This was only
a test. But Abraham and Isaac do not know this. The two of them went together
to do what God had commanded them to do. Abraham had said, “Here I am.” What
great determination of faith.
Isaac realized that they had fire and wood, but no
sacrifice. He asks his father, and Abraham makes that tremendous and famous,
ultimately prophetic statement, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb
for a burnt offering.”
Now I Know that You
Fear God
In the same way that a loved one knows that you love them,
but expects you to demonstrate that love, God expects us to demonstrate our
faith during trying times. He knows our hearts, but requires that we act it
out. In the upper story, God never intended for Isaac to be sacrificed. God
does not require child sacrifice as the pagan gods were said to crave it. No,
our God requires faith. That is what was shown from Abraham that day.
An Angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham from heaven. He says,
“. . . for now I know that you fear God. . . .” That is what this was about.
Did Abraham fear God? His faith was tested and it proved strong. Abraham
believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He believed him
when God made the promise and when God asked him to sacrifice the promise.
Instead of His Son
The Lord provided a sacrifice. The intention was never for
Isaac to be sacrificed, at least not in the upper story. But in the lower
story, Abraham had every intention of following the word of the Lord. Abraham
believed that God would fulfill His promise of many descendants. He believed
that God could and would honor that promise even though he had been asked to
offer up the son of that promise because God would either offer a substitute
(God Himself will provide the lamb) or raise his son back to life again.
A ram was seen caught in the thicket by its horns
immediately after the Angel spoke. The Lord had provided the sacrifice. The
Lord had provided a substitute for Isaac. The Lord had provided. “So Abraham
went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his
son.”
Conclusion- Finding
Your Story in God’s Story
1) God does not
tempt anyone to sin. His tests are not meant to cause someone to stumble, but
are to make one’s faith stronger. So, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials.
2) God has
promised that He will provide. In all of the promises He has made in Scripture,
He is telling us, “I will provide.” Trust Him on a daily basis to provide
nourishment for your soul.
3) Notice the
striking similarities between this great test and the once-for-all sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.
A. Isaac
was to be sacrificed; Christ was sacrifices on the
cross of Calvary .
B. The wood was placed on Isaac’s back; the cross was placed on Christ and He carried it through the streets.
C. Abraham, the father, would be the one to sacrifice his son, Isaac; God the Father would sacrifice His only Son, Jesus Christ.
*What is the only difference? Abraham was stopped and a ram was substituted in place of Isaac. The sacrifice of Christ could not be stopped. This was the plan of God, the eternal plan of redemption. Jesus Christ was offered up as a substitute for all of us. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.