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Genesis 22:1-19 Key Verse: 22:18 GOD TESTS ABRAHAM "And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Today we are going to study Abraham's test. It is the most touching story with the most dramatic reversal. The drama made even God shed his tears. God was so touched by Abraham's unshaken faith that he swore by himself declaring him "The ancestor of faith." Why is it so touching a story? It was because of Abraham's obedience. Obedience comes from faith. Without faith, we couldn't obey. If we didn't obey, our faith would be proven to be false. Let's get into the most touching story of Abraham. May God bless us all to be protagonists of touching stories by having absolute faith in God. 1. Here I am (1-5) Look at verse 1. "Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, `Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied." "Some time later" means after God had given Abraham his heart's desire, Isaac. How much joyful he was when his son was born! Isaac grew up in God's blessing and protection. God ordered Abraham to sent away Ishmael, Isaac's half brother to protect Isaac. It was painful for Abraham to send his another son Ishmael born of his maid, Hagal. But God completely solved all conflicts. Abraham's faith grew mature to its full extent. Nevertheless, he needed a test for the final assurance as the ancestor of faith. There are two kinds of tests: One is a temptation that causes us to fall into sin. The other is a test by which our faith is more strengthened and rooted deeply. Here, the test God gave Abraham was a test of faith. God wanted Abraham to devote himself fully. God wanted to know whether Abraham would obey him or not. God gives us tests, wanting us to stand firm in faith. God loves us so much that he trains us. But God is so faithful that he doesn't let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. When we are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that we can stand up under it. (1Cor 10:13) God called Abraham by his covenant name, "Abraham." What was Abraham's answer? He answered "Here I am," It suggests that Abraham's heart is open to God. He is spiritually ready to do whatever God commands him to do. He is always willing to do God's command. He absolutely trusted in God, whatever circumstances he met. What was the test? Look at verse 2. "Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."" Wow! Abraham had hardly expected this command! But God was clear. He didn't beat around the bush. God hit the nail on the head. If anything might become an idol in Abraham's heart, it was Isaac. Anybody has an idol in their heart. It means there's something we put first other than God. We sometimes put our own future or ambition first in the heart. We sometimes put our parents or our children first other than God. We sometimes put money or success or worldly glory first other than God. Those who like soccer put soccer first prior to God. God's servant cannot hold idols in his heart. God was training Abraham to put God first. When God blesses us by giving us our heart's desire, it is easy to become so attached to the gift that we forget the Giver. God wants us to give God's best blessings back to him. That's our basic due attitude toward God. We must not let God's blessings remain just blessings. We must try to give them back to God. If we do not give them back, God's blessing will become snares that trap us into corruption and degeneration in faith. What did Abraham do about God's command? Did he cover himself up with a blanket in his room? Did he cry a lot over his son Isaac? "Oh, my son! Do you know what will become of you? You are my only precious son! How can I scorch you as a burnt offering?" No! He got up early the next morning. He made the necessary preparations, took two servants and Isaac and left for Mount Moriah. Abraham had a habit of obeying God promptly. It took three days to reach the region of Moriah. Abraham didn't tell anyone what he was planning to do. He couldn't tell Sarah; He couldn't tell the servants; He didn't tell Isaac. He might have spent a sleepless night. He might have thought about "why me" all night. Isaac was the only hope he lived for and suffered so much for To Abraham God's command sounded irrational, unethical, and ungodly. To Abraham, sacrificing his son as a burnt offering sounded like a pagan evil practice. He might have had many thoughts flashing in and out. He might have prayed for God's help and his obedience. In prayer, Abraham might have had a new faith--resurrection faith. Hebrew 11:17-19 says, "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." From these verses, we can find that Abraham had resurrection faith! Abraham reasoned. This means he didn't think of it emotionally. He didn't think according to his own feelings. He thought based on God's word. He believed that God is the God of promise. He believed that God would never change his promise. He knew well God had promised, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." He reasoned and came to the conclusion--God could raise the dead! God could raise his son Isaac from the dead! How amazing his faith was! His faith reached a higher level--resurrection faith. I'd like to call his faith "reasoning faith". I believe that God gave him "reasoning faith" through his prayer. May God bless us to have this "reasoning faith". Let's not think based on our feelings. Let's not keep a bitter mind against God. Let's have "reasoning faith" that finally leads to "resurrection faith". 2. God himself will provide (6-8) When he arrived in the region of Moriah, he left the servants and took Isaac. The two of them went on together up the mountain. Isaac was happy to be with his father. It must have been like a camping trip to Isaac. But as they climbed the mountain together, Isaac began to sense something wrong. Isaac thought about the preparations--he was carrying the wood; his father, the fire and the knife. He wondered where the lamb for the sacrifice was? He came to know what was going on. So he asked, "Father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham didn't bat an eye. "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. Abraham wasn't swayed by his son's question. Abraham didn't try to explain. He trusted God. He knew God loved him. He had God's peace in his heart. Through the years of God's training, Abraham had learned to trust in God. Through the struggle of night prayer, he felt God was with him. In spite of Isaac's sudden question, he wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, he hit upon a bright idea about his son's question: the Lord would provide. He believed that in every situation, the Lord would provide. No problem was too big; no problem too small. Abraham's "the Lord will provide" faith has become a popular catch phrase--"Jehovahjireh". Sometimes we are in the difficult situations we don't understand. We sometimes meet with great suffering we can't deal with. We face lots of times when we cannot help giving up. Sometimes our feelings are hurt so much that we draw back from other people. We cannot understand what God is doing or how he is leading us. Are you shaken by doubt, fear, worries, or hurt feelings? If so, what you must do first is take hold of his promises and obey his commands. If you seek God's words and promises first, you will surely experience God who will provide. Then you must hold on to God's promises, and reason based on his promises. Then God will be with you in peace and he will provide what you need. Praise God of "Jehovahjireh" who provides. 3. Now I know that you fear God (9-19) When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. He did not hold back or try to protect his son. He bound him and placed him on the wood. Isaac must have quietly trusted his father, for he knew that his father loved him more than life itself. Abraham took the knife and raised it over his head. Just then the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" He stood upright and said, "Here I am!" He was still ready to obey the Lord. "Do not lay a hand on the boy... Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." God was touched by Abraham's faith. Abraham did not pretend to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. He did try to offer him to God. When Abraham raise his hand holding a knife, God stopped Abraham. God shouted urgently saying "No, Abraham! No, Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy!" God shed his tears, touched by Abraham's God-fearing faith. It was the most dramatic moment for God and Bible readers. God continued, "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Here, we can learn what the faith God wants us to have is. It's God-fearing faith. God-fearing faith is loving God first of all and fearing him the most. When we fear God, we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. When we fear God, we find pleasure, satisfaction and joy in Him. When we fear God, nothing cannot intervene between Him and us. Our family, parents, sheep, dream, ambition, or worldly pleasure cannot find its place in our heart in God-fearing faith. God-fearing faith is pure, not mixed with worldly or private impurities. God wanted Abraham to choose between Isaac and Ishmael. Now God wanted him to choose between God and his only son Isaac. Isaac is just God's blessing and promise. Nothing more than that. God gives us abundant blessings, but he takes them away. God is the Giver of blessing. God is the source of blessing. If we lay fast hole on God's blessing, it will disappear. We would lose everything. But if we love God the source of blessing first of all, his blessing will follow. There are many people who love God's blessings more than God the source of blessing. They would fall into corruption easily, forgetting God's grace. God wanted Abraham to hold God the source of blessing. Abraham knew well who God was through God's training. He feared God the most and offered his son to God. God wants each of us to offer him our Isaac. Do you have your Isaac? Do you have what is more valuable to you than God? That's your Isaac. There's a famous saying, "Better is the enemy of the best." God is our best. Let's offer our "better" to God. Look at verse 13. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket. He saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. Abraham experienced the God of "Jehovahjireh." Here, the ram symbolizes the lamb of God, Jesus. God provided us with the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son Jesus as a ransom for many. God provides us with everything along with his Son. God is indeed the God of Jehovahjireh--The LORD Will Provide. Look at verses 16-18. God called to Abraham a second time. This time, God reaffirmed his covenant with Abraham with an unchangeable oath(Heb 6:13-17). He had no one greater to swear by, so he swore by himself. God promised that because Abraham had obeyed him, God would surely bless Abraham with descendants like the sand of the seashore. His descendants would take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through Abraham's offspring, all nations on earth would be blessed. Here, Abraham's offspring is singular form. It points to the Savior of the world, Jesus. His descendants point to the descendants of faith who would spread all over the world. Many people would be blessed because of Abraham's offspring, Jesus. Abraham's descendants would take possession of the cities of their enemies. Jesus, Abraham's offspring, would win a victory over sin and death and crush the head of Satan. Through Jesus' death for our sins and his resurrection, the sin problem of mankind would be solved and new life would be given to those who believe in him. God would raise up a people who could be a kingdom of priests to share the good news of salvation and life through Jesus with a sin-sick and dying world. God is still working to keep his promise to Abraham. We have studied the most beautiful and touching story of Abraham. The reason Abraham's faith was so beautiful was that he overcame human contradiction and reason and feelings. He held on to God's promise and reasoned God's promise. Thus, he could have resurrection faith. He had absolute faith in God. He fully trusted God. He loved God more than Isaac, God's blessing. May God help us have absolute faith in God. May God help us give our Isaac and love him more than anything else. |
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