Scripture:

GENESIS  22:1-18

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

² And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

³ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

⁴ Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

⁵ And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

⁷ And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

⁸ And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

⁹ And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

¹⁰ And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

¹¹ And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

¹² And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

¹⁹ So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

 

Hebrews 11:1-40

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

² For by it the elders obtained a good report.

³ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

⁴ By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

⁵ By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

⁹ By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

¹⁰ For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹ Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

¹² Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

¹⁴ For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

¹⁵ And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

¹⁶ But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

¹⁸ Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

¹⁹ Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

²³ By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

²⁵ Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

²⁶ Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

²⁸ Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

²⁹ By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

³¹ By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

³² And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

³³ Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.

³⁴ Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

³⁶ And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

³⁸ (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

⁴⁰ God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

COMMENTS:

Our adult Sunday School teacher at our local church discovered a powerful revelation about Abraham during her preparation for class and blessed us with this discovery recently during class.  I would like to share that discovery with you too.

The historical account of God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an altar and how Abraham’s obedience unfolded are given in Genesis 22.  The story tells the miracle of Isaac being born to Sarah.  Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90.  Even in those days child bearing years ended long before that age.  After the time of Noah, people no longer lived to 800-900 years of age and had children over that length of life. Sometime from early post-flood age to King David’s time the average lift expectancy dropped from 120 years to 70 years. Psalm 90:10 NIV “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”    Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born to Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid.    Abraham would live to be 175 when he died and Sarah would live to be 127 when she died. 

Abraham’s trust and faith in God would drive him to take great risk but at times his faith would weaken and tempt him to make terrible mistakes and to sin.  Twice he lied saying Sarah was his sister instead of his wife out of fear he would be killed to acquire his beautiful wife (Genesis 12 and 20). 

Abraham was human so doubt and fear dampened his faith and judgment and obedient at times, but God’s mercy and Abraham’s redemption was restored as Abraham yielded and returned to the path and instruction God set before him.

God initially told Abraham to leave the pagan land of Ur where his father and family lived and where Abraham grew up.  Abraham obeyed without knowing what dangers and obstacles were on his path and without understanding God who was speaking to him.  But he knew enough and believed God enough to obey His instruction.

As Abraham fellowshipped with God more and saw God’s help unfold and saw God’s promises beginning to unfold, his faith and trust grew as well.  But when he went to Egypt, he feared pharaoh would kill him to possess his beautiful wife Sarah.  He should have been honest with God and asked God for help.   He made that same mistake again with the king of Gerar.  His fears may have been justified but he failed to trust God to protect him.  After all, they had no children and he still did not have the land promised him by God.

When the years passed and Abraham was 86 and Sarah was 74, they became impatient with God even though God had promised a son to them, a son that would yield descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.  So, they followed the practice of wealthy pagan people and Sarah encouraged Abraham to father a child through Sarah’s handmaid Hagar.  That act of disobedience and lack of faith is why Arabs and Jews have been fighting bitterly for centuries for the land God promised Abraham.  All that would have been avoided if they would have waited a few more years, 13 more years to be exact.   They couldn’t imagine Sarah would be able to have a son nor did they understand why God was taking so long to fulfil His promise to them.   BUT HE DID FULFILL HIS PROMISE TO ABRAHAM NOT THROUGH ISHMAEL BUT THROUGH ISAAC.    God even confirmed to Abraham His promise was to be through Isaac, not Ishmael.  The story is told in Genesis 16-18.  Notice that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah when He fulfilled His promise and His plan to do so through Isaac.  Their relationship with God and the covenant God made with them was to go to a much deeper and significant level and importance, which would transform them and change their legacy forever.

They were both still human but God was preparing them to trust Him like they would never be able to do before.   The next 13 years would mean Abraham went from a normal man to a man of great faith, a man willing to obey the God he knew and who’s voice he knew, a man even willing to sacrifice the son God promised to fulfill a promise of descendants as many as the stars in the sky.

So, what was Abraham thinking when he raised that knife to take his son’s life?  Genesis 22 doesn’t tell us but Hebrews 11 does.   We can use Hebrews 11 to show us since both Hebrews and Genesis are included in our Holy Bible so is scripture valid for instruction as the inspired Word of God.

Notice:  Abraham told the servant he and Isaac left behind when going up Mt. Moriah to do sacrifice, that both he and Isaac would return.  If Isaac would have been killed and sacrificed, his body would have been burnt up in the fire.  Also notice Abraham had Isaac carry the wood for the fire while Abraham carried the knife, but Isaac still was not aware what Abraham was instructed to do.  So, did Abraham lie or did he know more than he let on?   We can only speculate but Hebrews 11 gives us a bit more of a clue. 

Abraham had no evidence or examples to believe God could or would raise Isaac from the died after being sacrificed but Hebrews 11:19 (¹⁹ Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.) This verse tells us Abraham believed God could raise a dead son burnt to ashes.  This verse along with Genesis 22:5 indicate Abraham also expected God would do so in order for both he and Isaac to return to that servant intact and alive.

Did God reveal this to Abraham or did he know God well enough to believe that is what God would do.  Fact is Abraham didn’t know for sure and felt the full temptation and emotion of fear that Isaac would die and Abraham would never see him again.

The other side of this story is what was Isaac thinking and what enabled him to let his father tie him up and make him the sacrifice God required.  What kind of faith did God require and generate in Isaac.  At the point of raising that knife and start to thrust it toward his beloved son’s chest and heart, what was racing through the mind of each.  I dare say they were both praying aloud with tears at that moment.  Genesis 22:10-12 gives us that moment and God’s intervention stopping him in the nick of time.

Why did God bring both Abraham and Isaac to that point? THE SACRIFICE HAD TO BE WILLING AS MUCH AS THE PRIEST DOING THE SACRIFICE.  God required a depth of faith essential before His promise could be fulfilled through them and an eternal legacy beyond their imagination could be implemented through them. 

Can you imagine the praise and worship they both gave God when they then sacrificed the ram God then provided after their test was over?  God knew what they would do but He also knew what was necessary.  God honored their faithfulness and chose Mt. Moriah to become the temple mount where Solomon’s temple would be built.  There for centuries priests would sacrifice for the sins of Israel.  The temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar, rebuilt 70 years later by Jews led by Nehemiah and in 70AD destroyed again by the Romans because of Israel’s unfaithfulness.  A Muslim Mosque stands there today but one day the temple will be built but one day Christ will return there to set up His kingdom.

Can you see how God cemented and established a relationship with Abraham that Isaac could build off of along with building his own relationship with God too.  A relationship his sons and their sons and so on could build off of and acquire too.   That was and is God’s plan for them.  IT IS ALSO GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU AND ME AND FOR OUR FAMILIES TOO!!

We likely won’t be required to sacrifice our son’s but many have lost family and children without knowing why or purpose.  Consider Job’s loss and his story of faith and obedience.

You and I may have similar but unique experiences.  We all are tempted to disobey and sin.  To allow fear to hinder our faith. To try to force God’s hand or “help Him” because we get tired waiting.  How many Christian young men and women seek God’s help finding a mate but settle for someone else before God’s choice is revealed.  My story is unique and took 2 years longer than needed to, but because Arlene and I both waited until His opportunity was revealed to both of us, we have now a marriage of 40 years and 2 grown children.  It was well worth the wait for us and for our children and their families.  He is building our legacy on a foundation of obedience and not regrets. 

 

Abraham’s story is valuable to teach us the important of trusting and being in deep fellowship with God.  But we have Christ as our Sacrifice and we have the Holy Spirit to provide us a deeper relationship and fellowship not understood nor as accessible to Abraham.  Yet He found a way to provide Abraham enough to be faithful to the degree  required and a way through sacrifice to forgiveness and redemption.  The way of surrender and sacrifice.

Truth is God could have let Isaac die and even be the burnt sacrifice Abraham was prepared to give.  He could have then raised him as Abraham was anticipating.  Isaac could have died willingly.  God could have accomplished His purpose of instilling the level of faith and surrender Abraham and Isaac needed in any number of other ways we could not imagine but He could.  But God didn’t and He chose to spare Isaac’s life in this way.

God’s revelation to us is greater than revelation given to Abraham.  Abraham did not have the New Testament to inspire and guide him or even most of the Old Testament. He did not have Christ’s example and redemptive sacrifice to strengthen him either.  He did not have the Holy Spirit to guide him, but it is evident the Holy Spirit was involved, just not identified or revealed as He now is to us.  Abraham and Isaac had enough to trust God enough and God honored and blessed their faith and obedience.

God does not change, but His revelation to us and our understanding of Him enables us to trust Him to do significant things as well.  God’s revelation and help is even more powerful and effective for us because of Christ, His Word, and His abiding Holy Spirit.  Consider how Peter and John and Paul and countless thousands of other first century Christians were transformed to suffer terrible suffering and loss of family and life just to tell others of Christ’s sacrifice and Good News of redemption.   God’s promise to us is even better than His promise to Abraham.  A promise of eternal life in heaven with Him, with immortal bodies, in a place He is preparing for us, and much more.   Do we have enough faith to trust Him in the midst of persecution?  In the midst of danger and ridicule or loss of possession? Even at the risk of loss of life?

As we approach the time of Christ’s second coming, which He has promised, we will see satan’s mischief getting worse and persecution of Christians becoming more widespread and worse.  We need to be prepared for that persecution and we need to prepare our family and church for that persecution so we and they will have the strength and presence of the Holy Spirit to help and sustain them.  To sustain us.  To sustain as many as God enables us to tell and invite to Him.   Only He knows how long, but only He can get us through dark times to the other side.  “IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL WHEN WE SEE JESUS!”

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