A Hard Walk Series

Title: A Hard Walk

Text: Genesis 22

Subject: Trust

Series: The Walk Series; #3

Introduction: The old man stopped walking. It had been a long day and he was tired. To look into his eyes though, you would have realized that it wasn’t his body that was tired, but his spirit. The place of sacrifice was getting closer. He had wrestled with the matter in his heart a thousand times since God had spoken. As he was thinking, his servants ran up and suggested a time of rest. The sun was extremely hot and the old man agreed to stop for awhile. The animals were tied down and the servants both laid down under a tree for a nap. Besides him, one other figure was still standing; a young male that bore a striking resemblance to the old man. To take a look at the two of them, you would have surely thought it was the man’s great grandson. It wasn’t. “Isaac my son,” the old voice spoke out, “come sit with me for awhile.” Isaac, after making sure the animals really were secure, came and sat next to his father. The heat had made him tired and he quickly fell asleep. Abraham turned his eyes toward his son Isaac. A tear began to roll down his face as he realized what must take place in just a few short days. Part of him wanted to pick up Isaac and run away. The other part knew he had to go. The old man never closed his eyes. Whiles everyone else slept, his eyes never left his son.

We’ve been looking at different walks from the Bible. Today we are considering a very specific walk of the patriarch Abraham. From the story I’ve just told, you realize that we’ve stepped into the middle of the walk. If you open up your Bibles with me to Genesis 22, we will read about the event that precipitated this walk.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 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." 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about (22:1-4).

This was a very hard walk for Abraham and the reason was Isaac. If God had called Abraham to come to Moriah and simply sacrifice an animal, the walk would have been easy. The fact that the sacrifice was to be Isaac made the walk difficult. Even though this is Abraham’s walk, we must focus also on Isaac. There are four things I want us to take note of today.

I. God gives Isaacs.

As Abraham heads to sacrifice Isaac, we should consider who Isaac was. Isaac was a gift. Isaac was a promise. Isaac was Abraham’s beloved son. Many know well the story of how God had promised to make Abraham a mighty nation. Abraham believed God but nothing ever happened. Years went by while Abraham and Sarah got older and older. Eventually, it became apparent that it was impossible for a son to be born to them. They were just too old. When they reached this point, God kept the promise and gave them Isaac. What a joy he was to his parents that were old enough to be his great grandparents. Laughter had been brought into their life. By God’s command, they named their son Isaac, which means laughter. Imagine that first time Abraham held Isaac in his arms. Maybe it was evening and he walked outside and looked at the stars. God had promised to make Abraham’s descendants through the son he was holding as numerous as the stars. I see a very old man, holding a very young baby, worshipping an Almighty God that keeps his Word.

Has God ever given you an Isaac? I think each one of us in a multitude of ways have been given an Isaac. I consider an Isaac to be anything that God in His love has bestowed upon you. It could be a child, but it’s not limited to that. Other Isaacs can be your talents, giftings, and your desires. Often, the things that you’re passionate about are an Isaac. Some examples; my sister that played the piano here so wonderfully last week has been given a beautiful Isaac in the form of being able to play piano. A friend of mine has been given a beautiful singing voice. There are people in this world that have an incredible talent for mathematics, science, construction, and even preaching.