(What about Isaac?)
Isaac -- Son of Promise, and a Father of God’s Destiny
Given at Glorious King Jesus, 6/19/11, Sterling C. Franklin
Father’s Day Message
(Scripture Reading)
Genesis 17:3-7
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 "I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
(Sermon)
Our Scripture reading was the LORD’s declaration to Abraham that he would be the "father of many nations," even though it required an absolute miracle to bring about. Abraham was a man of God’s destiny, and his son Isaac was no different. God had a purpose -- ultimately, through them, He would provide the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would be a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and who would redeem those who put their faith in Him.
You may notice that not all that much is said about Isaac in the narrative, especially in comparison to his father. The ’bookends’ of the Patriarchs in Genesis are Abraham and Joseph, and yet we have throughout the Hebrew Bible (aka Old Testament) the phrase:
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Isaac has a lot of redeeming qualities, and this Father’s Day, I think it’s worth exploring some of who this man of God was, and it’s worth being encouraged by his life of faith. What an illustration of the destiny of God! Before we discuss further, let’s pray.
(Opening Prayer)
Miraculous birth --
God told Abram to leave his home land and go toward Canaan, the land the LORD would show him. Abram obeyed. Also in this promise was that the LORD told Abram that he would be a "Great Nation"
At that time, Abram/Abraham did not have a natural child. In Genesis 15, the LORD speaks to him again, possibly when he was around 85 years old, and the LORD tells him that he would bear a natural child, and his descendants would be as the stars in the sky -- numerous and essentially uncountable. Abraham believed, and his faith pleased God.
Abraham was indeed the ’father of many nations,’ and his descendants are extremely numerous today.
Abraham was not a perfect man, either, but he was a man of faith. He did go the way of having a child with his concubine instead of Sarah (as the Lord had the child of promise coming from Abraham and Sarah), but even so, God granted Abraham the blessing of seeing his son Ishmael grow up completely into his teenage years (Genesis 16 end -> Genesis 17).
17:19 - "No" meaning? It’s literally "Verily" in the text, emphasizing that the LORD "indeed" wants the child of promise coming from the womb of Sarah. Ishmael was not the son of promise according to the LORD.
Chapter 21 - We see that God is faithful -- He grants them the son of promise, despite Abraham being 100 and Sarah about 90 years old. Talk about a miracle!
Interestingly, when the ’three men’ who were stated to be the LORD in Genesis 18 gave Abraham a specific time in which he’d have a son with Sarah. They did indeed conceive in that time frame.
Sometimes the LORD does reveal things to come, and with specific timing. We should hold this word in our hearts today, testing out of faithfulness, yet not skepticism.
Isaac - Child of promise
Genesis 22 - formative time -- Isaac sees his father Abraham obey God even to the point of sacrificing his own son (Isaac himself!). Killing Isaac was not the Lord’s plan, but the obedience shown must have had an amazing impact on Isaac’s life.
Genesis 22:8 - And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.
Hmm…a lamb sacrifice. Do you know that Jesus was sacrificed on a mountain in the same vicinity? It’s not certain if this mount in the region of Moriah was the same one, but it was at the very least very close if not it. This event is told as a foreshadowing to Jesus -- God’s "son of promise" is sacrificed, and yet the real sacrifice would come with Jesus, outside of whom there is no everlasting hope.
So let’s go through a brief survey of the profile of Isaac himself. Isaac had a very good father who had extreme favor from the LORD. What type of man did he become?
- Isaac prayed to God and was a man of faith. When his ’camel-order’ bride from the LORD arrived, he was in the field meditating (Genesis 24:63).
- Isaac was given a wife by God’s choosing -- The LORD is compassionate and faithful (Genesis 24:67)
○ The LORD knew he was mourning his mother’s death
○ The LORD provided for his ’son of promise’ to further his covenant with both Abraham and Isaac
- Isaac prayed for his barren wife to conceive (25:21), and the LORD heard and granted his request
○ The LORD knew him
○ The LORD heard and answered his prayer
The LORD also shows His compassion for His people through this granting of children. Sometimes, couples will never conceive, but how many times both now and in the past does God work a miracle and give the mother and father a child?! There are 6 instances of this in the Bible:
Sarai/Sarah
Rebekah
Rachel
Samson’s Mother
Hannah (Samuel’s mother)
Elizabeth
- Seemed to be a ’man’s man’ (Genesis 25:27-28). He enjoyed his son Esau’s food from his hunting success, even though Esau’s wives were a big annoyance to Isaac and Rebekah.
------ Every man is unique
------ Notice the complete disparity between twins’ personalities -- Esau was much more adventurous and outgoing, yet Jacob (though very competitive) was a quiet man dwelling in tents.
- The LORD made his way prosperous (Genesis 26:12ff.)
------ Isaac was so successful that people around him were both afraid and jealous
------ He was blessed in all his dealings (compare: Psalm 1)
- Isaac also sought to bless his son (Genesis 27:1-4)
------ We also see that Isaac was very human here, as he was deceived by Jacob (and mainly his wife Rebekah who masterminded the endeavor) and gave the birthright promise to Jacob.
------ The LORD’s sovereignty was also in effect -- Esau had forfeited his birthright for a pot of lentils and bread to Jacob earlier in the narrative, and through Jacob, the promised Messiah would come.
------ Isaac was the child of promise, but ultimately, he became a father of destiny.
Interestingly, the LORD often uses the unexpected one to carry out His purposes. Jacob was the younger of the twins, and yet the LORD had it purposed for the elder to serve the younger in this case.
- Isaac also coached his son Jacob in selecting a good wife. Though Esau picked one who was a bane to his parents’ existence, Isaac told Jacob the basics -- marry a woman who knows the LORD. Good fathers should be sure in this age of grace to warn their children about marrying a woman who does not know Jesus. Even more, fathers have the grave responsibility of training up their children in right ways.
- Isaac’s death was also recorded in Genesis 35:29, in which he was described as, "old and full of days" (he was 180 years old!)
Paul discusses the symbol that Isaac provides us in Galatians 4, so please turn there with me, starting in verse 21.
Galatians 4:21-31
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,
24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar --
25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children --
26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband."
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman."
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Through faith in Jesus, we are children of promise. Note in verse 28, this is what those ’born of the Spirit’ are called! Imagine what an honor it would be to have your life serve as an example of the work of Jesus Christ! Isaac was such an example, and even by the work of God in giving him life, despite the factors stacked against natural birth at 90.
So this Father’s Day, we’ve examined the life of Isaac in brief detail.
What can we take from the life of Isaac? (Application)
- God is not a stranger to the notion of blessing His children. Isaac’s life was one full of blessing and favor. We are never guaranteed these promises, but we are never forbidden to ask for them.
- You don’t have to have a ’big name’ for the LORD to take note of you and love you.
Isaac had a ’tough act to follow,’ and yet he remained faithful and is mentioned as an honorary patriarch. Did he earn that? Yes. He was also a good example of a man who sought God throughout his life. But we see that the LORD knew his feelings and hurts, and He provided compassionately for him.
Fathers: Make sure your life is a ’tough act to follow’ -- give your children a life of godliness to aspire to! Make sure you encourage your children to learn from your mistakes and to pursue their own relationship with our Savior Jesus.
- Just as Isaac was presented as coaching his son in life matters, fathers have the grave responsibility of training up their children in right ways.
Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Fathers, seek to bless your children. This is a big event in Scripture, when the fathers bless their sons. In the same relationship, sons and daughters, honor your fathers! We are commanded to do so!
- Look to Galatians 4:21-31, the discussion Paul gives on Isaac, and imagine what an honor it would be to have your life point as an example to Jesus.
May we embrace the title that we’ve been given through faith in Jesus -- "Children of Promise"
May we live lives pleasing to God, and despite our flaws and weaknesses, may we men be fathers of destiny, living a blessed life of promise and experiencing the favor of God in whatever scenario He places us. God will bring about His purposes. He is sovereign, and He will bring about your destiny as He sees fit.
May we also honor our fathers who have lived lives of faithfulness like the Patriarch Isaac. May we honor our fathers who have neglected the Way by showing them Jesus, so they can perhaps be God’s "children of promise," as well.
Faithfulness and obedience.
Let’s close in prayer.
(Closing Prayer)
Benediction (Isaac’s blessing to Jacob)
Genesis 28:3-4
3 "May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;
4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham."
