"AND THEN HE RAISED THE KNIFE...!"
Genesis 22:1-14
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. There are times when even doing what is right seems like it will backfire on you. Old habits are hard to break.
2. One guy invariably left off the cap to the toothpaste and for years his wife had hounded him about it. Finally, on their 25th anniversary, he made a private commitment to break the annoying habit.
3. With faithfulness and regularity he screwed on the toothpaste cap every time he used it. After a week of unbroken success the poor guy was blindsided by his very suspicious wife.
4. She cornered him at the breakfast table and said, "Why did you stop brushing your teeth?"
B. TEXT
1. In today's text we will observe a man who deeply loved God but was put in an extremely difficult position by God. He was called upon to give up that which is most dear to him.
2. Read Genesis 22:1-14 and read one of the most touching texts in all of sacred Scripture.
I. THE TESTING OF ABRAHAM
A. THE SACRIFICE REQUIRED
1. Beer-Sheba was a town about 30 miles south of Jerusalem and the year was 1860 B.C.. A man over a hundred years old, knelt to pray. The patriarch’s name was Abraham. Perhaps no man ever loved God more than he. Called out of his pagan environment at the age of 75, Abraham followed God's call to a strange and distant land. He and his wife Sarah were childless. God promised them a son who would be the progenitor of a race of people. Finally, long after the normal time for parenting, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. How Abraham and Sarah loved their only son! He would be the receiver of all they possessed one day, the heir to all God's promises. Isaac had reached the age of young manhood. How fine he was! How blessed the elderly parents felt to have such a wonderful son! Now, alone in his meditation, Abraham prayed. And God spoke to him once again. The divine words were chilling: read verse two.
"Tempt" in the KJV is really the word "test", intensified. This would be the greatest test of his life. He had had some nine tests previously. When God tested Abraham, everything was designed to make the test more difficult.
2. BUT WAIT A MINUTE!
a. "Thy Son"
1). What! A father slay his Son!
2). Was there nothing else in Abraham's tent that God would have but his son?
b. "Only"
1). Ishmael had just been sent away (Gen. 21:8-21).
2). Sarah & Abraham were too old to have children again.
c. "Isaac"
1). The child of promise.
2). Anxiously expected, long, long delayed (25 years).
3). Made his parent’s hearts to laugh.
4). One in whom his father's hopes all centered.
5). "In Isaac shall your seed be...." what! Shall the gift of God be retracted?
d. "Whom Thou Lovest"
God knew his heart. There was nothing that Abraham loved more.
3. God never before or since asked for human sacrifice. Why then? To test the authenticity of Abraham's faith and remind Abraham to adore the Giver more than the gift.
B. APPLICATION
1. There are many things in life we don't think we can live without. Even the thought of losing those things sends flashes of panic through us.
2. At such times our loving Father must pry our fingers loose from what holds our hearts captive and preoccupies us.
3. "But," we protest, "I can't live without that position/ relationship/ possession!
4. Luke 14:26. We Must love God supremely. Sometimes that love must be tested! The Bible says of the disciples, "They left all and followed Jesus."
C. ILLUSTRATION
1. A missionary in India was hurrying along the street one day by the Ganges River when he saw a native woman looking at the water. In her arms was a sickly infant, while at her side stood a beautiful, healthy boy.
2. The missionary, on questioning her, found she was in deep distress and was trying to make up her mind to give an offering to her god. He tried to dissuade her, telling her of the love of Jesus and His sacrifice for her. After a time he had to leave her.
3. Hours later he saw her again with the sickly baby in her arms; the beautiful boy was gone. He knew what had happened. She had thrown the boy to the crocodiles in the river. "I made an offering to my god," the woman said.
4. "But why did you give your healthy boy, why not this sickly little one? asked the missionary. Rising to her feet the woman replied, "We give our gods our best." Do we?
II. THE OBEDIENCE OF ABRAHAM
A. IT WAS IMMEDIATE
1. Knowing God waited for 25 years before giving them Isaac, how would you expect Abraham to react?
2. But there was no arguing, no bargaining, no resisting or doubting!
3. Instead, Abraham got up EARLY in the morning to obey.
a. What grand faith! Most of us would have slept late, then laid in bed, and then argued with God till noon.
b. If God calls you to do something, do it immediately or you may miss your opportunity. Timing is crucial!
c. Abraham cut the wood himself. He left nothing to chance.
B. IT WAS THOROUGH & COMPLETE
1. It's easy, on the spur of the moment, to hastily do some heroic deed.
2. But Abraham had to endure three days of travel to Moriah!
a. Three days of seeing his Son for the last time -- his voice, his eyes, his features, to observe his precious personality.
b. Abraham's own hand would grasp the sacrificial knife!
3. But see the Holy Man as he:
a. Leaves the servants behind, lest they interfere;
b. Gathers stones, builds the altar, arranges the wood;
c. He binds his son and places him on the altar;
d. Finally (with tears flowing), he unsheathes his knife and raises it -- to plunge it into his Son's heart.
4. Why didn't God stop Abraham after a). Three days of travel or, b). When ascending Moriah, but only when he raised the knife? God wanted total surrender!
5. Something Gut-wrenching happened when Abraham raised his knife! Isaac didn't die on Moriah, but Abraham did. His base nature and will died. His love for the world died.
6. At that moment -- God stopped him. The test was over! How could Abraham raise that knife? Because his obedience was...
C. IT WAS BASED ON FAITH
1. Verse 5 -- "and WE will return to you."
2. Hebrews 11:17-19. God cannot lie, His Word cannot fail, so...
3. God could raise Isaac even if Isaac's body burned up to ashes!
III. A MYSTERIOUS UTTERANCE
A. ISAAC'S QUESTION: "WHERE IS THE LAMB?"
1. Abraham paused and said, "verse eight." It was fulfilled when the RAM was caught.
2. But later Abraham beholds a prophetic vision, "In the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen/provided" (verse 14).
3. What provision did Abraham see?
B. SHADOW AND REALITY
1. 2 Chronicles 3:1. Part of Mount Moriah became the site of the Temple where many "lambs" were sacrificed. But Abraham saw a better and more enduring sacrifice.
2. That very spot, where Abraham "The Father of Many" did offer his son, became known as Calvary and became the site where another Father, our Heavenly Father, did offer up his Son for the Sins of the World. "Slain from the foundation of the world."
3. And as Abraham received back he is son "in figure" from the dead, so God's Son did rise to justify us from our sins.
4. Thank God for Abraham's obedience!
CONCLUSION
A. REMOVING OUR DEFECTS/FLAWS
1. The story is told of a laborer who was a mature Christian and gave a solid testimony before all who knew him. His boss came to him one day and said, "You know, what ever you've got, I want it. You have such peace and joy and contentment. How can I get this?"
2. The laborer said, "Go to your home, put on your best suit, come down here, and work in the mud with the rest of us -- and you can have it."
3. "What are you talking about? I could never do that. I'm the boss, you’re the worker. I can't do that. That's beneath my dignity." The boss came back a couple of months later and said, "I ask you again, what is it that you have and how can I get it?"
4. "I told you, go put on your best suit, come down and work in the mud with us, and you can have it." Again the boss became furious and walked off.
5. Finally, in desperation, he came back to the laborer and said, "I don't care what it takes! I'll do anything." The laborer said, "Will you put on your best suit and come down and work in the mud?" The boss agreed that he would do even that. Then the laborer said, "You don't have to."
6. Do you see the point? The laborer knew what was standing between the boss and Christ -- pride and self.
B. APPLICATION/ALTAR CALL
1. God tested Abraham. We must expect God to test us with what we hold most dear. He that is unprepared may fail the test.
2. Is there something standing between you and Christ?
3. Do you need healing? Sometimes God allows wounds, but He also heals!
4. "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Do you need to be saved?
