Title: Abraham & Isaac – God’s substitution
Theme: To show the purpose & symbolism of salvation by faith in Genesis 22
Text: Genesis 22
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." (1) Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." (2) So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. (3) Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. (4) And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." (5) So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. (6) But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (7) And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. (Gen 22:8) Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. (9) And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (10) But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." (11) And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (12) Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. (13)
And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The Lord it shall be provided." (14)
Introduction
This is one of the most unique stories in scripture. Abraham was man who pick up his wife and left from the Ur of Chaldeans to follow the calling of God. God never told him where to go but told him what direction to go in. He is often time called a man of faith because of his blindly following the Lord.
Abraham was at the pinnacle of his life. Everything God had promised to him had began to take place. After many years his legacy had been set into place with the birth of his son.
Purposes of this story
1) To show Abraham’s true commitment to the Lord. If he was willing to give up everything to follow God.
He tells us from the beginning “God tested Abraham”. As we know from James that God does not tempt people but will often times test them according to their faith.
He tests him with the one thing he loves more than anything in the world. This is his son Isaac that was promised to him by God from Genesis 12. This is the son Abraham had waited decades for. This is the son that would perpetuate his seed.
Yes, Abraham had a son before, Ismael. He would have children afterwards. But this was the only son born between him and Sarah and Abraham loved him deeply as was noted in the passage.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).
"This is a real crisis in Abraham's life. God has brought this man through four very definite crises, each of which was a real exercise of his soul, a real strain upon his heart.
? "First of all, he was called to leave all of his relatives in Ur of the Chaldees. He was just to leave the whole group. That was a real test for Abraham. He didn't do it very well at the beginning, but, nevertheless, the break finally came.
? "Then there was the test that came with Lot, his nephew. Abraham loved Lot—he wouldn't have been carrying Lot around with him if he hadn't. But the time came when they had to separate, and Lot went down to Sodom.
? "Then there was the test with this boy of his, the son of Hagar, Ishmael. Abraham just cried out to God, 'Oh, that Ishmael might live before Thee!' He loved that boy; he hated to be separated from him.
? "Now Abraham comes to this supreme test, the fourth great crisis in his life: he is asked to give up Isaac. Abraham does not quite understand all the details for the very simple reason that God has told him, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called.' Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead (see Hebrews 11:19), but as far as Abraham is concerned, he is willing to go through with the sacrifice" (Thru The Bible, Vol.1, p.92. The points have been separated in an outline form for simplicity.)
Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Genesis II.
This test was not to “prove” Abraham’s love to God, God already knew his heart. It was so Abraham could see his own heart the future generations could see absolute surrender to God
Walking out of Faith
One more note about Abraham before we move on. Could you imagine the questions in his mind as he took the journey? No where in scripture do we ever read it is ok to offer human sacrifice. This must have been a real challenge to him. How would the world see him? How would Sarah, his wife, see him?
Yet in what would seem many unanswerable questions Abraham obeyed the Lord. Wow! This is key to this passage. By faith Abraham did this.
Hebrews 11
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
(Heb 11:17-19)
This is what Abraham meant in: (Gen 22:3) Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. (Gen 22:4) And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."
2) To show God’s love for His son and willingness to sacrifice for us.
God tells Abraham “take your son, your only son whom you love”.
This is another key to the purpose of this passage. Abraham loved Isaac. God was preparing us for a sacrifice that would happen 17 centuries later. John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Joh 3:16)
For God so loved that he gave. The true test of love is what you are willing to give no matter the concern for what you will get back.
God loved and He gave. He gave His only begotten son.
I had this thought come to my mind as I was preparing this week. We live in a time where people think because you have you should be required to give. If you have money you should be required to give. We have no sympathy on what it took to get.
People see God and say well He should give because He is God. But this is that about what God should do but what he was willing to do. It was not out of obligation but love for us and this world.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (Joh 3:17)
Note: This is symbolized in Isaac’s willingness to be Abraham’s sacrifice. Some have said he was as low as 18 while others as old as 33. Either way he could have revisited. But he trusted his father and was willing. As Jesus was the same who “gave up His life because no one could take it.”
Note 2: Isaac carried his own wood as Christ carried his cross.
3) To show God’s plan of redemption by substitution.
The redemption plan is shown at the very end. Abraham raises the knife to take the life of his son. God stops him. Then he tells him to look around. There is a lamb caught in the bush.
I love the image I once read. As God was sending Abraham up one side of the mountain He was also preparing the ram to climb the other side. So you can see that they would meet together at God’s command.
Romans 6:23 ESV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 ESV / But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB)
1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.
This is symbolized in the OT by lambs, bulls and goats. This was a common practice but truly fulfilled in Christ death.
Thought 1. Abraham's offering his son Isaac is a picture of God offering His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for man. The sacrifice of Isaac is a type—a symbol, a picture, a prophecy—of the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary, the sacrifice of God's very own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the sins of the world.
? Abraham was asked to give up his most cherished possession to God; God has given up His most cherished possession to man (Genesis 22:1-2).
? Abraham was asked to sacrifice his own son for God; God has sacrificed His only Son for man (Genesis 22:2, cp. John 3:16; Romans 8:32).
? Abraham believed that God would raise up his son, if need be; God did raise up His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Note: it can even be said that Isaac was as good as dead (sacrificed) in the heart of Abraham during the three days of travelling before the resurrection. The resurrection of both Isaac and Christ took place three days after their death (Genesis 22:5).
? Isaac was apparently willing to obey God and be sacrificed, for there is no evidence of a struggle. Isaac was obedient to death even as Christ was obedient to death (Phil. 2:5-8).
? The ram was provided as a substitute for Isaac; the lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, was provided as a substitute for all mankind (Genesis 22:13, cp. John 1:29; Isaiah 53:5-7).
? Isaac carried the wood upon which he was to be laid as a sacrifice; Christ carried the cross upon which He was to be hung as the sacrifice for the sins of the world (Genesis 22:6).
? Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice upon Mt. Moriah, the very mountain upon which Jerusalem was built (2 Chron. 3:1); God offered up Christ on Calvary, right outside Jerusalem, upon the very same mountain ridge or range where Isaac was offered (Genesis 22:2). (Note: this tells us why God had Abraham travel three days to offer Isaac on Mt. Moriah. The offering of Isaac was planned by God to be a type of God's offering of Christ.
? Abraham called Mt. Moriah Jehovah-Jireh, "the Lord will provide." God provided a substitutionary sacrifice for Abraham; God has provided a substitutionary sacrifice for us in the Lord Jesus Christ (Genesis 22:13-14).
? Isaac was to bear the consuming fire of Abraham; Jesus Christ has borne the consuming fire of God's holiness and judgment against sin (the Bible often uses fire to symbolize the holiness and judgment of God) (Genesis 22:6).
? Abraham received the great joy of God's promise because he willingly sacrificed his will to God's will; Jesus Christ is to experience the fulfillment of His joy because He totally surrendered His will to God's will and sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world (Genesis 22:15-18, cp. Hebrews 12:2).
Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Genesis II.
Where is the sacrifice, Isaac asks? God will provide. He is Jehovah-Jireh. He is God the provider. Yes indeed He did. God provided a sacrifice in the place of Isaac. How? After stopping Isaac Abraham looks over and sees a ram caught in the thicket. Where did this ram come from? As Abraham and Isaac was traveling up one side of the mountain God was sending the ram up the other.
“Abraham’s problem and God’s solution were coming up the same mountain, but the problem couldn’t see the solution until it paid the price to reach the top.”
God has done the same thing for you. The question is are you willing to surrender to His solution.
