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.
God enjoys giving Isaacs to his people. An Isaac always comes from God. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t walk over to that piano and play a song today. It’s a gift I don’t have and can’t create on my own. Similar to the way Abraham couldn’t create Isaac on his own. It was from God.
So before we move on, we need to all understand that God does give Isaacs to his people.
Transition: There is a problem that is associated with Isaacs though.
II. Isaacs can become gods.
Consider this, what did God ask Abraham to sacrifice? I don’t read anywhere in the text that God asked Abraham to sacrifice Sarah, or sacrifice one of his servants, or sacrifice his wealth (give it away), or even sacrifice himself. God asked Abraham to sacrifice the one thing that had an opportunity to become another god in his life. For Abraham, that was Isaac. It would have been very easy to do. Isaac was a special child. He was the son that was going fulfill the promise of God. From this son, his descendants were going to multiply. It must have been so easy for Abraham to begin trusting in Isaac more than He was God. Whenever you begin to trust in something more than you trust God, that thing whatever it may be, will become your god.
Have you ever turned one of your Isaacs into a god? At some point in life, each of us has lifted something to the place of God. Often, the very things that God blessed us with. I look at the music industry and see this quite often. There are people today that have been given such a beautiful voice that it can only be described as coming from God: a gift, an Isaac. God has given it to them to be a blessing and used for his glory. Yet, they never choose to acknowledge God and appear to worship their voice. Their voice is their ticket to money, power, and fame. Their voice is what allows them to do whatever they want. They trust in their voice. On another side, there are people that put their trust in their children that God has blessed them with. Thank God for my children, I’m important now. These people will do anything to make that child happy. If the child doesn’t want to go to church, they don’t go to church. If the child wants a new bike, they get him a new bike. They obey their child’s every command. The Isaac that God has blessed them with has become their object of worship.
So I ask again, is there something that God has blessed your life with that you have elevated to the point of God?
Transition: For a person that wants to walk with God, there is only one option when an Isaac begins to take the place of God.
III. The Isaac must die.
The old man, his son, and the servants were three days into the journey when they stopped. Abraham gave orders for camp to be set up. The servants began their work. Abraham began to examine and make sure he had everything. He had the wood, the fire, and he almost wept aloud when checked on the knife. This was one of the last stops. Could he obey God and do what had been commanded? He looked at his son Isaac. Perhaps he had put to much trust in him. After all it was God that had given Isaac to him. As he made the final preparations for Isaac and him to go on alone, he was sure in his heart. He would sacrifice his son to God. God would be given the rightful place as first in his heart. A quite voice of faith came out of his lips. “If God has promised me descendants through my son Isaac then God will simply have to raise Isaac from the dead after I sacrifice him.” Isaac walked up. “What were you saying father?” Abraham turned and looked at his beautiful son. “Just thinking aloud my son.” With that, Abraham helped put the wood on Isaac’s back and the two of them headed off to the place of sacrifice.
Whenever we have an Isaac that we have lifted up, God will eventually ask that we sacrifice it. We can not have two gods. I tell you the truth, it’s not easy. Your Isaac will often be the thing you trust in dearly and it’s hard to be asked to willingly give it up. God comes though and asks us to trust in Him, not in the gifts he’s given us. Sometimes we don’t realize how tough it was for Abraham. He was going to kill everything that God had promised and given to him. Yet, he was still willing to trust God. Can you be the same? Will you allow God to point out Isaacs in your life to be sacrificed? Moreover, will you obey?
Transition: The most beautiful part of this story comes with the revelation of a name of God.
IV. Jehovah Jireh.
Genesis 22:9-14.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. 12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.
I’m sure there are people that read this story and walk away believing God to be a beast that requires human sacrifice. God never wanted to see Isaac physically sacrificed. He wanted Isaac to be sacrificed in Abraham’s heart. Once God knew that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, God steeped in and stopped it. Truly, the sacrifice had already been made. God steps in though and provides a ram to be offered in place of Isaac. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide.
God wants to bring us to the place of sacrifice with our Isaac. The things that we have been blessed with that have become what we bless. God wants us to sacrifice them. I say this in love, but only God knows when you have truly made the sacrifice. For Abraham, God saw that the sacrifice had been made in his heart. You may be required to go farther. You may have to kill your Isaac. Listen, because I don’t want to be misunderstood. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because he believed God could raise him from the dead. If God has called you to sacrifice a promise he has given you, do it and trust that God can bring that promise back to life to fulfill it.
Conclusion: There is something wonderful about sacrifice. It makes us trust in God. Has God stirred something in you today? Has he shown you an Isaac? It’s time for sacrifice.
