‘Abraham, take your son, your only son and sacrifice him’, why would this have happened? Let’s take a few moments to study the circumstances that led up to this event.
Will power! Have you heard the expression, ‘so and so has a strong will power’?
Will (noun): the power of control over one's own actions or emotions
Free will is ‘your power to control personal choices through your actions or emotions’
What was the origin of sin? Some say it all stems from disobedience of Adam and Eve and they certainly were disobedient. However, there was another sin that we must consider and that is the sin of ‘willful disobedience’ on the part of Lucifer.
I John 3: 8; 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
Is. 14: 12-14; 12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star (Lucifer), son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth (serpent), you who once laid low the nations! (the temptation of Adam and Eve). 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of the assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
So we see that Lucifer manufactured a deliberate act of ‘willful disobedience’ to the commandment of the Lord God. Whereas, Adam and Eve were ‘un-willfully disobedient’ because they did not conceive the idea of sin in their heart, it was only after they were made aware did they disobey.
Although there were some righteous men in the early years, mankind did not have a very good track record for being righteous
Satan’s willful disobedience, deception, Cain murdering Abel, the tower of Babel
Was man headed down the same path as Lucifer, the path of ‘willful disobedience’?
God searches the earth for righteous men, consider the text written to Asa, king of Judah, when he did not rely upon the Lord for deliverance from his enemies.
[Key-verse] II Chron. 16: 9; 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
GOD’S DESIRE FOR THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF MAN
God wants us to be righteous people. This is a main theme of the Bible and motivation for His intervention in man’s affairs. He loves us so much that it actually pains Him to see us waver from His creative design (our free willed nature). To God it must have seemed that we continually fell short of the mark. It was time to search the earth for a righteous man and then place him under a watchful eye, a series of tests if need be.
Gen 17: 1-2; 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm My covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
A. There was a Holy covenant made between God and man, a binding contract between two parties where both parties had a duty to uphold.
B. God’s part was to make Abraham the father of many nations.
C. Abraham’s part was the circumcision, an everlasting sign in the flesh.
As far as Abraham was concerned the sign in the flesh was done more for the individual, a kind of physical reminder that he had been separated out of the world and unto God. The real covenantial agreement was his willful obedience to the conditions of the covenant (doing what the Lord had commanded). Well, as we know, father Abraham was obedient and he circumcised his family that day. But over a period of time things seemed to go downhill from there. Yes Ishmael had been born and Sarah had finally given birth to Isaac. And as a result of earlier decisions things got quite complicated. It appeared that God needed to examine the situation, even though the covenant conditions were upheld, there would be another test of obedience.
Why the test? Why would God command Abraham to sacrifice his only son?
1. Sarah tried to solve the problem for God by giving Hagar to Abraham, he went along with the perceived solution (Gen. 16: 2) and later she told Abraham to kick Hagar and Ishmael out because she was afraid that Isaac would not get the promise of God (Gen. 21: 10).
2. Abraham had previously tried to deceive Abemelech about Sarah, saying she was his sister (Gen. 20: 1). He feared his own life (Gen. 20: 11).
Who was really in control?
Was Abraham wavering from trusting the Lord with his whole life?
Was he trying to solve his own problems apart from God?
Have you ever known someone who gave you something but came back later and asked to have it back? Did Abraham give it all to God but keep taking it back?
And this brings us to the message for today.
PLEASE TURN WITH ME AS WE READ THE SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Gen. 22: 1-2 1 Some time later God tested Abraham (tempt: nacah; to test, to prove, to try). 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.”
We have all been there, something interrupts the normal every days routine. A phone call at work saying ‘call home immediately’, the possibility that something serious has taken place. You’re whole life seems to stop moving, and you turn to God in fervent prayer. Your world is turned upside down. You think to yourself, ‘if this all works out I’ll never neglect quality time with the family again.’ I wonder just what went through Abraham’s mind when God said, ‘sacrifice your only son.’ All we know is he was obedient to God’s command no matter what he was thinking. But there were other sacrifices that had to be made.
Used wisely for it will pass away
God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his time. He was told to go to a land called Moriah. There would be a lot of time to think while on this particular three-day journey. I don’t think he spent much time worried about feeding the animals back home. I wonder if through part of the journey Abraham was asking himself ‘why didn’t I spend more time with my son?’
Finding time for the kids should be a top priority for us.
We shouldn’t wait till something drastic happens before we sacrifice our time for the children!
Don’t wait to pray, ‘I promise to give them more attention from now on’
These are not our children
Then we see that God reminded Abraham that Isaac was his only son (the only one left at home, for we know that Ishmael was still alive). Family is very important to God, we are part of God’s family. When we realize that children are gifts from God, we can then take the parenting responsibility more seriously. What were some of the conversations between Abraham and Isaac during this trip? I would be willing to bet that there was no scolding, no belittling, no demoralizing statements. In fact Abraham couldn’t even bring himself to tell the boy what was happening.
We should think about what we are going to say to the children?
We should be aware of the tone of our voice when you guide them?
How much compassion, patience do we have?
Shouldn’t we serve God faithfully by not allowing our pride to rule us?
Every action is being watched
Abraham took two servants with them. People all around us will see and hear as we interact with our children. Abraham had a fully committed heart to do what the Lord had commanded him to do. His motivation was driven by his love for God. Sure it was tough to stand up to the test, it was the hardest thing he would ever have to do, but he knew he would have to do what was in his heart. The witnesses were there to verify his righteousness. People in our lives will always verify our actions.
What is your motivation for God’s gift to you (your children)? Is it more important to win the baseball game than to learn the things of God from playing the game?
How do people view your interaction between yourself and your family? What would they say is on your heart?
This ‘willful obedience’ test was just as much for Isaac as it was for Abraham. Isaac had been given the promise of many nations, he really didn’t know that he was to be the sacrifice. There are times when the children should not know some things.
However this would be a proving ground for his respect of his father, a true obedience test when he finally found out what was happening. He would have to make a personal choice to allow what was happening to take place, he could have rebelled and ran. Isaac had offerings to make also.
An offering of honor to his father’s righteousness
First we see Isaac had to carry the wood that would fuel the fire for the sacrifice. Many times the children need to help their parents out, sometimes not even knowing the reason for some things. Isaac didn’t question the events that were taking place. He respected his father and God. I often wonder if Isaac had known that he was to be the sacrifice, would he have offered to carry the wood out of his reverent respect for his father.
Shouldn’t we do things for our parents just for who they are? Give them the benefit of doubt when we don’t quite understand their requests.
Shouldn’t we honor our mother and father?
Obeying out of our own free willed nature
Isaac obeyed his father even after he knew that he was going to be the sacrifice. Obedience goes two ways, the father has a responsibility not to abuse his rights as father and the child must be willing to serve his father. Isaac saw the spirit of servant-hood in his father and was willing to emulate it.
We should be able to watch each other and learn
Serving is not demeaning
Peer pressure is what you want it to be, not want it wants you to be
Giving all of ourselves for God
Then we see Isaac decided to make a consecration of self, he could have rebelled and ran away. Many times children don’t know the true reason for some of the things fathers have them do. Even though it may be the best thing for them, they rebel and become intolerant of the best wishes of their father. But here we see that Isaac had a fully committed heart he was willing to give of himself because his father knew what is best.
[Rebellion can blind us. Tell the story about the teenager graduating and wanting a car.]
Abraham and Isaac had passed the ‘willful obedience’ test. God knew that He was in control of their lives. Once Abraham concluded that God was able, then God made the provision, he did not have to sacrifice Isaac. I wonder how relieved Abraham and Isaac were when they saw the Ram in the bushes? I would also be willing to bet that this particular Ram was spotless.
The Bible is full of types and shadows that point to Jesus Christ as the Messiah. In fact we can be assured that the entire Bible validates Jesus Christ as the pinnacle of God’s work. The story of Abraham and Isaac is no different. Consider what the King James Version says in Gen. 22: 8, ‘And Abraham said, my son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.’
He would provide Himself as the lamb!
John. 1: 29 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
God has a fully committed heart that was proven in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can now see that Abraham was speaking about God providing Jesus Christ as the Lamb. The One final sacrifice that would save us all was that of Christ Himself. The witnesses were there to verify His righteousness. Praise the Lord!
Christ wants to make a covenant with you. Christ has already done His part. He came and died for your sins. We know that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, we can’t work our way, buy our trip or earn admission into heaven. This is not the condition of the covenant. The covenantial condition for us is ‘willful obedience’ by personal choice, to have a heart that is fully committed to God. The honest desire to be righteous.
And so the challenge for us today is!
Stand up to the willful obedience test;
Sacrifice our time for the children (maybe it’s time to turn off the TV for awhile and enjoy a game with the kids, or reading the Bible regularly). We may be surprised at how much fun it can be.
Sacrifice our pride and be compassionate through patience
Sacrifice our privacy knowing that others are watching our behavior
Sons and daughters; What about making a offering of respect to your parents
Obedience to their requests
Self sacrifice to lend a helping hand
After all look at what the Lord Jesus Christ has sacrificed for us.
The Lord is looking for a few good Christians to strengthen.
What would be the result of passing such a test? Strength is the result, the strength of the Lord (spiritual strength).
II Chron. 16: 9; 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
God Bless You!
