We're continuing our series in the life of Abraham this summer, and tonight we come to Genesis 22, which is page 16 in the Pew Bible.
I'm going to turn there with me. It would be good to have a Bible open before you as we study this text tonight.
So we've been walking through Abraham's life, thinking about what it means to trust God,
and tonight we actually come to the climax of Abraham's story.
Everything, in one sense, comes to a head for Abraham right here in Genesis 22.
A number of years ago, when I was studying in graduate school, I remember having some weird chest pains one January.
I hadn't noticed those before. I thought that was kind of weird. This was new, so I went to see the doctor.
There's a history of heart disease in my family, so I'm like, oh, this is kind of serious. I should go check this out.
So I went to the doctor, and they scheduled a time for me to go to the hospital and have a stress test.
Does he ever have a stress test?
So what they do is they hook up all these sensors to your chest, and then they put you on a treadmill,
and then they turn the treadmill on, and you have to start running.
First they start you out walking. It's kind of nice. You're sort of walking, you're walking,
then they speed it up, and you're kind of jogging, and you're jogging a little faster,
and then they keep hitting that button, and you're running, and then you're running faster,
and then by the time you kind of get to the peak of the stress test, you're sprinting.
I'm just flat out running.
And at this point in my life, I'm a graduate student.
I'm not running a lot unless something's chasing me.
And I'm just sprinting on this thing.
And it's also one of these where the elevation goes up.
And once I'm at peak speed, I'm looking at the tech like, we're good, right?
We've got enough data to go on.
And they just sort of let me sit on that thing for what seemed like an eternity.
It was probably less than a minute.
And then finally, they slowed down the treadmill.
They let me off.
They let me lay down so that my heart rate could return from the stratosphere where they had sent it.
Anyway, after all that, thankfully, it turned out my heart was just fine.
The chest pains were probably indigestion or some just anxiety over the classes I was taking or something.
But the point is that we wouldn't have known the real state of my heart had I not come through the intensity of that test.
And tonight, we're going to see that the same thing is true spiritually.
The climax of Abraham's life, as we've been following along this story, the climax of his life doesn't come when he first receives God's promise to bless him and to make him a blessing in the whole world.
The climax of Abraham's life doesn't come when he and Sarah finally have a son, an offspring in her old age.
The climax of Abraham's life comes when God tests him.
When God tells him to actually give up the son that he had waited so long for.
When God tells him to give up the son, even when all these promises will be carried forward.
So let's read in Genesis 22, verses 1 through 19.
We read this verse, Genesis 22.
After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham.
And he said, here I am.
He said, take 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 the mountains, which I shall tell you.
So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac.
And he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose and went to the place in which God had told him.
On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.
And Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey.
I and the boy will go over there and worship the coming end to you.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son.
And he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and so they went, both of them together.
And Isaac said to his father, Abraham, my father.
And he said to him, here I am, my son.
He said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering to his son.
So they went, both of them together.
When they came to the place in which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order,
and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.
Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
The angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham.
And he said, here I am.
He said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God,
seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram.
He called in a thicket by his horns.
And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide.
As it is said to this day on the mouth of the Lord, what shall we provide?
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said,
By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son,
your only son, I will surely bless you.
And I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.
And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,
because you obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned to his young man,
and they rose and went together to Beersheba,
and Abraham left at Beersheba.
So at the time that we have tonight,
I want to briefly look at three things in our text.
First, I want to look at the nature of the test that God puts before Abraham,
and then we're going to look at the outcome of that test,
and then last, we're going to look at how we can face our own tests, our lives.
So first, let's look at the nature of this test.
You see right there in verse 1, God tested Abraham.
God comes to Abraham and tells him to sacrifice his one and only son Isaac,
the son that he loves, on the mountain, on the mountain of the land of the ride.
And of course, I think if you're a reader of this text,
our first reaction to such a command from God is confusion,
and maybe even a little bit of horror or disgust,
that God would ask Abraham to do something like that.
Cyril Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, wrote a book in the 19th century called Fear and Trebling,
which was about this episode in Genesis.
And Kierkegaard decided that the takeaway from Genesis 22,
one of the lessons is that faith is ultimately a leap into the unknown.
It's a leap into the irrational,
because God is asking Abraham to do something that's completely irrational here.
It's acting, faith is acting against all of our better judgments just because God said so.
But actually, as much as Kierkegaard is a great Christian thinker,
I don't think that's actually what's going on here.
The first thing to notice about the nature of this text is that it's actually not also irrational or illogical.
Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, which is a great book, by the way,
if you haven't read it, Stouncers and the Hostal,
he mentions the research of a Harvard Old Testament scholar named John Levinson.
And Levinson's study makes the point that in ancient Hebrew thought,
the firstborn son was the representative of the whole family.
Think about it. We talked a little bit about this last week.
So Isaac has now been confirmed as the heir, as the firstborn of Abraham's family,
which meant that all of Abraham's property, his estate, everything that he had,
his whole family, was going to Isaac.
And in a familial culture, in a culture that wasn't as individualistic as ours,
in a much more communal sense,
this firstborn son was the representative for everything that Abraham was.
Isaac, in a sense, was the family.
And Levinson goes on to point out in his study
that what we see in the rest of the Old Testament
is that when God's justice is enacted,
when God's just punishment for our sin is expressed,
in the Old Testament a lot of times, where does it fall?
Well, he says, naturally, it falls on the firstborn son.
If our sin forfeits all of our rights before God,
if we're totally accountable to God for our sin,
and we stand under his just judgment,
and if the firstborn son represents everything that we have,
then of course, when God's judgment's come,
it will be totally understandable in that culture,
for God requires a payment in the firstborn son.
And if we were going to owe God everything,
and if the penalty was going to demand everything,
then how would you represent that?
It would be your firstborn son.
They were your everything.
I actually see this in the Old Testament.
You see it in Egypt.
Remember the Exodus from Egypt,
when the destroyer comes and the tenth plague?
What does it come for?
It was for the firstborn son.
You see it throughout the Pentateuch,
because the firstborn sons of every family in Israel
have to be redeemed.
They're the ones that you've got to make a payment for
so you can keep them.
So when God comes to Abraham,
long before those events,
and says, Abraham,
I want you to sacrifice your son to me.
It's actually not some irrational command
demanding Abraham to leave in the dark.
No, this is God in his holiness
demanding from Abraham
the just penalty for his son.
Notice God doesn't tell Abraham to murder his son.
He says,
Offer him as a burnt sacrifice.
He uses technical language there.
I want you to offer him up to me
as a sacrifice.
This has to do with sin
and with judgment.
And notice also that God doesn't tell Abraham
to sacrifice Sarah
or another precious family member.
That would have been illogical to Abraham.
He wouldn't have understood that.
That would have been an inappropriate answer.
No, it was only the firstborn son.
It was only Isaac that represented
everything that Abraham had to give.
Isaac was Abraham's everything.
And that brings us to another thing
we need to notice about the nature of this test,
which is that Isaac is Abraham's everything
as we have the story.
As the narrator points out again and again
in our text,
Isaac is Abraham's son.
His only son.
The son he loves.
This is Abraham's beloved son.
This is the son he had waited years
and years ago.
This was his treasure.
This was his boy.
Now,
God was going to test Abraham's heart.
He was going to test his faith.
Which is to say,
God was coming to Abraham
to find out,
did Abraham love him
above all else?
Did Abraham love God
above all else?
Or it's something
taking the place of God
in Abraham's heart.
You know,
there will come times
probably for all of our lives,
if we're believers,
if we're followers of Christ,
if we're faced with similar tests.
A test of where our deep heart
and trust really lies.
Is it in God,
our creator,
and our redeemer?
Or,
is it in some creative thing?
And the fact is
that this testing will come
not because God is cruel,
not because God is ruthless
and cold,
not because God wants to,
you know,
unnecessarily punish us.
No.
This test comes to us
because God loves us.
Because God loves us
too much
to allow us to keep
competing false gods
in our hearts.
God loves us too much
to let us base our lives
on lesser things,
even good things,
even something like
an only son
who we love more
than any other earthly thing.
God is saying,
Abraham,
if you keep your heart
stuck on your son,
you will run out of you.
But if you release
your grip from him,
it will demonstrate
being love
at the end of all else.
Then you'll be free.
Abraham,
God says,
I want you to give up
your only son.
And Abraham,
even though the test was hard,
even though it was
the hardest thing,
any tests that Abraham
had or would experience,
what happens?
Abraham obeys.
He goes.
And amazing too,
notice too,
that Isaac obeys.
At first,
Isaac wonders
where the lamb is
for the sacrifice
when they get to
the top of the hill.
And Abraham sets up
the altar
and binds Isaac
like a sacrifice.
Isaac doesn't turn and run.
Now keep in mind,
at this point in the story,
Isaac's probably
a young teen.
And Abraham was probably,
well,
that's definitely
an incredibly old man.
Isaac very easily
could have rejected
his father,
split and run.
No thanks,
dad.
I'll not take part
in this game.
And yet Isaac saves.
Isaac too
entrusts himself
with the Lord
rather than
faith.
So this is the nature
of the test.
Here God is
demanding from Abraham
his everything,
his only son.
He's testing
whether Abraham
will love God
about all else
and trust him
about all else.
But let's look
back at the outcome
of the test.
And from Abraham's side,
the outcome
is not just obedience,
but it's assurance.
Abraham's faith
is tested
and he comes
through the test.
In the New Testament
book of James
in chapter 2,
James will look back
at this episode
in Abraham's life
and say,
that's when we knew
that Abraham's faith
was real.
James will say
that Abraham's work,
his obedience,
willingly offering
up his son
was the evidence
that proved
his faith
to be the real thing.
This was the thing
that showed Abraham
to have a living faith,
to have a true faith.
And that would be
the outcome
of our faith
as tested as well.
In Romans chapter 5
verses 1 through 5,
Paul writes,
therefore since we've
been justified by faith,
we've been put right
with God,
by faith,
we have peace with God
for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through him,
we also have obtained
access by faith
in the disgrace
in which we stand.
And we rejoice
in the hope
of the glory of God.
Not only that,
but we rejoice
in our suffering,
as Paul says.
Knowing that our suffering
produces endurance
and endurance
produces character
and character
produces hope.
And hope does not
put us to shame
because God's love
has been poured
into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit
that has been given
to us.
Paul says our faith
is tested by suffering.
What happens?
Does it destroy our faith?
Does it disprove
God's love for us now?
Paul says that suffering
produces endurance.
We're forced to focus.
We're forced to press in.
Hold on.
Put first things first
and to ignore.
And then Paul says
that endurance
produces character.
We're refined.
You know,
when you mine
out of the earth
some kind of precious metal
out of the ground,
what's it like?
It's full of impurities.
It's full of dross.
It's full of
other kinds of rocks
and minerals.
But when it goes
through the furnace,
it comes out pure.
It comes out stronger.
It comes out more beautiful
than when it went through.
In other words,
it's character
that's refined
and displayed.
And then Paul says
that that character
produces hope.
It produces hope
that God really does love us.
And He really has chosen us.
And He's really going
to see us through
no matter what comes.
And He really is
all our hearts need
and our love need
for all eternity.
Amen.
So what's the outcome
of the test?
Abraham obeys.
And God intervenes.
As Abraham reaches
with a knife,
the angel of the Lord
pulls out from heaven
in verse 12.
Do not lay your hand
on the boy
or do anything to him.
For now I know
that you fear God,
seeing that you have not
withheld your son,
your only son.
And then,
in verses 15 through 18,
God reaffirms
His covenant with Abraham.
It's a very important
part of this story.
Because you see,
when God promised
Abraham all the way
back in chapter 12,
all the way back
when Abraham's story
really begins,
when God promises
back there to bless
Abraham,
to make him a great
family,
to make him a great
nation,
to give him the land,
and ultimately
to bless all nations
through him,
that promise really
seemed to be conditional
on Abraham receiving
the promise,
obeying God,
and actually leaving
his family and homeland
and going to the land
that God showed him.
But here in chapter 22,
after that greatest test
of Abraham's life
after he surrenders
completely to God,
giving him his everything,
God makes that same
promise completely
and utterly rock solid.
It's utterly unconditional
love of fear
in chapter 22.
The New Testament book
of Hebrews looks back
to these verses
in Genesis.
This is what it says
in Hebrews chapter 6,
verses 13 through 18.
It says,
God made a promise
to Abraham,
since he had no one
greater by who to swear,
God swore by himself,
saying,
Surely I will bless you
and multiply you.
And thus Abraham,
having patiently waited,
obtained the promise.
For people swear
by something greater
than themselves,
and all their disputes
and oaths
is final for confirmation.
So when God
desired to show
more convincingly
to the heirs
of the promise,
the unchangeable character
of his purpose,
God guaranteed it
with an oath.
So by two unchangeable things,
in which it is impossible
for God to lie,
we who have fled
for refuge
by the strong encouragement
to hold fast
to the most of the forest.
Now what's the writer
of Hebrews saying?
Do you see here
in Genesis 22,
verse 16,
I have sworn
and I have done it
with a soul?
God is here
making an oath.
Hebrews says,
you know,
usually when we make an oath
we sort of swear
by something greater
than ourselves,
you know.
I swear on my mother's grave
or whatever,
you know.
But here,
because there's nothing
greater than God,
God says,
I'm giving this oath
and I'm swearing
by myself
because I'm the greatest
in the midst
that I have to do
what I promised.
And Hebrews says
that makes
two unchanging things.
First,
God's word itself
and second,
God's oath.
And nothing
to be more proxile
than that.
So Abraham
comes through this test
with an unshakable
assurance
that God
will indeed do
as he does.
That Isaac
will finally
carry the family line
forward,
that God
will make them
into a great nation,
that their enemies
will be able
to stand against them
and one day,
hope against hope
and Abraham's offspring,
all the nations
of the earth
will be blessed.
And interestingly,
Hebrews says,
you know,
that oath
wasn't just for Abraham,
that was for us too.
But God gave Abraham
that oath.
He was speaking it
to him
but attending it
from all the generations
that will come
as if to say,
my promise
is sure.
That's the outcome
of the test.
When we go
through the fires,
we come out
with even greater
assurance
that God
is faithful,
that he is
trustworthy,
that he's the only
treasure our hearts
need.
And that brings us
to the last point.
How do we
go through
our own tests?
Now,
the New Testament
is very clear
that God
tempts no one
to sin.
James chapter 1
in the New Testament
makes that very clear.
God's not in the business
of putting temptations
before you
to sin.
Temptations come
from our own
fallen nature,
the flesh,
from the world
around us,
from the devil,
the accuser,
who seeks to steal
and kill and destroy.
So God doesn't come
and tempt us
to sin.
But as we see here,
God at times
will test us.
Seasons will come
when following him
will not be easy.
When we will need
to trust God
despite the challenges,
despite the cost,
despite the fluctuations
in our moods,
even if it means
losing something
very dear to us,
a job,
a friendship,
in some places
of the world today,
perhaps even
our physical safety.
what will help us
come through
the test?
You know,
when Abraham arrives
at Mount Moriah
on the third day
of travel,
think about that,
three long days,
just him,
his son Isaac,
and a couple servants.
And I imagine
that was a pretty
quiet journey
for Abraham
and his son.
Not a lot of joking
if they marched
into the mountains.
But when they do arrive,
this is what Abraham
said to his servants
in verse 5.
Abraham says,
stay here with the donkey.
I, the boy,
will go over there
and worship
and will come to you again.
In other words,
Abraham is going
up to the mountain
to sacrifice his son
and yet he says,
I and him,
we're going to go
and we're going to come.
It's very interesting.
And as they ascend
the mountain,
Isaac turns to his father
and says,
Father,
here's the wood
and here's the fire
for the offering
and where's the lamb.
And Abraham says,
God will provide
the lamb for the offering.
Now,
was Abraham just
changing the subject
because that was
an awkward question?
Was Abraham
just avoiding
the real reason
that he was headed
up the mountain
with wood
and with fire
and with a knife
and he had no lamb?
I think rather
than Abraham
on that long journey
into the mountains
was contemplating
the promises of God.
Again,
this is Hebrews.
Hebrews chapter 11
verses 17 through 19
says,
By faith,
Abraham,
when he was tested,
offered up Isaac
and he who had received
the promises
was in the act
of offering up
his only son
of whom it was said
through Isaac
shall he have all
springy names.
Abraham considered
that God was able
even to raise him
from the dead
from which,
figuratively speaking,
he did receive
the back.
God had promised
Abraham
that Isaac
was going to be
the one
through whom
the promise
went forward.
Through Isaac
shall your offspring
be named.
And as Abraham
climbed to the mountain,
that was the promise
he must have been
rehearsing
and turning over
again and again
in his mind.
And he considered,
Hebrews says,
he was using his mind
to think about
the word of God.
If Isaac was
God's promised heir,
Abraham was reasoning
that no matter
what happened
on the mountain,
God was going to
remain true
to his word.
Reason is happening.
Praise the dead.
You see,
friends,
faith isn't
believing the irrational
or believing
in the dark.
Faith is trusting
the word of God.
Trusting God's
faithfulness
to his promises
more than we
trust our
faith feelings,
more than we
trust our
unfinant experiences.
Abraham had
walked with God
for years.
God had proven
himself faithful
again and again,
and now Abraham
knew that God
would remain faithful
even in the midst
of this most
extreme of tests.
Is that true for you,
friends?
Is that true for me?
When the testing
comes,
is the word of God,
God's word of promise,
more real to you,
more precious to you
than the merely human
words inside of your head?
Is God himself
more precious to you,
more lovely,
and more worthy to you
than even the good
things this life
can offer?
Thankfully,
today,
we can see something
that even Abraham
didn't see.
You know,
when Abraham
lifted up his eyes,
he saw a ram
called the thicket.
And God provided
a ram
to be sacrificed
instead of Isaac,
his son.
God provided
a substitute
for Isaac.
So we're actually
later in the Old Testament
in 2 Chronicles 3,
we're told that
Solomon's temple
was built
on this very spot.
That Mount Moriah
of Abraham's day
eventually,
for history,
would become Jerusalem.
The temple mountain
in David and Solomon's day.
So that same mountain,
the one that Abraham
called the Lord
will provide,
or Jehovah Jireh,
that would be the spot
where the temple
would be put,
where God again
would provide,
that he would provide
sacrifices for his people
for years,
symbols that their sins
could be paid
by another.
Substitutes
taking their place.
But friends,
we know there wasn't
until years later
when there would be
another son.
There would be
an only son,
a beloved son,
and this son
would actually go up
that same mountain.
And instead of being
rescued in the last minute
with a substitute,
God the Father
would give him up,
would give up
his one and only son
to be in his substitute.
To die once
and for all
from our sins,
so that whoever
believes in him
will not perish
but have eternal life.
John's so famous
and says.
And friends,
here's the thing,
if you see that,
if you see God
giving up his only son
for you,
then you see something
that Abraham
could only glimpse
from far away.
You see that the Lord
has really provided
in giving Jesus
his one and only son.
giving the lamb,
providing the lamb
that takes away
the sins of the world,
as John's
chapter 6 said.
And if you see that,
if you get that,
then listen to what
Paul says,
picking up on the same
kind of language
in this passage
from Genesis.
This is Romans 8,
31 through 32.
What shall we say
to these things?
If God is for us,
who can be against us?
He who did not
spare his own son
forgave him up
for us all,
how will he not
also with him
graciously give us
all things?
Friends,
no matter what test
you're facing tonight,
don't you see?
No matter what God
has asked you
to lay down,
even if it's the most
precious thing
in the world,
even if it's your
everything,
it's nothing
compared to what
God has already
given up for you
and what he promises
to give you
in and through
his son.
Do you see
Paul's relentless
logic in this verse?
If God did not
spare his own
son the most
treasured
and precious
thing in
eternity,
if God's already
given you that,
how will he not
also graciously
with him
give us all things?
And what's that?
What above all
does God promise
to graciously
give us
with Christ
his son?
Ultimately,
is it not
the gift of
himself?
Jesus said
in the Gospel
of John,
this is a true
life.
To know God
and to know
his own
son.
Ultimately,
it's not the
all things
that God
promises to
give us
his son.
To know
God and to
be with God
forever
in the heavens
and the new
earth.
To have
and to be
with God
for eternity
who is the
all-consuming
fire,
the God
who is the
beauty that
made the
world,
the God
who is the
desire of
nations,
the real
longing
underneath all
of our
longings,
the trying
of God
himself.
love.
This is the
blessing of
Abraham that
God promised
so many
years ago.
What is this
blessing that
keeps running
through this
book of
Genesis?
Is it not
to be right
with God?
To be in
fellowship with
God, to be
sons and
daughters of
God, and
to know the
love of this
God, a love
that has given
up his oldest
son for you,
to know that
love forever.
without
restriction.
And so
friends, I
think as we
wrap up in
Genesis 22, no
matter what
your test is
tonight, remember
that the Lord
has provided
that if he
has given
his son, his
only son, the
son he loves
for us, how
will he not
feel gracious
and give us
all things?
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we
confess that a
text like this
is very
challenging to
us, Lord, not
just for the
obvious reasons,
but for the
reasons that we
know how hard it
is to give up
the things that
we love in the
face of trial and
testing.
Lord, we thank
you that you
give us so many
good gifts, but
we also thank you
that you love us
too much to let
our hearts rest in
those good gifts
without resting in
you.
So, Lord Jesus, we
pray that you
would become more
and more real to
us tonight by your
Holy Spirit, that
we would see the
preciousness of
being loved by you
and what you've
done for us, and
the confidence in
you, to have an
open hand towards
everything in this
life, because you
have wrapped your
everlasting
arms around us
for our journey.
In the promise of
Jesus' name,
Amen.