Let me pray and then we'll look at this together.
Thank you so much, Heavenly Father, for your kindness to us,
the ways you speak to us, to tell us of your Son and your grace to us in him.
Please, by your Spirit now, open our hearts, open our minds.
Help us to see Jesus, to trust him, to follow him.
We ask in his name. Amen.
Amen. Well, there may be some chapters in the book of Genesis
that are not very well known, some bits of Abraham's life
that aren't terribly familiar to us.
But as Paul mentioned just earlier,
I doubt that's going to be a problem for us this evening, is it?
This famous, some might say infamous, account that we have before us here.
What is the Lord doing?
How could he ever put someone through something like this?
So let's not miss a round.
There's no long introduction this evening.
That takes us straight into the first thing for us to see.
A huge thing in this passage, isn't it?
The puzzle, just the sheer puzzle of God's ways.
How so often they leave his people, they leave you and me sometimes,
thinking, what on earth is he doing?
Just one, after these things, God tested Abraham.
So immediately, as is sometimes the case in the Bible,
we know more than Abraham does about what's going on in this incident here.
God is testing him. He's testing his faith.
His fear of God, we find out later.
Not testing in the sense that the Lord doesn't really know
whether or not Abraham has faith,
or what kind of faith it might be if he does,
so he's got to run a test to try to work it out.
Of course the Lord knows.
He's God. He knows everything.
But testing in the sense of proving it,
of demonstrating it for other people.
So you think of engineers, perhaps,
piling huge loads onto a brand new, unlikely-looking bridge.
Not because they don't know if it's going to work,
at least you hope not.
They've run the calculations.
But to try to show people like us,
it works, it's safe, you can walk on it.
Well, sort of like that here, really.
The Lord showing Abraham and us what real faith looks like.
We'll come back to that thought in a few moments' time.
Verse 2.
He said, the Lord 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 one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
And there's such a danger we gloss over those words,
especially if we're very, very familiar with the story.
Just let them land on you for a moment.
Imagine being Abraham, hearing God say this to you.
Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah and offer him.
You notice every phrase kind of deepening the pain
of what Abraham realizes he's being asked to do.
Your son, your only son, now that Ishmael's gone,
whom you love.
Take him, go to the land of Moriah,
which we're about to realize is three days' journey away.
That is a lot of time to think about
what you've just been asked to do.
And when you get there, sacrifice him.
Most parents, including Christian parents,
we're super sensitive about our children, aren't we?
We really are.
You think very, very carefully, don't you,
before you say something critical
about someone else's child to their parents,
or ask the parent to do something
you know their child isn't going to like.
Teachers, if you're any teachers here,
you must know this more than any of us, don't you?
You must brace yourselves
for some of those conversations you have to have.
Probably one of the main forms of idolatry
in the Western Church today.
I'll do anything for you, Lord.
I'll give up anything for you,
so long as it doesn't affect my children.
And God just goes straight there.
Offer him, he says.
Of course, by this stage in the book of Genesis,
it's not just the pain of losing his son
and being the one through whom that son will die
that is so hard for Abraham.
There's a real theological problem here as well,
isn't there?
Because who is Isaac?
He's not just a dearly loved only child.
He's the child of the promise.
So God's great promise to undo the curse of sin
by bringing blessing into the world
through Abraham's family
after Abraham,
it all hangs on Isaac.
It rests on him.
You lose Isaac at this stage, it's over.
And now God's saying,
he must die.
And you can imagine Abraham wrestling with that,
can't you?
You've promised this, Lord,
but now you're commanding this.
I wonder whether you've ever found yourself
thinking you just haven't got a clue
what God is doing.
Can't even begin to make sense
of something he's commanding
or asking you to do
or something he's allowing to happen,
something you seem to be leading you towards,
perhaps.
Maybe showering with blessing
and then suddenly he snatches it away.
And in our heads, of course,
we know moments like that shouldn't be a surprise,
should they?
After all, he's God and we're not.
So, you know,
just as you wouldn't expect a child
in a reception class at school
to understand everything
their head teacher's doing,
it would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?
Can you imagine a four-year-old
marching into a head teacher's office,
demanding an explanation
for every decision the head teacher makes?
And of course,
the gap between a four-year-old
and a head teacher,
that is nothing compared to the gap
between you and me and the Lord.
Of course we shouldn't expect
to get our heads around his ways.
But here's a helpful reminder
of how painful that can sometimes be.
Not just an intellectual puzzle,
agony emotionally sometimes.
The puzzle of God's ways.
Then the second thing for us to see,
the faith God seeks.
The faith he seeks.
It's the faith he shows
that Abraham has.
You see,
what is Christian faith, really?
What does it look like
when we really trust in him?
What kind of response
does the Lord long to see
from people like you and me?
And you notice a couple of things
that we see about it here
in this passage.
First,
real faith
is obedient.
It does what God says.
So verse three,
and don't worry,
we are going to speed up considerably
in just a moment.
But verse three,
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 arose
and went to the place
of which God had told him.
It's very different, isn't it,
to how we'd write that today.
There's nothing in there
about how Abraham's feeling.
We'd be full of that,
wouldn't we?
Although,
I wonder whether we get
just a little glimpse.
He's up early.
You sense
he's probably not slept.
That night,
thinking through
what he's been told to do.
He collects Isaac,
the other things he needs
and he heads off
just as God has told him to do.
Because that's the point.
Real faith
does what God says.
Martin Luther put it so well,
didn't he?
We're saved by faith alone.
But the faith that saves
is never alone.
So just as Abraham
was saved by faith,
Genesis 15 told us,
Abraham believed the Lord
and he counted it to him
as righteousness.
But that belief he had
that saved him
didn't stand alone.
He didn't just say
he was trusting God.
I thought anyone
could do that,
can't they?
All you need is a voice
and you can say
you're trusting God.
Anyone can say the grief
we said together earlier.
But he shows it
by doing what God says
and obeying his commands.
Even the things
that we wish God
hadn't said perhaps.
The commands
that we can't understand.
The ones that we know
will be really painful
to obey.
Faith God seeks
obeys him
and that's a very relevant
thought isn't it
at the moment
as just increasingly
doing what God says
is less and less popular
in our society now.
And then notice
the other remarkable thing
about true faith.
It trusts the Lord
to keep his promises
beyond the grave.
You see how does Abraham
reconcile those two things
he's heard from God?
So Isaac is the child
of the promise.
He must live
if that promise
is going to come true.
But here's God
asking Abraham
to put him to death.
God says Isaac must die.
Which is it?
How can they both be true?
And I think there is a clue
to how Abraham is thinking
in verse 5.
We'll pick it up
verse 4.
On the third day
Abraham lifted up his eyes
and saw the place
from afar.
Then Abraham said
to his young men
stay here with the donkey
I and the boy
will go over there
and worship
and come again to you.
You notice those
last few words?
Not just
and I will come
back to you
but I and the boy
will.
Me and Isaac.
Isaac who
so far as I know
I will put to death
on that mountain
over there.
He will come back
with me
to see you again.
You see what is that?
Is that wishful thinking?
Is that
refusing to face
the facts?
It wouldn't be the last time
would it
in the face of death?
Or could it be
a deep confidence
in God's ability
to keep his promises
and that not being
limited by death
but ultimately
demonstrated
and proven
in resurrection life
beyond.
But more simply
even if Isaac
must die
on that mountain
Abraham
trusts God
to bring him
back to life
as well.
God has to do that
he knows
if this promise
of blessing
is going to come true
and that's certainly
what the book of Hebrews
says when it reflects
on Abraham's life
and that great gallery
of heroes of the faith
that we get
in Hebrews chapter 11.
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 your offspring
be named.
He Abraham
considered that God
was able
even to raise him
from the dead.
deep confidence
death won't be
the end of the story.
It can't be.
There must be more
if what God has promised
is going to come true
and so it is of course
with you and me
and Christian brothers
and sisters
right back through history
and right across
the world today
God's promises
to us
in the Lord Jesus
just so phenomenal
aren't they?
Every spiritual blessing
ours in him
he says
and yet our experience
of that at the moment
so much less
in this life
suffering
and opposition
and disappointment
and maybe even
persecution too
and even if we don't
personally experience
too many of those things
even so
our experience
nowhere near
the full
expanse
of what God
has promised.
We get into so much
trouble don't we?
We mess ourselves up
when we try
and convince ourselves
no this is it
this is as good
as it gets now
this is everything
but it's okay
isn't it
because this life
is not all
after death
when Jesus returns
that's when so many
of those things
that the Lord
has promised
really will
be felt to be true.
The faith of God
speaks
obeying him
hoping beyond the grave
so verses 7 and 8
even when Isaac
suddenly realises
hang on
something's missing
and asks that question
can you imagine
how this must have
just cut Abraham
to the heart?
Dad
where's the lamb?
Even then
Abraham still carries
on treading that
path of obedience
up the mountain
when he gets there
verse 9
builds the altar
and prepares to
slay his son
which brings us
third to the
salvation God
provides
the salvation
that God provides
Abraham
this voice
from heaven
cries
and we get
the sense
don't we
it's right
at the last
minute
just as the
knife
is about
to come down
really urgent
don't do it
God says
now your faith
is clear
because you have
not withheld
your son
and nearby
there's a ram
for Abraham
to offer
instead
to die
in Isaac's
place
which is what
happens
so verse 14
Abraham called
the name of
that place
the Lord
will provide
as it is said
to this day
on the mount
of the Lord
it shall be
provided
God provides
a substitute
something to
come and die
in Isaac's
place
and it's a
pattern we see
so often
isn't it
right across
the Old Testament
most clearly
in that sacrificial
system in the
tabernacle
in the temple
at this stage
still yet to come
the temple
you know from
later
built
guess where
I love this
detail
right here
on Mount
Moriah
where all
this happens
the place
where every
day for
centuries
animals would
die
just as
God commanded
in the place
of his
people
when they
sinned
each of
them
pointing
forward
to the
sacrifice
that this
moment is
pointing forward
to as well
Isaac's
haunting
question
there in
verse 7
where is
the land
for the
burnt
offering
one person
has said
it's as if
that question
it kind of
hangs over
the whole
of the rest
of the Old
Testament
it's a question
the whole
of the rest
of the Old
Testament
can't quite
answer
where is
the one
who is going
to come
and really
take away
people's sins
in a way
that of course
no animal
ever could
and so even
at the end
of the Old
Testament
where is
he
still to
come
until that
magic moment
John's
Gospel
John 1
from the
Baptist
chatting
with some
of his
disciples
suddenly
sees
Jesus
coming
his
way
look
he says
the Lamb
of God
who takes
away the
sin of the
world
the one
who really
does take
it away
there he
is
the one
we've been
waiting
for
the one
Isaac
was asking
about
Jesus
Christ
God's
great
salvation
look to
him
and then
fourth
the frailty
of God's
ways
the frailty
of his
ways
it's not a
great heading
this one
but I hope
you'll get
the sense
of what
it means
it's an
odd little
postscript
to the
chapter
isn't it
verses 20
to 24
don't you
think
Abraham
and Isaac
back in
Beersheba
now
Genesis
12
what was
one of
the things
God
promised
to
Abraham
I'll
make of
you a
great
nation
he said
it's a
promise
actually
it's
reiterated
it's
underlined
in our
passage
today
verse 17
I'll
surely
bless
you
and I'll
surely
multiply
your
offspring
as the
stars
of heaven
and as
the
sand
that is
on the
seashore
so lots
of people
due to
come from
Abraham's
line
so end
of the
chapter
how's it
going
oh not
brilliant
is it
Abraham
Sarah
and now
Ishmael's
gone
just Isaac
rattling
around
in the
tents
at home
with the
servants
meanwhile
birth
announcement
after birth
announcement
coming from
Nahor's
line
do you
notice
12 of
them
which even
taking into
account some
help from a
concubine is a
lot of
offspring
you imagine
Sarah
I assume
it fell to
Sarah
trying to
keep track
of all
those
birthdays
all those
cousins
birthdays
not a
problem in
our own
household
though
just
Isaac
imagine the
family get
togethers at
Christmas
the piles
of presents
for Nahor's
clan
just the
one in the
corner
Isaac that's
yours
as if to
really rub
in
the great
nation
part of
God's
promise
hasn't yet
come true
come on
Lord you can
imagine Abraham
thinking can't
you
well
the Lord's
people looking
so few
so often
so weak
so frail
compared to
the rest of
the world
and it's a
feeling some
of us know
really well
isn't it
think what it
will be like
tomorrow when
you're back at
school or
dropping off in
the playground
perhaps with
other parents
or at work
or in our
public life at
the moment
or in the
media
it's that
sense of
God's
people seeming
so few
looking so
weak
numerically
I know
this says
but don't
panic
that is
often God's
way
often how
he works
through what
looks small
and frail
so there we
are Genesis
22 it is an
extraordinary
chapter isn't
it how could
God do this
how could he
put Abraham
through something
like this
how can that
be right
how can that
be fair
it's kind of
hard not to
ask that
question I
vividly remember
the first time
I preached
this passage
for two reasons
actually the
first was it
was a Sunday
evening almost
exactly three
years ago
the last Sunday
evening before
Boris told us
do you remember
you must stay
at home
so in hindsight
such a precious
time that last
Sunday evening
service before
we didn't meet
for a little bit
as a church
and you must
remember that
some of you
even you guys
didn't meet for
a couple of
weeks at least
did you before
things got back
together again
but the second
reason I remember
it so clearly is
because there sat
almost at the
front of church
was a friend of
mine a member
of our church
family who
just a couple of
years earlier
had lost his
own son
completely out
of the blue
17 years old
started to feel
a bit ill one
evening and a
couple of days
later was dead
and you think
how do you help
a parent who
knows that kind
of pain
in a way that
most of us
don't
how do you
encourage them
to keep trusting
this God
I mentioned
Martin Luther
earlier this
great 16th
century church
leader in
Germany one of
the towering
figures in
church history
and there's
another lovely
story about
Luther in
family devotions
with his
family he
reads Genesis
22 to them
gets to the
end I do
not believe it
his wife Katie
said perhaps
feeling what
some of us
have been
feeling a bit
this evening
the impression
family devotions
in the Luther
household like
most things in
the Luther
household were
probably quite
plain speaking
affairs most
of the time
I do not
believe it
she said
God would
not have
treated his
son like
that
but Katie
Martin replied
he did
and of course
he did
John 3
God so
loved the
world
God
gave his
only son
God the
son sent
into the
world by
God the
father and
gladly obeying
as he came
to be offered
in place of
people like
you and me
not to be
saved from
death at the
last moment
kind of whipped
away in the
nick of time
but given
completely to
death
there at the
cross the one
God provided to
take all the
judgment people
like us deserve
for our sins
so that that
blessing that
God had
promised and
promises again in
this passage
Genesis 22
really can come
flowing into our
world to turn
back that curse
of sin
how can you
trust a God
like this
his ways are
so puzzling
how can I
trust him
when his
commands
and the
things he
allows to
happen
sometimes
seem so
so hard
how can
you when
his ways
feel like
agony as
well
because as
we remember
again in just
a moment as
we share the
Lord's
supper
he gave
his son
for you
and for
me
and that
is why we
can trust
him
let's be
quiet together
for a moment
and then I'll
pray