Abraham, the Tested God-Fearer

, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to, Genesis 22, and for those of you that will be leading the discussion in the care groups tonight, and perhaps tomorrow, the discussion, sheet is, here on the pew, the first pew, here in front of me with some suggested questions, not that you have to use these questions, but, we hope you'll use this as a resource as you lead your care groups in discussion, around, the message from God's word this morning, and I do hope that you are making plans to join with your brothers and sisters in a care group.

Tonight or tomorrow night. If you're not presently in a care group and you would like to attend one today, just go to the care group table, over there in the alcove, and there's a list of the care groups that are meeting today and their locations. and they'll be happy to direct you to one of those care groups that you can attend, this weekend.

But Genesis chapter 22, we are continuing in our series through the book of Genesis, and as we continue in this series, we come this morning to Genesis chapter 22 and verse 1, and my goal this morning, and this is painful for me to stop here in the middle of the story essentially is to cover verses 1 through 12, and if you want to give a title to the message today, it would be Abraham the Ted. God-fearer Abraham The tested God-fearer. The story that we come to today represents the climax of the story of Abraham and we will be spending at least 2 weeks in this momentous chapter of Genesis 22 in an attempt to cover all that the Lord would have for us in this chapter.

The part of the story that we're gonna focus on Today, verses 1 through 12 features the words, God tested Abraham in verse 1.

And in verse 12, we hear God saying to Abraham, now I know that you fear God. Indicating for us that the purpose of the test that God imposed upon Abraham was to determine the full measure of Abraham's fear of God. You'll be interested to know that this is the first time that we see the word test. In the Bible.

How many of you like tests? No one. OK, a couple. this is the first time we see the word test and amazingly of all the tests that we find later in the Bible, this is the toughest test that is ever imposed upon any character in the Bible.

This passage truly contains a test for both Abraham and for everybody that has read this passage down through the centuries. of church history and then even prior to church history. We start reading this story, hoping to learn something about Abraham's test, but before we know it, we are the ones The readers who are being put to the test. So be prepared to be tested by God today.

In our passage today, God will speak to Abraham and command him to do the unthinkable. He will command him to offer up his son, Isaac as a burnt offering, and that right there is the rub for many people. They are horrified that the God of the Bible would make a demand such as this, and they think it's cruel for God to impose such a test upon Abraham But such people don't understand this passage at all. They miss the true horror of the passage, and they miss the ultimate sacrifice that this passage ultimately points us to.

You see, the test for Abraham. is not simply will he do what God commanded. In this story, God is not just trying to randomly dream up the most difficult command to see if Abraham would do the hardest of commands. No, the test for Abraham in this passage comes down To how he will resolve the horrible quandary.

That God's command presents him with. And the horrible quandary for Abraham is this, how can the God who graciously has promised to bless all of the nations through my son Isaac, be the same God who now commands me to sacrifice my son, Isaac? That's the essence of the test for Abraham. And in our passage today, we're going to see how Abraham applies his faith to this quandary and how he resolves it and proves that he fears this infinitely mysterious God of justice and God of grace.

In the process, we're gonna see that Abraham exhibits a faith that is literally thousands of years ahead of its time. Some look at this passage and they wonder how old is Abraham. In this passage, and we don't know exactly. how old he is at this point, but we do know that his son Isaac was born when Abraham was 100, and we know in this story that Isaac is at least old enough to be strong enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering up the hills of Moriah.

So reasonable speculation. By most commentators is that Isaac is at least in his teens. Let's say he is 17 years of age, which would put Abraham around the age of 117. It's actually remarkable when we come into verse one to see that God is testing Abraham.

It's remarkable that God would decide to test Abraham after all that Abraham has already been through. We would easily deem Abraham to have already been tested. And he's passed so many of those tests. Think about what has already happened in Abraham's life.

In Genesis 12, God calls Abraham to leave his father's house in Haran and come into the land that God would show him, and Abraham obeys that call and leaves his father's house. And thereby passes that test. In Genesis 15, God promises to give Abraham many descendants, even though Abraham's wife is and has been barren and unable to produce children. Abraham hears the promise of God and believes God.

And we're told in Genesis 15 that his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness, so he passes that test. We know that Abraham's faith was not perfect. We've seen him stumble along the way, but we do know that when Abraham was 99 years old, God had promised him and Sarah. That at this time next year, they would have a son whose name would be Isaac.

And we know from Romans chapter 4, that a few months after God stated this promise, that Abraham engages in physical intimacy with Sarah, believing that what God had promised would actually come to pass. This means that Abraham obtained Isaac at the age of 100 by faith. Which represents another test that he passed. About 3 years later, after Isaac is born, after an altercation between Isaac and Ishmael, God told Abraham to listen to his wife Sarah, and expel Ishmael and Hagar from his household.

And after hearing this command from God, Abraham rose early the next morning and brought Ishmael to Hagar and then sent them both away, obeying what God had told him to do. And in that one act, Abraham was letting go of his first born son, Ishmael. He was letting go of his backup plan. And essentially becoming all in on Isaac.

We would all read up to that point of the narrative. And conclude that Abraham Shirley has graduated from the School of Testing. At this point, but he hasn't. There's yet another test that awaits him in Genesis 22.

And that's what verses 1 through 12 are all about. This will be the hardest test of all, and it will take the sum total of all that Abraham has learned. Over the years for him to apply his faith to this test and thereby show the depths to which he was truly a fearer of God at this ripe age of 117. Here's how we'll break the passage down.

we will observe 7 stages in the story of God testing Abraham to reveal his fear of God. God is wanting to surface this fear so that it is put on full display. And we see 7 stages in The telling of this account. Stage number one, God calls upon Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering.

Look at how this call comes about, beginning in verse one. Now it came about after these things, meaning after the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech, which had followed Isaac's weaning. That God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, And he, Abraham said, Here I am. In the past, up to this point of the Book of Genesis, When God speaks to Abraham, he just starts speaking promises or delivering commands.

But here, he calls Abraham's name to get his attention. Giving us a hint that this will be a revelation from God like no other that has gone before. And literally the Hebrew is Abraham responds by saying, behold, I. That's how he responds to God.

Parents, how when you call your children, I know this happens all the time in your household, when you call your children and they immediately respond. By coming to you and saying, yes, Father, yes, mother, how can I be of service to you? What would you like for me to do? that's basically what Abraham.

is doing here to God. So look at what God says to Abraham in verse 2, now that he has Abraham's attention. He said, take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Notice God's fourfold description.

Of Isaac delivered as one writer says with heart-rending precision. God says, take now your son. And he says, your only son. Isaac is Abraham's only son now that he has let Ishmael go.

Reminding us that God is asking this of Abraham after Abraham let his backup plan go. God then tells Abraham to take the son whom you love. Abraham loved Ishmael too, but he had let Ishmael go. No doubt causing his love for Isaac to grow stronger than ever.

And lastly, God describes Abraham's son by his name Isaac, which we've seen means laughter. This is the Son that God had promised, the Son that God had provided for them, the son who had brought Abraham and Sarah much joy and laughter, the son through whom God had promised that Abraham's descendants would come. And God tells Abraham to take his son, his only son. The son he loved, Isaac.

And verse 2, go to the land of Moriah. You say, where's that? Well, the land of Moriah is basically where Jerusalem is right now. We know this from 2 Chronicles chapter 3 verse 1.

You can write that reference down. I don't think I, yeah, I don't have it. 2 Chronicles 3:1, where we are told, listen to this, Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. So the land of Mariah is Jerusalem, meaning that God is commanding Abraham to make approximately a 50, 50 mile journey from Beersheba to Jerusalem.

And then once Abraham gets there, God says, verse 2, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. Guys, there's no way to understand God's call for Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering without an understanding of the purpose of the burnt offering in ancient Israel. In Leviticus chapter 1 verse 4, Moses is instructing the people of Israel to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. And according to his instructions that he gives, this slide is not.

I'm stuck here Here we go. And according to God's instruction, when an Israelite offers an animal for a burnt offering, listen to this, he, the one offering, shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement. On his behalf. So when you see God here commanding Abraham to offer a burnt offering here in Genesis 22, you need to think amongst other things, of atonement for sin.

In commanding Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, God is telling Abraham that an atoning sacrifice for sin is needed. And that a human death must occur. And God is telling Abraham to offer his son Isaac as the sacrifice for that atonement. Again, this command from the Lord presents Abraham with a horrible quandary.

Listen to Timothy Keller as he explains this. He says the horror of this quandary was this, the command of God that he's giving here is just. There is a debt of sin that needs to be paid through sacrifice. But the promise of God was that through Isaac, the world would be saved.

So how can a God who rightly calls in this debt of sin, also be the God who says through Isaac, all the nations of the world will be blessed. That's the horror. That's the seemingly unresolvable quandary that this command from God puts Abraham in. And I would ask you, how would you have responded?

To this command From the Lord Think about what Abraham could have done. He could have said, Lord, I have a ton of sheep. I can make the mountains of Moriah run red with the blood of 1000 sheep. He could have suggested that he offer one of his servants or how about 100 of my servants instead of my son, my only son, this Son of Promise.

Abraham Could have thought, God, you gave me, you gave me Isaac, and you told me that through him my descendants would be named. So what you are telling me to do now contradicts that promise that you gave me earlier, so my answer is no, I'm not gonna do what you're telling me to do. Abraham could have been so baffled by the mysterious contradiction of God's command and God's promise that he chose to disobey God's instruction. But how does Abraham respond?

We find his response in verse 3 and this leads us to the 2nd stage in the story of God testing Abraham to reveal his fear of God. Number 2, Abraham immediately journeys toward the place of sacrifice. Verse 3 is like one of the most amazing verses in the Bible, because it shows instant obedience to This amazing command from the Lord. Look at verse 3.

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 wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. We see him here moving towards the place, not running in the opposite direction, but moving toward the place. That God had told him to go. It's striking how vivid the details.

Abraham rose early in the morning to obey God, just as he arose early in the morning back in chapter 21 when He sent away Ishmael and Hagar in obedience to God's command. We're told he saddles his donkey, he takes two young male servants with him along with Isaac. We're even told about Abraham splitting wood for the burnt offering. And then we see him heading north to the place where God had told him to go to offer his son as a burnt offering.

Now there's something about verse 3 that leaves the modern reader frustrated. And the frustration is that in this verse, we are only told what Abraham did and we're not told anything about what Abraham felt. And that's what we wanna know, right? Abraham, how did he feel?

Some of us, when we get to heaven, that's what we're gonna ask Abraham, how did you feel when God gave you this command? If a modern movie were made about this chapter, you can bet that that movie would linger long on Abraham's agony and his confusion. And any other emotions that he would be experiencing. At this moment, yet in the text of scripture, there is none of that in verse 3.

Some cynical commentators actually take this to mean that Abraham experienced no emotion. But that's not true at all. We know that he loved his son. God has mentioned that already.

The truth of the matter is that we're not told how Abraham. Felt because how Abraham felt is not relevant to the story. What's relevant is what he did. And what he did was obey God's call for him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.

That's what's relevant. So Abraham obeys the Lord, even though we know he was feeling deep and varied emotions. He travels for about 2.5 days toward Jerusalem and at some point, on the 3rd day of his journeys, The mountains of Moriah came into view and observe what happens next in verse 4. On the 3rd day, Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

We're not told how Abraham knew. What the place was, we're just told that somehow God had told him. And identified the place. We're also not told exactly where the spot or the place was.

We just know. That it was In the land of Mariah on a mount or mountain. many would suggest for good reason that this would represent the actual place where the Temple Mount is today, where the temple of Israel was later constructed, or on a nearby mount tied to that Temple Mount. Perhaps the very mount where Jesus Christ was crucified later in human history.

We know that God He had on his mind a particular place. He didn't just say do this in Beersheba, no, you travel 50 miles and there's a spot that I wanna bring you to and I want you to offer your son as a sacrifice in a particular spot, and I'll tell you when you get there. So whatever this spot is, it means something to the Lord. It's at this point where Abraham's fear of God is really revealed.

This is the point where he could have easily gotten cold feet, but that's not what happens. And this leads us to the next stage in this account of God testing Abraham to reveal his fear of God and that is Abraham voices his faith in Isaac's resurrection after being sacrificed. It's here guys that we're gonna start to see how this gets resolved, this quandary gets resolved in Abraham's mind as he applies his faith. To this situation.

Look at verse 5, Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there and we will worship and return to you. Do you catch that? Literally, the Hebrew reads, we will worship, and we will return to you. This means a couple of things.

It, it means, first of all, that Abraham believes that both he and Isaac are going to worship God. Abraham will worship God by offering his son. To the Lord in this offering, and Isaac will worship God by being that offering. Second, Abraham's words mean That Abraham, at this point of his journey is of the persuasion that somehow, some way, both he and Isaac will be coming down from the mountain together.

In Abraham's mind at this point, Isaac is going to die, and Isaac will be raised, and both of them will return from the mountain of Mariah and be meeting up with these two servants again. Are we reading too much? Into the text We're so blessed to actually have inspired commentary on what Abraham was thinking at this particular point. The writer of Hebrews provides this inspired commentary on this passage and tells us what Abraham was thinking.

Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten Son. It was he to whom it was said, in Isaac, your descendants shall be called, and he, Abraham, considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead. Where did the writer of Hebrews get that?

He got that from this statement by Abraham, that we will worship God and we will return to you. What this means is that Abraham knew that he was not going to lose Isaac through this. What he did figure was that his son would suffer and die in the sacrifice, and then after that suffering and dying, God was going to raise him from the dead, and Abraham arrived at this conclusion based upon the past promises of God. God promised that through Isaac, Abraham's descendants would come.

Isaac is right now and Abraham's thinking, my son is unmarried and he has no descendants, which means that if God wants Isaac to die as an atoning sacrifice right now, then God will of necessity be raising him from the dead. After the sacrifice in order to keep his promise to give me descendants through Isaac. That's the reasoning of Abraham's faith implied for us here in Genesis 22:5 and explained explicitly in Hebrews 11. Anyway, look at what Abraham does in verse 6.

says 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. So the two of them, Walked on together. It's now just these two. Heading up One of the mountains of Moriah.

It's hard to read of Isaac carrying the wood on his back here and not think of Jesus. Who carried the wood of the cross on his back while he was on his way to die on one of the hills of Mariah. We also see the intimacy of a father and a son here in verse 6, walking on together toward the place of sacrifice. It was while Abraham and Isaac are walking alone together that we see a deeper glimpse of Abraham's faith, and this brings us to the next development.

In the story, the next stage in the story of God testing Abraham to reveal his fear of God, and that is Abraham voices his faith that God will provide the lamb. For the burnt offering. While Abraham and Isaac are walking alone together toward the place of sacrifice, Isaac starts putting 2 and 2 together and decides ultimately to speak up. Look at what happens in verse 7.

And Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, my father, And he, Abraham said, Here I am, my son. And he, Isaac said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb? For the burnt offering. By the way, Isaac's question here shows that Isaac had apparently worshiped with his father before.

To such a degree that he knew that dad normally had a lamb for such sacrifices. There was fire and there was wood. And there was the knife, but where is the lamb that would die the atoning death and thereby make up the centerpiece of their worship of God? Isaac notices that's missing.

Normally it's there, but it's missing. So he asked Abraham, where's the lamb for the burnt offering. And look at Abraham's response in verse 8. Abraham said, God will provide for himself, the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

So the two of them walked on together. Guys, this is one of the great statements of the Old Testament. And yet it is also filled with mystery. Commentators wrestle with what did Abraham mean by what he says here?

What Abraham says here can actually be read in two different ways. Abraham could be saying, basically how it's read here on the screen behind me, God will provide for Himself, the lamb, for the burnt offering, my son. Or he could be saying, and the grammar would sustain this meaning, he could be saying, God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Abraham could be saying that to reflect his understanding at this point.

So what Abraham means by what he says is somewhat of a mystery to us. Does he think that God's gonna stop him and provide a lamb instead of Isaac? Does he say this to Isaac with the understanding that Isaac himself was the lamb that God was providing? Does Abraham say this not knowing what in the world is going to happen?

Does he say this speaking prophetically? Knowing that God had in fact provided Isaac so that through the lineage of Isaac, a lamb would eventually come who would take away the sin of the world. Is Abraham on this journey, and even in this moment, experiencing an epiphany and seeing beyond the moment and seeing the coming of Christ, who is the Lamb of God. The lamb that God will provide.

To take away the sin of the world. Think about it. In John chapter 8, verse 56, Jesus said, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.

Was this the point? Where Abraham saw Jesus' day. Perhaps We do know that his words proved to be prophetic. And they do come true in the person and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God's own Son, on these very mountains of Moriah.

But at this point, at the very, very least, Abraham is right now saying, Isaac, you're asking me a great question. And my only answer is that God Himself is going to tend to this detail. And I want you to join me in trusting him with that. And apparently, Isaac heard this reply from his dad, and And join his dad in trusting God.

As they walk on together to the place of sacrifice. By the way, notice the tenderness between Abraham and Isaac. In verse 7, Isaac says, my father, Rather than just father, Abraham replies by saying, Here I am, my son. Then in verse 8, Abraham says, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.

This talk in direct discourse between a father and a son is the Hebrew equivalent of a father and a son talking to each other and the son referring to his father as daddy and the father referring to his son as Sonny. In fact, that's literally what's happening in the Hebrew here. The Hebrew word for father is of. And the Hebrew word for son is bain or Ben.

Yet in this conversation they are referring to each other in the Hebrew as Avi And Beni Avi Beni and that I sound at the end of A and Ben. Is the Hebrew pronoun my. There's a tenderness between these two, and you can see that tenderness in the language that they use while talking to each other in this epic moment, referring to each other essentially as daddy and Sonny. Finally, they reached the place of sacrifice where atonement will be made.

And this brings us to the next stage in this account of God testing Abraham to reveal his fear of God, and that is Abraham proceeds to slay Isaac, his son on the altar. Look at what happens in verse 9. Again, it's interesting to see how vividly the details are described. If this were a, a movie, this scene would be playing in slow motion.

Showing us each step of Abraham's preparations for the sacrifice. Verse 9, then they came to the place of which God had told him, and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Though this is not stated, guys, you can be sure that Abraham's binding of Isaac. would have required cooperation.

On Isaac's part. If Isaac is 17 years old and Abraham is 117, You can be sure that Isaac could have escaped his father's grasp if he wanted to. If Isaac truly did not want to be bound by his 117 year old father, he could have prevented it and he could have easily outrun his father if he wanted to. Also, if Abraham had intended to bind Isaac against Isaac's will, Then Abraham would have known that he needed to bring his servants with him so that he could overpower Isaac.

And offer him as a sacrifice against his will. But the fact that Abraham leaves his two servants behind indicates that he amazingly anticipated no resistance. From Isaac. And it's Isaac's trust of his father.

And it's Abraham's certainty of Isaac's trust of him that makes this part of the story so poignant. And painful What virtually every commentator agrees on all the way back to ancient Jewish tradition. is the fact that Isaac is joining his father and trusting God in this situation, and he is willing to be offered up to God as a sacrifice, if that's what God requires. If Isaac is believing God's promises that through him, Abraham's descendants would be named.

Then it's very likely that Isaac here is joining his father in believing that he will be raised from the dead. After having died. So that God's promises of descendants through him would be fulfilled. What is for certain is that for Abraham to be able to bind his son and lay him on the altar, Isaac would have had to have cooperated and allowed his dad to do that.

Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian of the first century AD. Says that Isaac. embraced this call to die with joy and rushed toward the altar. We don't know if that's true, but it reflects an ancient understanding of Isaac's mindset.

Once Isaac is bound, Abraham's plan is to kill his son with a knife and let him bleed out until he had died, and then to prepare Isaac's body for the burnt offering before he sets the wood of the altar ablaze. So look at verse 10. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Guys, this is the moment of truth.

We're told that Abraham is about to slay his son while Isaac lay there bound, trusting his father and trusting God. And it's right at this point that God intervenes. And this brings us to the next stage in this account of God testing Abraham in order to manifest his fear of God. Number 6, God stops Abraham from slaying Isaac on the altar.

Observe what happens right as Abraham is about to slay his son, verse 11, but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham, And he said, Here I am. The fact that the angel of the Lord has to say Abraham's name twice tells us something about Abraham's determination to obey the instruction that God had given to him. Abraham needed to be awakened out of his trance-like determination. To obey God If this were me and I made it this far.

In this journey toward obeying God, I wouldn't even need God to say my name once. All I would need to hear is Milt. Or to hear the smallest twig snap and I'd be stopping and saying, What? Lord, Lord, are you telling me to stop?

But the angel of the Lord has to say Abraham's name twice, which tells us that Abraham was truly intending to carry through on what God had told him to do. And in reply to the angel of the Lord's call, Abraham says, Here I am. I'm ready to do whatever you ask. And guys, it's here in verse 12 that we see God's real heart for Isaac being manifested, and we see how God really wants Abraham to treat his son.

Observe what he says in verse 12. He said to Abraham, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him. In other words, do not take that knife to your son's throat and do nothing harmful to your son. Whatever anyone might think about a God who would ask a father to offer his son as a burnt offering should realize that the same God who commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, is the same God who refused to allow Abraham to actually do it.

The same God who in the end told Abraham specifically, do not stretch out your hand against your son and do nothing harmful to him. After stopping Abraham from slaying his son, look at what God says and this brings us to the final stage. In God's testing of Abraham to reveal his fear of God, and that is God declares that he knows that Abraham fears him. Listen to what God says, verse 12.

He says, for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only Son, from me. Does this statement mean that God has just discovered something about Abraham that he did not know before? Is God saying here, I, I was not aware of this before, but now I know that you fear. Me.

Not at all. Keep in mind, keep in mind that the word know is an experiential and a relational word. What God is saying is this, now I have experienced In an actual real life situation, the depths, Abraham, to which you fear me. In all of our experiences together, this is the deepest experience between us that reveals your fear of me.

You see, prior to this moment, God knew that Abraham feared him. But now God is experiencing the depths of Abraham's fear of God in an actual situation, and here God is telling Abraham what he sees. And I love what this tells us about Our God. God is omniscient and he knows all things about us.

But he also deeply appreciates the individual moments of our lives when what he knows about us is demonstrated toward him. When you come to God and say, God, I love you, he doesn't say, I already knew that. I'm, I'm omniscient. When you show him love through your worship or obedience to Him, God isn't unmoved by that thinking, well, I already knew that.

No, he's moved by that. He experiences our love for him. Our passion for him in individual moments and he responds to that and treasures those displays in the individual situations of our life. By the way, do you remember how we were Back in verse 3, dying for some indication of what Abraham was feeling back when God had told him to offer his son as a burnt offering.

This right here, in this verse, verse 12 is the only textual clue. Of anything that Abraham felt. He feared God. That's what he felt.

In saying that, I understand that the fear of God is more than An emotion, but fear is an emotional word also, so we must say that fearing God includes the emotions. And if that is the case, then we know that Abraham experienced the holy fear of God when he heard God's call to offer up his son as an atoning sacrifice. And in verse 12, God says, now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son. Your only son from me.

Abraham's willingness to obey God and to offer up his only son as an atoning sacrifice to God shows the true depths to which he feared God. And fearing God, Abraham knew. That God had every right. To demand anything of him that he wanted.

Abraham understood that he had sinned against this great God and that he and his family needed atonement. And he believed that God had every right to demand what that atonement would be. Abraham also knew that his future descendants would all need atonement through blood sacrifice. So in Abraham's mind, if God wanted Abraham's son of promise to be that atonement, then Abraham feared God enough to say, I'm gonna give God what he's asking for.

Knowing that God would raise Isaac from the dead. After he died And I don't want anyone to miss this. Abraham's fear of God in this passage is seen not just in the fact that he was willing. To give up his son to God.

His fear of God is seen in his agreement with God. That a human sacrifice was needed to atone for his and his family's guilt before God. We're gonna pick up here the next time that we are in Genesis. There's much more in this chapter for us to see and learn even in some of the verses we've studied today.

We'll see how God ends up providing a ram to be sacrificed in the place of Isaac and how God swears certain promises to Abraham. Because of what he has done, and we'll look at that the next time, but we'll stop here. For today Focusing our attention on just verses 1 through 12, we learn in this passage that God is a God who tests us. Get used to this, guys.

The God who loves us, the God who saves us, is also a God who will test us. And this is important for us to remember about our God. God will test us through hardships, seeking to refine us and mature us in faith. Sometimes God tests us to bring out the good work that he's already done in us.

Sometimes God has done a good work in us, maturing us in our faith, and he providentially ordains hardships or daunting tasks that are designed to provide a venue for this inward work that he has done in us to become manifest. In ways that glorify Him and Inspire others and point people to Jesus. Which is what Abraham is doing here. So if you're a Christian, expect to be tested by God.

And expect, listen to this, that the ultimate test. For every person is this, do you fear God? I asked you this this morning, do you fear God? Do you fear God to such a degree that you understand that you need a human being to be sacrificed on a mountain in Mariah in order for you to have atonement for your sins?

That's the task that this story presents all of us with. And that's what Abraham's actions reveal about him. He feared God to such a degree. That he understood that he needed a human being to be slain on a mountain of Mariah in order that he and his descendants might have atonement for their sin.

Do you agree with Abraham? Many commentators will point out that Genesis 22:2. Represents the first time that we ever see the word love in the Bible. That being the case, it's profoundly instructive for us.

That on this first occasion of the word love showing up in the Bible, it is speaking of the love of a father. For his son. We might have expected that the first occasion of love in the Bible would be speaking of the love of a husband for a wife or a wife or a husband, or perhaps the love of a person for God or of God's love for a person or for mankind. But those aren't the first occasions.

On this first occasion where love is mentioned in the Bible, it is used on the lips of God. To speak of the love that a father, Abraham has for his son Isaac, the very son that God is calling upon Abraham to offer up as an atoning sacrifice. Is that a coincidence? Let's think about the New Testament for a minute.

When is the first time that we see the word love? In the New Testament It's in Matthew chapter 3 verse 17, when God the Father speaks from heaven and says, this is my beloved Son. In whom I am well pleased. That's the first mention of love in the New Testament, that's the first mention of love in Matthew's Gospel.

The first mention of love in Mark's Gospel is in Mark 1:11, when God says to His Son, you are my beloved Son, and you, I am well pleased. The first time the word love is used in the Gospel of Luke, is in Luke chapter 3 verse 22 when God says to his son, you are my beloved Son. And you, I am well pleased. And then amazingly, the first time we see the word love in the Gospel of John is guess where?

Any guesses? John 3:16. Where we are told that God so loved. The world That he gave his only begotten Son.

That whoever believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life. Yes, God loves his son in whom he is well pleased. Yet at the same time, amazingly, God loves the world in whom he has been displeased to such a degree that he was willing to give up his precious and only son. So that if we believe in Him, we might have everlasting life.

Do you see the beauty of this, the symmetry of scripture? God is asking nothing of Abraham in Genesis 22 that God Himself. will not do in giving up his son so that we sinners would have a sacrifice to atone for our many sins. God prevented Abraham in the last minute from slaying his son, yet God would not stop at the last minute.

From having his son slain on the cross so that we could have salvation. In fact, you guys know when Jesus was in the garden, he spoke to his father just like Isaac spoke to his dad. And in the garden, Jesus said, Abba. Father, all things are possible for you.

Remove this cup from me, and the Father refused to relent and Jesus was left only to say, Yet not what I will, but what you will be done. I'm going to trust you, Father. In verse 12, God speaks to Abraham. And he says to Abraham, you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.

And in the ancient Greek Septuagint translation of verse 12, the verb translated withheld is effaso. FAO. And the apostle Paul in Romans 8:32 uses that same. Greek word.

When he speaks of God as one who did not withhold his own Son. But delivered him over. For us all It turns out that God is asking what he's asking of Abraham in Genesis 22 in order to foreshadow. His own willingness to surrender his own son for the atonement of sinners.

Abraham did not withhold his son from God who is perfect in every way. In Romans 8:32, we learned that God did not withhold his son from us. who absolutely did not deserve such kindness from God. So as we study Genesis 22, we should realize that there is one greater than Abraham, and that is God the Father, and there is one greater than Isaac, and that is Jesus Christ, God's Son, who willingly laid down his life so that we might have atonement.

for our sins. So I could end this message today by Saying to you, what are your Isaac's? What are those things precious to you that God is calling you to give up for him? I could do that.

That would be fine. But I don't think that's the biggest takeaway from Genesis 22. Verses 1 through 12. The point of verses 1 through 12 is to present us with a one question test.

Do you fear God? Do you fear God? Do you fear God enough to know that you are a sinner in need of An atoning sacrifice. Do you believe that God has the right to identify the one who must be slain?

So that you could have that atonement. Do you agree with God that your sin problem is such that you need a human being who must die for your atonement? Do you agree with God that you need a human being to be slain on the mountain of Mariah for your salvation? If your answer to those questions is yes, Then are you willing to go up to that hill and see the one who died for you there?

And believe that he was raised from the dead. Are you willing to receive The father's ultimate sacrificial surrender of his son. For your salvation. If you have a healthy and a biblical fear of God, your answer to all of those questions will be a resounding yes.

And you too will be manifested thereby to be a tested God-fearer. Passing the same test. That Abraham passed. In Genesis 22.

Let's pray together. Lord, there's so much happening in this chapter on so many levels that it is This is a woefully inadequate treatment of These epic verses Some look at this passage and they're just horrified by the notion of What they would call child sacrifice. But there's something far more horrifying that this passage points us to, and that is the reality of our sin and our need for atonement and our need for blood to be shed. That we might have atonement.

And Lord, this chapter represents a mountain peak. That points to the future coming of Christ, like few other passages do. And leaving us with the question, are we fearers of God? Burn that question into all of our hearts this morning.

Put the fear of God in us, not that we would cower for the rest of our life before you, but a holy fear of God that is such that we know we need atonement and That we need salvation, that we need forgiveness. And then we look to Christ and we see what you've provided and we explode with joy, and with thanksgiving and with praise. And with love for you. Who has so loved us that you would Go the full distance and surrender your son that we might be saved.

Break us before the cross, Lord. And make us God-fearers. And the way that Abraham is. We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to give of our offerings.

To you this morning, receive these offerings, Lord, and do much. With all that is given. For the glory of your Son Jesus. We surrender ourselves to you and all that we have.

In his name, and all God's people said,