From Stunning Command to Epic Provision

Well, speaking of the word, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles to Genesis 22. Genesis 22 for our time of study and the word this morning. we are going to pick up today in our study through the book of Genesis and We will pick up today in verse 13, and, and work our way through to the end of the chapter. And if you want to give a title to the message today, it would be from Stunning Command to Epic Provision.

From stunning command to epic. Provision How many of you have ever experienced a moment when God was asking something of you? Demanding something of you that seemed impossibly hard in the moment. Raise your hand.

OK. For some of you, like maybe God was commanding you in His word to abstain from a sin that you felt very drawn to. Maybe God commanded you to be faithful. And true to your marital vows, when you did not want to, God was commanding you to stick with the difficult marriage when every fiber of your being was wanting to quit.

Maybe God called you to forgive when you preferred to not forgive, you preferred instead to be angry. And to be bitter. Maybe God was calling you to move toward and love somebody who was utterly unlovable to you. Maybe God was calling you to confess your sins to somebody and Ask forgiveness of them when what you really wanted to do was hammer that other person for their sins against you.

Maybe God called you to let go of a relationship in your life and you found it impossibly hard to give up that relationship and to really honestly, Give it over to him. Or maybe God called you to give up some idol. In your life that you Thought that you could not live without. Perhaps in any of these scenarios that I have just painted, I'm not describing some moment in your past.

Because you find yourself in exactly this situation. This morning All of us have found ourselves at various points, looking at a clear command, a clear instruction from God and thinking that obeying that command. is going to be the hardest thing that we have ever had to do. As Timothy Keller says in his book Counterfeit God, sometimes God seems to be killing us.

When he's actually saving us. And that's so true, and sometimes we feel this way when we're looking at A command of God, it feels like he's killing us when actually he is saving us. I'm sure that Abraham felt very much this way when God spoke to him at the beginning of Genesis chapter 22. God comes to Abraham as we saw 4 weeks ago, at the beginning of the chapter and he commands Abraham to sacrifice his son.

Isaac as a burnt offering upon an altar. And never did God ever give a more difficult command to anyone. than to Abraham on this occasion in Genesis 22. And in our passage today, we're gonna get to see how Abraham responds to that command and what happens as a result.

If you're wanting a clinic on, on how to view the commands of God and the God who delivers those commands, you're gonna find help for yourself in this chapter. And a month ago, we studied verses 1 through 12. Today, we're gonna sweep back through those verses briskly, and then work our way through to the end of the chapter. Unfortunately, when many people look at Genesis 22, They focus.

On the stunning command that God delivers to Abraham. This is especially true of non-believers or of atheist, apologists who want to show how unworthy the God of the Bible is of our devotion. In fact, I watched a video a couple of months ago in which Christopher Hitchens brought up Genesis 22. And he tells his audience what he would say to God if God ever were to give him the command.

That he gave to Abraham. And he said on that occasion, Hitchens said, my children mean everything to me and are my only chance at even a glimpse of a second life, an immortal one. If I were told to sacrifice them to prove my devotion to God, I would say no. And the word no.

There is not the only thing that Hitchens says that he would say to God. If God gave him that command, but that's the only part of the answer that I can quote. The rest honestly is too profane. He would insult God.

In addition to saying no. People like Christopher Hitchens, along with others, they use the story of Genesis 22 to show how ludicrous it is to believe in the God of the Bible, a God who would ask Abraham to do such a thing as offer his son. As a burnt offering, a God who would ask Abraham to do something that violates every natural instinct that is in him. And they completely miss.

The real story Of Genesis 22. You see, Genesis 22 begins with God making a stunning demand of Abraham. And in the end, it turns out to be a story. Of God's epic provision for Abraham and for all of us.

And it is this provision of God that ends up getting the headlines of this story. Abraham ends up naming the place where God had told him to go, the Lord will provide. Yahweh Yere, the Lord will provide. Abraham doesn't end up naming the place, Yahweh Yitzha, meaning the Lord commands.

He doesn't name the place Abraham Ymau. Which means Abraham obeys. Now, Abraham, when all is said and done, Names the place Yahweh. Yeah.

The Lord provides. If you came to Abraham and said to him, Abraham, what title would you give to this story, this chapter, this episode in your life? Abraham would say, the title I would give this episode in my life is Jehovah Provides. That's the story here.

And with the benefit of hindsight, then we, we see in this chapter that God makes a stunning demand of Abraham simply in order to set in motion a chain of events that brings Abraham to the spot. Where God had planned all along. To provide for Abraham in an amazing way. And guys, that's God's motive and every command that he gives to us.

Whenever God gives you any command, whenever he asks you to give up anything for him, at the bottom of his command is his desire to bring you to the spot. Where he can astound you with his loving. An extravagant provision for you. That's what he does with Abraham.

That's what God wants to do with you and with me, and we're blessed to have this story in Genesis 22 of Abraham's journey from God's stunning command to God's epic provision and that's how we're gonna frame our study of the passage this morning, 7 stages in this account of Abraham's journey from God's command to God's amazing provision. And the first of these stages Is this, we see this in verse one and following, that God speaks, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on a mountain of Moriah.

Look at how the story begins in verse one. Now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, And he said, Here I am.

He said, God 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. Fortunately, we know where the land of Mariah is because in 2 Chronicles chapter 3 verse 1, we're told that Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. Based on that statement, Alone, we know that Mount Moriah is in the place where the Temple Mount is today in Jerusalem and the red shape that you see on the screen.

would represent where Mount Moriah is. Evidently, there is a particular spot. that God has in mind for this sacrifice, and it's on a mountain in the land of Mariah, and that's where he tells Abraham to go. So how does Abraham respond to God's command?

This brings us to the next stage in the story of Abraham's journey from God's stunning command to God's amazing provision, and that is that Abraham sets out to obey God's command in the place that God specified. Look at Abraham's instant obedience to the command of God beginning in verse 3. So Abraham rose early in the morning. And saddled his donkey and took 2 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.

On the 3rd day, Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from A distance. Notice the emphasis here on the place. Twice we see reference to the place where Abraham is to offer Isaac. On the altar, Abraham went to the place of which God had told him, and after 3 days, he raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

So evidently Abraham does not respond to God's command the way Christopher Hitchens would have responded. He obeys. He leaves early the next morning and he wastes no time in his travels. The journey that Abraham would have taken here is about 50 miles by foot, so the fact that Abraham is seeing the place of sacrifice at some point on the 3rd day.

shows us that he traveled at a pretty good pace for a man who's approximately 117 years old. But here's the question that all of us would ask, What motivated Abraham to make this trip? To go on this crazy journey of obedience. What propelled him on this journey to travel at a solid pace for 3 days in order to reach a place where he's supposed to surrender his son, whom he loves as a sacrifice to God.

What would motivate a man to obey such a command from God that violated every natural instinct within him? That's what we want to know Because we often fail to obey far less difficult commands of God. Yet here's a man who is eagerly obeying the most difficult command that God has ever given. To any human being.

And our question is, what was his mindset that animated his obedience of God? This brings us to the next stage in the story of Abraham's journey from God's command to God's astounding provision, and that is that Abraham had faith and he expresses his faith in God's provision of the lamb for the sacrifice. There's actually two moments in Abraham's journey when we as readers are given a glimpse of what he was thinking and the first of these we find in verse 5. Upon seeing the place of sacrifice from a distance, Abraham speaks the first words we hear him say in this chapter.

And look at what happens in verse 5. Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there, pointing to the place of sacrifice. And we will worship and return to you. Literally, we will worship and we will return to you.

Isaac and I will return. To you. Clearly, Abraham believes that He and Isaac will go over there to the spot. Where the sacrifice will be made and that he and Isaac will return together to the servants.

From this alone, if all we had was this passage and nothing in the New Testament, We would know that Abraham obviously believes that somehow, some way, Isaac is going to come through this ordeal alive. And he will return. With Abraham. To the servants.

We then helped immensely as we saw a month ago in Hebrews chapter 11. Where he removes all doubt, the writer of Hebrews removes all doubt, telling us that Abraham was believing in the promise of God that in Isaac, your descendants will be called. According to the writer of Hebrews, it is because Abraham believed in that promise from God. That Abraham considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead.

He says in verse 19. In other words, in Abraham's mind, God was going to keep his promise to provide descendants for Abraham through Isaac, which means that God would raise Isaac from the dead if Isaac were to die in this sacrifice. So this shows us a part of what was animating. Abraham's obedience.

It was a firm belief, a crazy belief in the promise of God. But his faith was even greater than that. Look at what happened starting in verse 6. 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. And as they are walking on together, Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, my father, and he said, Here I am, my son. And he said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham said, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. So the two of them walked on together. And we saw a month ago when we looked at this passage that on some levels, this statement by Abraham is ambiguous. When Abraham says, my son, And his reply, he could just be indicating that his son was the person that he was addressing.

And he could just be saying somehow, some way God is going to provide a lamb, or Abraham could be saying, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, i.e. my son. Meaning that Isaac is the lamb. that God had designated.

After all, it was Isaac that God had told Abraham to offer in this sacrifice. So we don't end up knowing exactly What Abraham means by this statement, but what is absolutely clear is that Abraham is expressing his belief that God will provide the lamb somehow, some way, God will be the provider here. Both of these moments. That we've just looked at.

Give us insight into, I think the secret behind Abraham's obedience of God. Most people would look at Abraham's obedience and say, what could possibly have compelled him to make this journey and climb this hill. To obey this command of God that violates his every natural instinct. If you asked Abraham that question, He would say, what drove me up that hill was the belief that God would somehow, some way be the provider.

That he would provide a lamb for the burnt offering. I didn't know how it all would happen. Maybe God would provide a replacement for Isaac, maybe God wanted Isaac to be sacrificed and then raise him from the dead. I didn't know.

I just knew that somehow, This adventure would end up being more of a story about God providing than it would be about me sacrificing. And I knew that I could trust him with all of that, and that's what drove me up that hill. Guys, whenever God calls you to obey him, you can take it to the bank. That in his every command, he is merely inviting you into a story that will end up always being more about his provision.

Then it will be about any sacrifice that you have made. Look at what happens next, 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. Again, notice the emphasis on the place.

In particular, where this sacrifice is to take place. And then look at what happens next, which brings us to the next stage in the story of Abraham's journey from God's command to God's amazing provision. Number 4, God provides a ram that Abraham sacrifices in the place of Isaac. Look at verse 10 and following.

Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. And he said, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him, for now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.

We talked a lot about what God is saying here when we looked at this passage before, so I'm not gonna belabor any of that. I'll just say that two wonderful things are happening here that are worth noting. As one commentator says, not a vestige of harm is permitted. And not a nuance of devotion is unnoticed by God.

God here is intervening and he is protecting Isaac's life and at the same time, he's providing assurance to Abraham that he truly knows that Abraham fears him. God knows this because as he says to Abraham, you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. God is cherishing Abraham's obedience. It's clear that God is personally moved by Abraham's obedience and his level of surrender.

God really and truly appreciates what Abraham has shown himself willing to do. In obedience to God's command. Just as God rejoices over every act of obedience and loving devotion. On our part also.

There's something almost achingly tender about God's words. Now I know, he says, meaning now I know in experience, saying you've not withheld your son, your only son from me. God relishes Abraham's love for him. As it is expressed in his obedience to God's command.

And I, this thought has just been following me around. All week this past week. You and I actually have the power to bring pleasure to the heart of God. Pleasure that registers in his heart whenever we obey Him and give anything to him.

In the big moments and in the little moments. And I, I don't know how to say that any differently, but like this week I've been even in private moments faced with a decision, it's like I actually can make a decision right here that will induce a feeling in the heart of God of pleasure. That he will notice and appreciate and cherish. And relish the experience of my obedience to him in this moment.

That's just amazing to me. God speaks this way to Abraham, but he's not gonna let Abraham carry through and sacrifice his son. He stops Abraham in his tracks and, and he ends up providing a substitute for Abraham to sacrifice. Look at verse 13.

Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold, which indicates a surprising development, behind him, a ram caught in the thicket by His horns. The phrase behind him, a ram could be translated one ram. In the thicket rather than it being a description of the location. Of the ram being behind Abraham.

Regardless, once Abraham sees the ram, he knows exactly what to do. Look at what happens next in verse 13, says, and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Keep in mind that the purpose of the burnt offering was atonement, according to Leviticus chapter 1 verse 4. God is telling Abraham not to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, yet Abraham knows that a burnt offering still needs to be offered.

He needs an atoning sacrifice for his sins, so he takes the ram and cuts its throat and lets it bleed out, and then Abraham places his hand on the head of the ram. And offers it to God as an atonement for his sins. And don't miss the wording here. Abraham, according to the text, offers up this ram for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Don't read that last phrase the way we speak in our language. The language here is not telling us that Abraham sacrificed the ram rather than his son, though that is true. It's telling us that he offered the ram as a burnt offering in the place of his son. In other words, it's as if Abraham took Isaac's name tag off of Isaac.

Not that he actually wore a name tag, but just imagine that. That he took Isaac's name tag off of Isaac and he put Isaac's name tag on the ram. And then offered up the ram as a figurative way of offering up Isaac. To God In other words, in Abraham's heart, he's still offering up Isaac to God.

He's surrendering his son to God on the altar, and the ram is the means through which Abraham represents that surrender of his son to God saying you can have my son. And as a result, something significant is changing here. With regard to whom Isaac belongs to. The way Abraham views Isaac from this point on, for the rest of his life will be forever colored by what is happening here.

From this point on, Abraham will look upon Isaac as belonging utterly. And doubly to God. Because he's given them to God. On a different score, one of the things that may bother you about this story.

is how it doesn't really go the way you would expect, right? Some of you have already thought this, even in the last few moments as the narrative is unfolding. Abraham had earlier said God will provide for himself a lamb. or sheep for a burnt offering, yet as one commentator amongst others says, God does not provide a sheep.

But a ram. How many of you noticed that? OK, a few. Let's use the Hebrew and say it this way, Isaac.

Ask Abraham, where is the se? That's the Hebrew word, one of the Hebrew words for sheep. Where is the se for the burnt offering? Abraham responds by saying God will provide for him the se for the burnt offering.

However, instead of God providing a se for a burnt offering, God provides an el. A ram and Abraham sacrifices the Ayel, the ram. For the burnt offering. So the question is, what's going on?

With that The answer is twofold. First of all, a ram is technically an adult male sheep. So it's close enough to fall within the category of the sa that Abraham was saying that God would provide for the burnt offering. However, it is still a different word than what Abraham and Isaac used, which leads to a second answer, which is this, that Moses wants us at this point of the narrative to still be asking the question, where is the lamb?

That was promised In fact, God wants you asking that question as you read through the rest of the book of Genesis, as you read through the rest of the Old Testament. If you keep asking that question as you read through the length of the Bible, where is the lamb? That Abraham said God would provide, then when you come to Isaiah 53, you would be thrilled to read of one, a suffering servant whom God will send. To die as a guilt offering for the sins of people.

You'll be very interested when you read in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 7, that this one will be like a se that is led to the slaughter. And you would be set up to truly rejoice when John the Baptist, hundreds of years later, points to Jesus. And says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And in case you missed it the first time, John says it again, in John chapter 1 verse 36, behold, he says, pointing to Jesus, behold the Lamb of God.

You see, if you read Genesis 22, from beginning to end, and you're not still asking Isaac's question, when you come to the end of the story, then you're missing. One of the transcendent messages of this chapter. Abraham said that God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering. When the story ends, we're still left without that lamb.

With the benefit of hindsight, We agree with Henry Morris, who says the complete fulfillment of Abraham's words must await the true Lamb. The Lamb of God And it actually seems that this is what Abraham himself wants us to think, which leads us to the 5th stage in the story of Abraham's journey from God's stunning command to God's epic provision, and that is number 5, Abraham names the place of sacrifice in honor of God's coming provision of the lamb. Look at what Abraham does in verse 14.

Abraham called the name.

Of that place, the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided. Again, the Hebrew here is Yahweh Yere, which literally means Yahweh will see or Yahweh, Jehovah will see to it in the sense of providing. The Lord will provide is an excellent translation of the Hebrew here.

We should also note that Abraham is not so much naming the place the Lord provided. Though that is certainly included in his meaning. He doesn't use that completed tense, the past tense, but he says the Lord will provide, that's the name. that he gives to this place.

Using the same tense that he used earlier when he said to Isaac, the Lord will provide. And here's why I think this is important. Abraham is not simply naming this place after God's provision of a ram to sacrifice in the place of Isaac. It seems that he's primarily naming the place the Lord will provide in order to prophetically point to the fact that this will be the location.

In which, in the future, God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham, in naming this place is speaking prophetically here. In John chapter 8 verse 56, Jesus tells people, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he was glad. And guys, this is Abraham names this place, this is almost certainly one of the moments when Abraham is looking into the future and he is seeing Christ's day and he's rejoicing over the amazing privilege that is his.

As he's realizing it now to visit the very spot of God's future provision. Of the lamb Abraham now realizes why God had him travel 3 days from his home in Beersheba to come to the land of Moriah. And come to this particular place that God wanted to show him. And with this name, the Lord will provide, Abraham is saying X marks the spot.

Keep your eyes right here, Abraham is saying. The Lord will provide the lamb for a sacrifice right here in this place. So we get that, but guys, imagine what Abraham is thinking at this point about his own personal journey of obedience. He's thinking at this point, God came to me and he commanded me to sacrifice my son.

He commanded me to do something that violated. Every natural instinct within me and I thought my whole world was going to come to an end in obeying this command, yet I set out to obey God and here I am right now. My son is still alive. God has provided a ram.

God has affirmed me. And I'm kneeling at the very spot where the coming Messiah. will die as a lamb for the sins of the whole world. Abraham's got to be thinking, God is so amazing.

Inside of my obedience to God's command. have been most wonderful surprises and blessings. And privileges You see, guys, in God's economy, God doesn't say, hey, obey me and then I will figure out some way to bless you for your obedience. No, God says obey me.

And you will find inside of your obedience to me all kinds of wonderful blessings and surprises and privileges where you can taste so deeply and see that I am good and enter more deeply into my redemptive plan for the ages. That's what's happening. To Abraham here Anyway, Abraham bestows this name on the place, and it seems that people, at least at the time, understood something of his message, though no one could have fathomed the full truth. Of what would end up happening hundreds of years after this incident with Abraham.

In the land of Mariah, Moses says to the children of Israel, at the end of verse 14, as it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided. What is the it referring to? The lamb Hundreds of years after Abraham's day, during Moses' day, people were still talking about what happened with Abraham, and they're still talking about the mount. The mountain of Mariah.

And they're speaking of it as a place where God is going to provide something. A lamb that will be provided one day for a sacrifice. Indeed, one day in the future. As we all now see, looking back, a temple will be built where millions of lambs will be sacrificed on this very mountain for the sins of people, and all of those sacrifices, the millions of them will point to the one true sacrifice of the true lamb, Jesus Christ, who will also be sacrificed on this very mountain.

For the sins of the world. By the way, they're Two suggested sites of Christ. Crucifixion And both of these sites can be considered as being on. Mount Moriah.

That's not all that God provides for Abraham and Isaac and all of us. This leads us to the 6th stage in this story of Abraham's journey from God's command to his epic provision, and that is that God provides a lavish restatement and even an expansion of his good promises to Abraham. God is just loving on Abraham in this moment. Look at how the angel of the Lord introduces his promises, verse 15.

Then 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 thing and have not withheld your son, your only son. God here is swearing by himself to be as emphatic as he can possibly be. And look at what he swears. Indeed, I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore.

God is not simply going to bless Abraham, He will greatly bless him, and he throws in the word indeed to make it even more. Emphatic. God also promises not just to multiply but to greatly multiply Abraham's seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on The seashore. Can, can you not feel the pleasure of God in thundering these promises?

As he speaks them over Abraham. Speaking them with the greatest of pleasure and emphasis. In verse 17, God also says, and your seed. shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Implied in this promise is that Abraham's descendants are going to have enemies, but they will conquer those enemies and at the very least this refers to the Israelites whom God will enable to conquer their enemies as they come into the land of Canaan as well as later victories over their enemies. Lastly, God says to Abraham, in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. Literally, this should read, in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves.

In other words, they will see the ways that I have worked and I'm blessing your descendants.

They will see the Messiah Lamb who comes forth from you and for you, and they will come and obtain blessing for themselves through your seed, namely the ultimate seed. Who is the Lamb, Jesus Christ. And again, look at the reason God gives, because you've obeyed my voice. I speak these promises over you.

Notice in fact the way that God bookends his rationale for lavishing these promises on Abraham. He front loads his promises by saying, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, and at the end of his promises, he says, because you have obeyed. My voice. Here's what's interesting about this.

God had made most of these promises before. And they were unconditional promises, right? And we're glad they were unconditional promises because Abraham has messed up on a number of occasions prior to this amazing moment. God even had to intervene in order to keep his promises preserved and intact.

Because Abraham jeopardized those promises by his disobedience. So God's prior statement of his promises was unconditional, and now we see here God making many of these same promises. This time he's attaching his promises to Abraham's surrender. And his obedience, which is actually a double grace from God.

Let's say it this way, guys, God's promises to Abraham were so unconditionally gracious that no failure of Abraham could ever nullify them. Yet God allowed. Abraham's obedience to impact the magnitude of the fulfillment. And the degree of God's pleasure in fulfilling them.

That's what we see Happening here. Guys, this is gonna happen to us too. One day we're all gonna enter heaven who have believed in Jesus and he's gonna lavish his goodness upon us for all of eternity, and it will all be because of the unconditional grace of God that He has given to us in Christ. Yet at the same time, God is going to give us varying degrees of reward.

And when we get to heaven and Jesus hands to us a particular reward and we say to him, why are you giving this to me? Jesus will say, do you remember that time you did this for me? Remember that time you gave up this for me? Remember that time you obeyed me?

I decided right then I was gonna give you this. And in such moments, we're gonna be so amazed. That Jesus is actually rewarding us for our obedience while at the same time, not allowing all of our acts of disobedience to disqualify us from heaven. And the grace of that will be a double grace that will not be lost on us.

So God is, he's giving Abraham the highest honor ever bestowed on any man and lavishing these promises on him. Look at how Abraham responds when the promises are stated, verse 19. So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived.

At Beersheba. Now, he returns home, but for Abraham to have descendants that are gonna be like the stars of heaven through Isaac. Isaac will need to eventually get married, right? And this brings us to the 7th and the final stage in the story of Abraham's journey from God's command to God's amazing provision for him and for all of us, and that is God provides a woman who would become A wife for Isaac.

Every Jewish listener. To the text at this point, coming into verse 20 would know the role that this passage serves. And that is to introduce to us the woman who would soon become Isaac's wife. Look at what the text says starting in verse 20.

Now, it came about after these things that it was told to Abraham, saying, behold, Mila also has borne children to your brother Nehor. Remember that Mila from back in Genesis 11 is Lot's sister. The daughter of Abraham's brother Haron, who had died. And here's Nehor's children through Mila, verse 21.

As, his firstborn. And Buzz. His brother. And Kamuel, the father of Aram and Hesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaf and Bethuel.

Even though nothing is said about the physical appearance of U and Buzz, and even Pildash and Jidlaff, I have a pretty good visual of what these guys must have looked like. and I'm pretty sure they were guys you did not want to mess with. As for Bethuel, the son of Kimuel, look at what the text says in verses 23 and 24. Bethuel became the father of Rebecca.

These 8 Mila bore to Nehor, Abraham's brother, his concubine, whose name was Rauma, also bore Tiba and Gaham. And Tahash and Maaka. We will see in Genesis 24 that hearing this news that is told to Abraham here gets Abraham to thinking, It germinates. In his mind, and when it comes time for Isaac to Take a wife, Abraham will send his servant to this region.

Where these descendants are hundreds of miles to find a wife for Isaac among these relatives and that wife will end up being Rebecca. But for now, here in Genesis 22, after Abraham surrendered, think about this guy, he surrendered his son to God. He's obeyed God. God has told him, sacrifice your son, but here is Abraham now.

God has preserved his son alive. God actually let Abraham visit the spot where the future lamb is going to be provided, who would die for the sins of the whole world and lets Abraham be the one who marks the spot. God speaks over Abraham and lavishes his amazing promises afresh on him, and now here Abraham is hearing about these relatives. Among whom is Rebecca, who would become the ancestor of every Israelite to come.

Just how satisfied Abraham must feel and how overwhelmed he must be with the amazing ways of God and the goodness of God and how worthy God is of our full obedience and trust. So as we conclude our message, I just, how do, how do we end this? In the first place, I just feel overwhelmed by the coherent single message of scripture. We've been seeing this all throughout Genesis, how it all points to Jesus, the Lamb of God.

I'm blown away by God orchestrating the events of this chapter in order to give Abraham the unprecedented amazing privilege. To be the one who draws an ax in the sand on this mountain of Mariah and say this is the place. Keep your eyes here. God will provide a lamb.

On top of that, we learned here in this story that God is good. When God gives us a command and he's asking something from us, at the bottom of his command is his good intention to bring us to a place where he can take us on a journey and lavish his provision and promises upon us and bring us deeper into his plan. For the ages and even to use us in that redemptive plan. Guys, that's what God is up to and every command that he gives.

And if you obey him, trust me, when Your story is done. It's his goodness that will be the headline of your story. Not your sacrifice. So I, I challenge you, trust God, surrender your all to Him.

Obey his commands. Enjoy Living under the waterfall of His goodness. Read your Bible every day, view every command. Of God as an invitation.

To a feast where his goodness is being served. And whenever God asks anything of you, realize that, man, if I launch out on this adventure of obedience, when this story is finished, I'm gonna be titling the chapter of this story God provides. What keeps you from obeying God? What keeps you from surrendering everything to him.

People like Christopher Hitchens think that Abraham was insane to do what he did. But Abraham would say, I'd be insane not to do what I did. God is so worthy of my trust. In sight of every sacrifice that I make for him, in sight of every command that he gives to me, lies a deeper adventure into God's infinite goodness that will, that ultimately always leaves me amazed.

Hey guys, that'll be your story. If you walk in obedience. To him Just on a personal Note, and I ran this by my wife this morning to make sure she was fine with it and she is. I'm 53 years old.

Not that she didn't want you to know that, but, I've stumbled in countless ways over the years and by God's grace, totally by His grace, have made a few right choices also. I'm at a season in my life now at the age of 53 where it's harvest time. The harvest is coming in. I'm in the harvest stage of life, as many of you are.

And I can tell you that I am reaping a mixed harvest. And I get things now, like I didn't get them 2030 years ago. My wife and I sometimes find ourselves feeling a sadness over the fruit of wrong choices that we have made in the past when we sowed seeds to the flesh rather than to the spirit. In such moments, the cross becomes very precious to the two of us, and we love God all the more because of the forgiveness.

That he gives to us. He's forgiven us of so much. But this love we have for God is a love that is watered with many tears. But there are also moments when we are tasting.

of the fruit of right choices that we have made when we obey the Lord and in sight of such moments of joy, I have literally in my mind's eye turned and looked to Jesus seated at the right hand of God. And I've said to him, this is what you were fighting for, wasn't it? When you gave me your commands. Guys, in every command that Jesus gives you, and every prohibition that he gives to you, he's fighting for your joy.

He's fighting for a delicious harvest. That he wants you to have in this life and in the life to come. And as a man standing before you today who is reaping a mixed harvest, I want to challenge all of you, but especially you young people. With this, that if, if you want to live A rich and a satisfying life full of joy.

Obey God Surrender everything to him. Give him anything that he asks for you. I promise you, you will never be able to outgive God. I guarantee you that he will give his all to you.

And when your life story is finished, you won't be talking about what you sacrificed for him. You'll be raving about all that he has given and provided for you. And the really cool thing is that a life of obedience to God for us doesn't start with Go slay your child on an altar. It starts with obeying his command.

To all of us to come to Mount Moriah. And behold God the Father surrendering His Son as a sacrifice. His most prized possession, sacrificing what he loved most. On the cross, so that you can have atonement for all of your sins.

For all those times you have failed to obey God. God commands you to believe in His Son for the forgiveness of your sins. And if you've never done that before, will you do that today? And then let God bless you.

With eternal blessings that come in sight of obedience. To that one command. I trust that you will, and I can say with confidence. That eye has not seen nor his ear heard, nor has it ever even entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those.

Who trust him And who love him and who obey his command. To believe In his son. Let's pray together Lord, the world we live in today makes disobedience seem like such a grand adventure. But it's the wrong adventure and it is not even close to the adventure of obedience.

Abraham stands today as one of the most epic figures in human history. We're reading about him thousands of years after he lived. He has left his mark. Half of the world's population calls him father.

And we see him towering in his obedience. But as much as he was willing to give up for you, he couldn't not give you, you, in the end, he was the receiver of so much, and he still is receiving. To this day. God, there's nothing I can say in this sermon.

I can't be clever enough. I can't speak wise enough words that can change anybody's heart. I do pray God that you would just cause an outpouring of your Spirit on all of us and remove the scales from our eyes and help us to see you like we've never seen you before, and see your goodness like we've never seen your goodness before and see your beauty like we've never seen it before. So that we would consider it an intolerable suffering to live for one second apart from relationship with you and obedience with you, to you.

Disobedience to you, Lord, is suffering. And where we need to repent, take us to repentance. Empower us to do this beautiful thing of repentance. And if there are any in our flock, Lord, that have their hearts set on evil, love them.

Save them From the error of their ways and the destruction to follow. And effectually invite them into the feast of obedience to you. That begins with believing in your son. We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to give of our offerings to you at this time in our service.

Receive what we give, Lord and do much with all that is given for the glory of Jesus. In whose name we pray, and all God's people said,