Gênesis 22
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
Gênesis 22
Morris - This is the first occurrence of the word tempt (Hebrew nacah). It does not mean "tempt to do evil" (James 1:13), but is usually translated "prove." Although God knew what Abraham would do, it must be "proved" to all (including even Abraham himself) that he loved God more than anyone else and that his faith in God's Word was absolute. Such action would demonstrate the validity of God's selection of him as father of the chosen nation. HERE I AM! And said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Hebrew literally is "Behold me" (hinneh). Abraham was ready to surrender to Elohim, his Creator. THOUGHT - Are you (am I) ready to surrender to His call and command? Are you willing to say "Here I am?" Here I am - 22x/22v - Gen. 22:1; Gen. 22:7; Gen. 22:11; Gen. 27:1; Gen. 27:18; Gen. 31:11; Gen. 46:2; Exod. 3:4; 1 Sam. 3:4; 1 Sam. 3:5; 1 Sam. 3:6; 1 Sam. 3:8; 1 Sam. 3:16; 1 Sam. 12:3; 1 Sam. 14:7; 1 Sam. 14:43; 1 Sam. 22:12; 2 Sam. 1:7; 2 Sam. 15:26; Isa. 52:6; Isa. 58:9; Acts 9:10 Bob
Gênesis 22
Morris - It is providentially significant that this is the first occurrence of the word "love" in the Bible, referring here to the love of a father for his son. The New Testament makes it clear that this story of Abraham and Isaac is not only true history but is also a type of the heavenly Father and His only begotten Son, depicting the coming sacrifice on Mount Calvary. In a beautiful design (no doubt Spirit-inspired), it is appropriate that the first use of "love" in each of the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22) shows the Father calling out from heaven, "this is my beloved Son," at the baptism of Jesus (which, of course, also speaks of death and resurrection). In the Gospel of John, on the other hand, where the word "love" occurs more than in any other book of the Bible, its first occurrence is at John 3:16: "God so loved the world" that He, like Abraham, was willing to sacrifice His beloved Son. He sets a high value upon us, and therefore he tests us -- C H Spurgeon
Gênesis 22
Morris - Though Abraham was fully prepared to slay Isaac, he evidently comprehended the ultimate meaning of the divinely-ordained principle of substitutionary sacrifice, practiced ever since God shed the blood of the first sacrificial lamb to provide a covering for Adam and Eve. He knew that one day the "Lamb of God" must be offered by God to "taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) and thus to make possible the fulfillment of all His eternal promises. So the two of them walked on together - This is the second time for this statement. They were seemingly of one mind. Isaac's confidence in Abraham and Abraham's consideration for Isaac are striking. Abraham knew God would provide a sacrifice, but where? Where was the lamb? That question had been asked by all the faithful, from Isaac to Moses to David to Isaiah, all the way to the time of John the Baptist when he declares: Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn 1:29)
Gênesis 22
Morris - About 3,000 stars can be counted with the naked eye, but the comparison of Abraham's seed to dust and sand increases the number almost immeasurably. and your SEED (zera) shall possess the gate of their enemies - The gate of an ancient city gave control over that city, and to secure someone's gate meant to capture their city. So God’s promise is that Abraham’s seed (the Messiah) will conquer and control His enemies. This anticipates the conquest of Canaan under Joshua but has a more prophetic fulfillment in the Messiah. The revelation of the covenant is now complete and reached its climax in the blessing of the nations of the world through Abraham’s seed. Significantly, that blessing was to lie in a repeat of a father sacrificing his only son; but on that occasion the sacrifice was completed. We can relate to Abraham’s feelings as he grasped the knife that was about to kill his beloved son Isaac lying helpless on the altar; in so doing, we can start to gain a small insight into God’s grief as He saw His Son helpless on the cross at Calvary. We have marveled at the obedience of Isaac, a sixteen year old youth who could have run rings round a man of one hundred and sixteen years, yet who subjected himself to his father. Does this not remind you of another Son who commanded enough angels to annihilate the world (Mt 26:53-54), yet was obedient to His Father so that you and I could inherit eternal life? Genesis 22:18 "And in your SEED all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice And in : Ge 12:3 Ge 18:18 Ge 26:4 Ps 72:17 Ac 3:25 Ro 1:3 Ga 3:8,9,16,18,28,29 Eph 1:3 obeyed : Ge 22:3,10 26:5 1Sa 2:30 Jer 7:23 Heb 11:1-40 Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Genesis 12:1-3+ Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 13:16 “I will make your descendants (zera) as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants (zera) can also be numbered. Genesis 18:18 since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? Genesis 26:4 “I will multiply your descendants (zera) as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants (zera) all these lands; and by your descendants (zera) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; Acts 3:25+ “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED (singular) ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ A PROPHECY OF THE MESSIANIC SEED And in your SEED (zera) - Seed is a noun in the masculine singular and is a prophecy of the coming Messiah. Paul explains why seed is in the singular in this passage, writing in Galatians 3:16+ "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. All the nations of the earth shall be blessed - This is essentially the "gospel" Abraham heard in as explained by Paul in Galatians 3:8-9+ "The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. " Because - Is a term of explanation. He is explaining why the nations would be blessed. You have obeyed (shama) My voice (listened to, hearkened to) - : Obeyed (shama) means he listened to and responded to what he heard. It is translated in the Septuagint by hupakouo (hupo = under + akouo = hear, listen) which means to obey or submit to what has been heard, which is exactly what Abraham did. This is an important spiritual principle! What do I say that? Because obedience proves the authenticity of one's faith. Paul picks up on this in Romans 1:5+ writing "through Whom (Jesus Christ our Lord) we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith (NIV = "the obedience that comes from faith") among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake." The point is that genuine faith obeys. Faith alone saves but the faith that truly saves is not alone. Related Resources on Obedience of Faith - Here are links to the excellent articles by D B Garlington… The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans Part I: The Meaning of Hupakoen pisteos (Ro 1:5; 16:26); The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans Part II- The Obedience of Faith and Judgment by Works The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans — Part III- The Obedience of Christ and the Obedience of the Christian The Obedience of Faith in the Letter to the Romans — Part III Continued Compare the examples of Noah and Abraham described in the book of Hebrews. How do we know that their faith was genuine "saving" faith not just intellectual ("head knowledge") assent? Hebrews 11:7-8 By faith (FAITH) Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence (OBEDIENCE) prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith (FAITH) Abraham, when he was called, obeyed (OBEDIENCE) by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:17 By faith (FAITH) Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac (OBEDIENCE), and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; ILLUSTRATION OF OBEDIENCE OF FAITH - The integral nature of faith and works. It has been said that separating faith and works is like separating the heat and light from a candle. You know both are produced by the candle. You know they are not the same thing. You also know you cannot separate them. Seed, offspring, descendants (02233) zera from zara = to sow, scatter seed) means a sowing, seed, offspring. The first use in the Bible refers to literal seed (Ge 1:11, 29). In Ge 3:15+ "seed" refers to the offspring of the devil and the offspring of the woman. Seed meaning descendants is common in Genesis (Ge 4:25, 9:9, 12:7, etc) and especially in the context of covenant (see notes below). Zera has four basic semantic categories: 1. The time of sowing, seedtime; 2. the seed as that which is scattered or as the product of what is sown; 3. the seed as semen and 4. the Seed as the offspring in the promised line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or in other groups separate from this people of promise. Zera in Genesis - Gen. 1:11; Gen. 1:12; Gen. 1:29; Gen. 3:15; Gen. 4:25; Gen. 7:3; Gen. 8:22; Gen. 9:9; Gen. 12:7; Gen. 13:15; Gen. 13:16; Gen. 15:3; Gen. 15:5; Gen. 15:13; Gen. 15:18; Gen. 16:10; Gen. 17:7; Gen. 17:8; Gen. 17:9; Gen. 17:10; Gen. 17:12; Gen. 17:19; Gen. 19:32; Gen. 19:34; Gen. 21:12; Gen. 21:13; Gen. 22:17; Gen. 22:18; Gen. 24:7; Gen. 24:60; Gen. 26:3; Gen. 26:4; Gen. 26:24; Gen. 28:4; Gen. 28:13; Gen. 28:14; Gen. 32:12; Gen. 35:12; Gen. 38:8; Gen. 38:9; Gen. 46:6; Gen. 46:7; Gen. 47:19; Gen. 47:23; Gen. 47:24; Gen. 48:4; Gen. 48:11; Gen. 48:19 Genesis 22:19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba. So Abraham : Ge 22:5 to Beersheba : Ge 21:31 Jos 15:28 Jud 20:1 Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba A typical close to an episode (cf. Ge 12:9; 13:18; 18:33; 21:34). But it leaves so much unsaid; even Isaac is not mentioned though he has been the subject of the promises, and no mention is made about what Sarah felt. Commentators and preachers have often been tempted to fill in the gaps, but in so doing they draw attention away from the central thrust of the story, Abraham’s wholehearted obedience and the great blessings that have flowed from it. Genesis 22:20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: told : Pr 25:25 Milcah : Ge 11:29 24:15,24 Nahor : Ge 11:26 24:10,24 31:53 Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: This family genealogy seems to be somewhat unusual here, but in reality it is very significant in laying the groundwork for Isaac's future bride, Rebekah, who will be mentioned in Genesis 22:23. Genesis 22:21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram Huz : Job 1:1, Uz Buz : Job 32:2 Kemuel : Kemuel might have given name to the Kamilites, a people of Syria, mentioned by Strabo, to the west of the Euphrates. Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram Genesis 22:22 and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” Genesis 22:23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Bethuel : Ge 24:15,24,47 25:20 28:2,5 Rebekah : Ge 24:51,60,67 Ro 9:10 Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: Genesis 24:15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. ISAAC'S FUTURE WIFE Bethuel became the father of Rebekah these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother - Bethuel means man of God, or dweller of God, or house of God. Rebekah means something like "ensnarer" or "noose" and the rabbis see this as meaning that Rebekah's beauty was enticing and she "tied up" Isaac's affection. Rebekah the usual English spelling Rebecca): Daughter of Bethuel and an unknown mother, grand-daughter of Nahor and Milcah, sister of Laban, wife of Isaac, mother of Esau and Jacob. Her name is usually explained from the Arabic, rabqat, "a tie-rope for animals," or, rather, "a noose" in such a rope; its application would then by figure suggest the beauty (?) of her that bears it, by means of which men are snared or bound; The root is found in Hebrew only in the noun meaning "hitching-place" or "stall," in the familiar phrase "fatted calf" or "calf of the stall," and in view of the meaning of such names as Rachel and Eglah the name Rebekah might well mean (concrete for abstract, like riqmah, chemdah, etc.) a "tied-up calf" (or "lamb"?), one therefore peculiarly choice and fat. Rebekah is first mentioned in the genealogy of the descendants of Nahor, brother of Abraham (Gen 22:20-24). In fact, the family is there carried down just so far as is necessary in order to introduce this woman, for whose subsequent appearance and role the genealogy is obviously intended as a preparation. All this branch of the family of Terah had remained in Aram when Abraham and Lot had migrated to Canaan, and it is at Haran, "the city of Nahor," that we first meet Rebekah, when in Genesis 24 she is made known to Abraham's servant at the well before the gate. That idyllic narrative of the finding of a bride for Isaac is too familiar to need rehearsal and too simple to require comment. Besides, the substance both of that story and of the whole of Rebekah's career is treated in connection with the sketches of the other actors in the same scenes. Yet we note from the beginning the maiden's decision of character, which appears in every line of the narrative, and prepares the reader to find in subsequent chapters the positive, ambitious and energetic woman that she there shows herself. Though the object of her husband's love (Gen 24:67), Rebekah bore him no children for 20 years (Gen 25:20,26). Like Sarah, she too was barren, and it was only after that score of years and after the special intercession of Isaac that God at length granted her twin sons. "The purpose of God according to election," as Paul expresses the matter in Rom 9:11, was the cause of that strange oracle to the wondering, inquiring parents, "The elder shall serve the younger" (Gen 25:23). Whether because of this oracle or for some other reason, it was that younger son, Jacob, who became the object of his mother's special love (Gen 25:28). She it was who led him into the deception practiced upon Isaac (Gen 27:5-17), and she it was who devised the plan for extricating Jacob from the dangerous situation into which that deception had brought him (Gen 27:42-46). When the absence of Jacob from home became essential to his personal safety, Rebekah proposed her own relations in Aram as the goal of his journey, and gave as motive the desirability of Jacob's marrying from among her kindred. Probably she did not realize that in sending her favorite son away on this journey she was sending him away from her forever. Yet such seems to have been the case. Though younger than Isaac, who was still living at an advanced age when Jacob returned to Canaan a quarter of a century later, Rebekah seems to have died during that term. We learn definitely only this, that she was buried in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron (Gen 49:31). Outside of Genesis, Rebekah is alluded to in Scripture only in the passage from Romans (Ro 9:10-12) already cited. Her significance there is simply that of the wife of Isaac and the mother of two sons of such different character and destiny as Esau and Jacob. And her significance in Gen, apart from this, lies in her contribution to the family of Abraham of a pure strain from the same eastern stock, thus transmitting to the founders of Israel both an unmixed lineage and that tradition of separateness from Canaanite and other non-Hebrew elements which has proved the greatest factor in the ethnological marvel of the ages, the persistence of the Hebrew people. Genesis 22:24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah. concubine : Ge 16:3 25:6 Pr 15:25 Genesis 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah. Concubine (06370) pilegesh concubine in the Bible was a true wife but of secondary rank and does not as is not a "kept mistress." The concubine did not cohabit with a man UNLESS she was married to him. Although she cohabitated with the husband, the man could repudiate and send her away with a small gift. However, clearly having a concubine is a variation of polygamy which is the practice of having more than one wife at the same time. A Dress Rehearsal for Calvary (Video) Adrian Rogers Click here for all of Dr Rogers sermons on Genesis 22 An Old Testament Calvary—Genesis 22:1–2 The Gospel According to Abraham—Genesis 22:1–2 The Gospel According to Isaac—Genesis 22:1–13 A Dress Rehearsal for Calvary—Genesis 22:1–14 An Old Testament Portrait of Christ—Genesis 22:1–14 The Testing of Your Faith—Genesis 22:1–14 Faith: Look, Examine, Test—Genesis 22:1–18 HEBREWS 11:17-19; GENESIS 22:1-14 What a great song. Thank you my dear sister. For all of the music this morning, thank you choir and orchestra and Jim Whitmire. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Take God's Word, find please if you would, the book of Hebrews 11 and in a few moments we're going to look at verses 17-19. Now as you hold your Bible in your hand may I tell you, look at me, may I tell you there is no book like the Bible. None. None whatsoever. The book that you hold in your hand is one book and yet it is sixty-six books. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament. There are twenty-seven in the New Testament. They were written over a period of about fifteen hundred years by at least forty different authors in three different languages, people from all backgrounds and walks of life. But when you bring them together, they don't make sixty-six books. They make one book. One book that is bound together. It has one hero, His name is Jesus. It has one villain, he is the devil. It has one theme, it is salvation. It has one purpose, the glory of God. And so if you read the Bible anywhere, you're going to find standing somewhere in the shadows you're going to find the Lord Jesus. And that's what we're going to see today as we look in the life of a man whose name was Abraham. He's the father of the faithful, the brightest star in the Hebrew heaven. A name that is revered around the world, Father Abraham, the father of the faithful. And we're going to look back in history, centuries before Jesus Christ was born upon this earth and we're going to find a wonderful depiction of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now look if you will at the scripture that we have here in the New Testament before we go back to the Old Testament. Hebrews 11:17. "By faith, Abraham, when he was tried..." that is, tested, "... offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:...". Now how was he able to do this? Well verse 19 tells us, "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." Now the word "figure" means a type, an illustration. In the Old Testament, God gave illustrations, types, prophecies, figures of that which is to come in the New Testament. Now why did God do that? Well many reasons, but one reason, friend, listen to me. It is one of the great confirmations of the inspiration of the scripture. When you see way back here centuries, and centuries, and centuries before Jesus Christ was even born that God gives figures and types and prophecies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is it, therefore, a confirmation of the inspiration of the scriptures, but correspondingly it is a confirmation of the deity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we see Him pictured there, tucked away in the Old Testament. Don't get the idea that the Old Testament is about something other than Jesus. All of the Bible is about Jesus. It's all about Jesus. And furthermore, it is there that we might have the joy that we're going to have this morning of discovering and feasting on these things that are tucked away in the Old Testament. By the way, before we get to the Old Testament, let me give you a couple verses here to prove what I am talking about is not mere fancy. Put down in your margin John 8:56. Jesus is talking to the unbelieving Jews of His day who boasted in Abraham. And here's what Jesus said to those Jews. "Your father,..." talking about Abraham ".... Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he saw it and was glad." Abraham, Jesus said, saw My day. Now I want to remind you, this was centuries before Jesus was born. Ha, ha. Let me give you another verse. Galatians 3:18. "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." The phrase that I want to ex-, ex-, extract from that verse is "that the gospel was preached to Abraham." "The scriptures foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham...". Now, having said that, let's go to this passage of scripture. Go backward in your Bible to Genesis 22. Just, Genesis the first book. Find the first book. Fast forward twenty-two chapters and you're going to come to our text, and you're going to come to the basis of our text today in Genesis 22. Now there are some things I want you to see. What I'm going to do right now is give you a portrait of Jesus that is found in the Old Testament. Are you ready for it? I want you to see and delight yourself and feast on a portrait of Jesus found in the Old Testament. Actually, a prophecy of His coming crucifixion on the cross. I want you to see it and believe it and then I want, I want you to ask yourself this question: What does that mean to me today? What does it mean to me personally? Number one. THE FIRST THING I WANT YOU TO SEE IS THE SPECIAL PERSON WHO IS DESCRIBED. Now the person who is described is Isaac. But you're going to see that Isaac is a picture of Jesus. Look if you will in Genesis twenty-two, one and two. "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt..." that is, test Abraham "... and said unto him Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, God said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Now, Isaac therefore becomes a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me give you about six ways or more that He is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, his miracle birth was prophesied. Go back even further now to Genesis 18 and begin in verse 9. The angel is coming to visit with Abraham and to make a prophesy. "And they said unto him, to Abraham, where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women." That is, Sarah had gone through the menopause. And, "... Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?" Now here's what the angel says, "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" I want to ask you that question. Is anything too hard for God? Of course not. Is anything too hard for the Lord? "...At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." Now Isaac was born of a miracle. Jesus was born of a miracle. Put in your margin, Isaiah 7:14. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel." Not only was his miracle birth prophesied, but his birthday was preset. Look in Genesis now twenty-one verses one and two. "And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age...". Now don't miss this "... at the set time of which God had spoken to him." God not only prophesied the birth, but God prophesied the set time of the birth. Well, what does that have to do with Jesus? Put in your margin Galatians four four. "But when the fullness of time was come, God set forth His Son made of a woman." Isaac was born at a set time. Jesus was born at a set time. Now, here's the third thing. Isaac's name was divinely given. Genesis seventeen nineteen. "And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name Isaac." Compare that to the New Testament. Matthew 1:21. Speaking of Mary, "And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus." Isaac was born of a miracle, Jesus was born of a miracle. Isaac was born at a set time, Jesus was born at a set time. Isaac was prenamed, Jesus was prenamed. Isaac again was conceived of a miracle. Genesis 18:14, "... is anything too hard for the Lord?" Remember that Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety years old when it happened. When the angel came to Mary and said Mary, you're going to have a baby, Mary said, "how can this be?" Luke 1:34, "... seeing I know not a man." That is, I'm still a virgin. "How can this be? And the angel said to Mary, for with God nothing shall be impossible." What did the angel say to Abraham? Is there anything too hard for God? What did the angel say to Mary? With God nothing shall be impossible. Sometimes our Jewish friends have difficulty believing in the virgin birth. Friend, every Jew that you see today upon the face of the earth is here because of a miracle birth. Every one of them. Now, Isaac was loved of his father, Genesis 22:2. "and he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest....". Ladies and gentlemen I told you last week this is the first time the word "love" is found in the Bible. Right here. "Take your son whom you love." In Genesis 22:16, he's called Abraham's only son. Compare that now to John three sixteen. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish." We think about God loving the world. But friend, I want you to know that God loved His Son before He loved the world. John fifty, John 5:20. "For the Father loveth the Son and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth." Listen, he was offered, Isaac was offered up as a sacrifice. Jesus was offered as a sacrifice. Genesis 22:2. "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." And again John three sixteen, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son...". Isaac was raised from the dead. Genesis 22:4. "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." God said to Abraham, Abraham, take your son and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham takes his son and counts the days, one, two, three. He comes to the place there, where the offering is to be made. Now, he takes his son and he starts up Mount Moriah to offer his son. How was he able to do that? Well, remember Hebrews eleven verse 19? He was "accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead." Now watch this, "whence also he received him in a figure." That is, in Abraham's mind for three days Isaac was dead. From the day that God said Abraham take him and offer him until the day that Abraham got him back, in Abraham's mind he was dead. Abraham received him from the dead. Now, what is the gospel that you and I preach? That Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and was raised again the third day. I Corinthians fifteen verses three through four. Abraham received Isaac back in a figure. God the Father received Jesus back literally. So, what we're talking about here is the, a special person. Isaac represents prefigures Jesus. Have you got that? Then move to the second thing. NOT ONLY A SPECIAL PERSON, BUT I WANT YOU TO SEE A SPECIFIC PLACE THAT IS DESIGNATED. I want you to see how this comes together. Now look in Genesis 22:2. "And he said..." God said, "... Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Now He didn't just say go offer him. He said, I have a specific place that I want you to do. Now look in Genesis 22:4. And upon, "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." Now think with me friend about our universe. There are a hundred million known galaxies in our universe. We don't know what's beyond that. In those great galaxies that stretch across the sky, there is one galaxy known as the milky way. That milky way is one hundred thousand light years across. That's one hundred million billion miles from rim to rim. God goes into that great galaxy out of all of the millions of galaxies and God finds one little insignificant sun, our sun. Ninety three million miles away from the earth. And God looks there at that one sun and around that sun are orbiting a number of planets. God takes one little planet, a speck of cosmic dust called the Earth and God says, "the earth is the Lord's." And then on the Earth, that globe there, God takes one land, the land of Israel. And God calls that land "My land." And then out of that land that God calls His land, He tightens the focus a little more and God takes in that land one city, the city of Jerusalem. And God calls that city "My holy city." And then in that holy city, God takes one hill, Mount Moriah, and He calls that "My holy hill". That becomes the focal point of all of the universes. A little limestone ridge. God said, "Abraham, I will show you a place, a specific place. You take your only son. You take your only son that you love. You take him there and offer him in the place that I will show you." The name "Moriah" literally means foreseen of the Lord. The place is not incidental. The place is not accidental. It is the same place that Jesus would one day pour out His life's blood. Put down Luke 22:23, "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him." Not a place, the place. The same place. Now we've talked about a person, we've talked about a place. NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PURPOSE THAT IS DESIGNATED HERE. Genesis 22:2, "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." This speaks of the cross. When Isaac was to be offered in that same place that Jesus was to die. Think of the suffering of the cross that is pictured. Look if you will in Genesis twenty-two verses four through eight, "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you." Abraham says, he's going to be slain, but we're both coming back. You talk about faith. We're going to go worship and come again to you. "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife: and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said..." Isaac said, "... Behold the fire and the wood: but where is a lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Now, father and son come to a point beyond which the others cannot go. You stay here and father and son went to commune together. That tells me of dark Gethsemane where Jesus left Peter, James and John and the other disciples and He went alone to commune with His Father facing Calvary, and Isaac looks at his father. In Abraham's hand there is a torch, a fire in one hand. There is a knife in his other hand. Isaac can read his father's face. He begins now to know what is about to happen. Think of what must have been going through Isaac's heart as he sees his father go up without a lamb, only with his own son up to that place of sacrifice. Think of what must have been in Abraham's heart. I know when my first son was born I ceased to think so much of the love of Jesus and I thought more of the love of a father. Though both are infinite in their love. I thought how it must have moved the Father's heart to give His only Son to die upon that cross. Think of how much the Lord Jesus suffered. Think how much God the Father suffered as it is pictured here. Think of the suffering of the cross. Think of the suffering of the cross. Look in Genesis 22:9. "And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood." Use, use your sanctified imagination. Here's the altar. Here's the wood. Here's the torch. Here's the knife. Abraham says, "come here, son. Hold out your hands. " And Abraham begins to bind those hands. Now I remind you that Abraham is well beyond one hundred years of age. I remind you that Isaac is not a child as we sometimes see pictured. Isaac is a strapping young man. He could have easily out run the old man. He could have taken the old man and bound him. But he presents himself to be bound. You know what Jesus said? "No man takes my life from me. I lay it down of my self." Here you see the son submitting himself to the father. They said of Jesus, "He saved others, himself he could not save." They were so wrong. He saved others, Himself He would not be saved. He could have come down from that cross, but He did not. Notice in Genesis 22:6, "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son;...". Wood is a symbol of humanity. It speaks about the wood of our wickedness being laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ. As you see Isaac bearing that wood going up this mountain that one day Jesus would one day die on, think of John 19:17, "And he, Jesus, bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called Golgatha." Isaac goes up that mountain bearing the wood upon which he was to die. Jesus goes up the same mountain bearing that wooden cross upon which He was to die. Think of the sacrifice of the cross that is pictured. Abraham has a knife and he has a torch, and he has ropes. The cord speaks of the binding power of sin. The knife speaks of the bleeding power of sin. The fire speaks of the burning power of sin because the fires of God's wrath would burn themselves out upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we've talked about the purpose which was sacrifice. NOW I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE PROMISE THAT'S DECLARED HERE. We've talked about a person, we've talked about a place, we've talked about a purpose, now let's look at a promise. In Genesis twenty-two beginning in verse 11, Abraham is about now to sacrifice Isaac. Isaac has laid down his life. He had become one with his father. His father now is about to make this offering, accounting that God the Father is able to raise him up. Genesis twenty-two verse 11, "And the angel of the Lord called out unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, the angel said to Abraham, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not witheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place...". Now don't you miss this, this is the whole sermon. "... Jehovah-jireh: as it is has been said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." Now the figure changes. The knife does not fall upon Isaac who is representing the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the picture changes and Isaac now represents us and there is a ram caught in the thicket. As I have told you before, this ram, this ram crowned with thorns. His horns locked in a thorny thicket is taken and this ram becomes a substitute for Isaac. Isaac gets up off the altar and the ram is slain in his stead. And the knife did not fall that day upon Isaac because one day it would fall upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Isaac had asked his father. "Father, where is the lamb?" Abraham said, "God will provide Himself a lamb." And God did. God did. Remember what John the Baptist said when he saw Jesus coming? "Behold, the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." When Abraham saw what God did. When Abraham saw that ram that was to take the place the Isaac and give Isaac back to his bosom, give Isaac back as it were from the dead to Abraham, Abraham named that place Mount Moriah, Abraham named it Jehovah-jireh. Now what does that mean? It means the Lord will provide. Now, friend, listen to me. I don't know what need you have. You listen to your pastor. The Lord is there to provide that need. The Lord will provide. In that day, what was he going to provide? Himself a lamb. Where was He going to provide it? In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. When, is He going to provide it? It shall be seen. He's talking about the day when Jesus Christ would die upon the cross. Now, it's time to wrap it up. There's so much I could say, I have gone too fast. But I wanted you to get the whole picture. Now what does this mean to you today? And what does this mean to world missions? Are you ready to apply it to your heart? Listen friend, if there were ever a promise, ever a promise that God would have been tempted to renig upon, ever a promise that God might be tempted not to keep, it would have been the promise to send Jesus. If there were ever a time when God would say, I change my mind, that would have been the time. But I want you to put down this verse. It is very important because it sums it all up. It is Romans 8:32. "He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things." Do you get the logic there in Romans eight thirty-two? He that spared not His own son. Now when Abraham is taking Isaac up at the last moment, God said, "Abraham, don't do it." God spared Abraham's son. But God did not spare His own Son. Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the one who is prefigured and prophesied here in Genesis 22. God provided Himself a lamb. It doesn't say that God would provided a lamb for Himself. God becomes the lamb. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. God provided Himself as a lamb. God in human flesh died. God the mighty maker died for man, the creature's sin. God died at Calvary for you. Does that mean anything to you? That God laid down His own dear Son upon that altar that the fires of God's wrath burned themselves out upon God's own dear Son. Because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Now you listen to me. You on the back row, you listen to me. You over here, you listen to me. You mister businessman, you listen to me. Listen to what the apostle Paul said in Romans 8:32. "For if God spared not his own son, but delivered him up freely for us all; how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" My son is with me here in the city these weeks. We're doing a project together. I love him with all my heart. His name is Steve, my first born son. If you were to ask me, "Adrian, can I have your son?" Why should I give you my son? "Well, I want to torture him and then kill him for some cause that I have. Will you give me your son?" No, I won't give you my son. I don't love you that much. No, I would not give you my son that you might torture him and put him to death. For whatever cause, I would not do that. But suppose I loved you and your cause enough, your need enough that I were to give you my own son that he would die in ignominy and shame, be brutalized. If I loved you enough to give you my son and then you said, "Can I also have his computer? Can I also have his sport jacket? Can I also have his automobile?" Of course. If I did not spare the son, would I not also with him freely give you all things? Friend, if God gave Jesus, He's not going to hold anything else back. Do you understand that? If God gave Jesus and delivered Him up freely for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? He is the God who provides. If God gave the one great gift, He's going to give all of the others. I have proved it in life. When I needed a Savior and I said, "Lord Jesus, save me." He provided salvation. When He called me to preach and I didn't know how I was going to do it. My dad said, "Son, I wish I could send you to college, but I can't. I don't have the resources." I said, "That's alright. God has called me. God will provide." For eight years, seven of them married, I went to higher education and God provided. God met my every need. When Joyce and I walked through the valley of the shadow of death and a little baby was taken to heaven. We looked for a surcease, we looked for comfort. Where would we go? He was there and He provided the need of every heart. When I began to preach, I wondered what would I preach. First three or four times I preached, I said, Well, I preached the whole Bible. Now what am I going to do? That was over a half a century ago. How am I going to preach? I stand before you to tell you that God has provided Sunday after Sunday after Sunday after Sunday from the deep well of His Word. God provides. God provides. And one of those days when my feet touch the chilly waters of the river of death. And that day is coming for all of us if Jesus tarries. My Provider, Jehovah-jireh, will be there. "He that spared not his own son, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" Now we're talking about world missions. If you're wondering, OH, if God calls me to missions, how will I do it? How will I make it? What will I do? I'll tell you how you will make it. Jehovah-jireh will provide it for you. A missionary back in the days when they sailed to the mission field, was about to get on the boat. Walking up the gang plank, the trunks had been packed. They couldn't fly home on a 747 like we do today. The missionary and his family were going. A good friend walked up to the missionary just before he got on the boat and handed the missionary an envelope that was sealed. And said, don't open this envelope. Don't ever open it until you come to the place if you ever do where you don't know what else to do, where else to turn. You've run out of resources. You have a need that there is no other answer to, then open this envelope. The missionary put it in his breast pocket. Most of us would have taken it out, you know, to see what's in it. The missionary put it in his vest pocket. Stayed his full tenure on the mission field. Came home and held up the envelope. It was still sealed. Never been opened. Because through sickness, sorrow, tears, pain and toil, there never ever was a time when there was not a provision that God did not answer. His name is Jehovah-jireh. And the God who gave the first great gift is the God who will see us through. Bow your heads in prayer. Heads are bowed. Eyes are closed. Now friend, God spared not His own Son for you. God wants you to be saved. You're saved by trusting Jesus. Believe that He shed His precious blood on the cross for you and that God raised Him from the dead. The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved." Would you pray, Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Save me, save me today. Thank You for doing it. In Your name I pray, amen. Pastor, if I pray a prayer like that would Jesus save me? Well, if you're sincere. How can I know if I'm sincere? The Bible test is are you willing to make it public? Jesus said, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you. If you confess me before men, I'll confess you before my Father in heaven. We're going to sing an invitational verse in a moment. The ministers of our church are going to stand here at the head of each of these isles all the way across the front (music begins) to welcome those of you who will be coming forward here. If you're in the balcony, you may go to the banner that says "Redeemer" the one to my right over there in the corner. Or the one the says "Messiah", the one to my left and your right. Just make your way there. And if today, once and for all, now and forever you are willing to trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. You want to know that your sin if forgiven. You want peace and purpose in life, you want a home in heaven and you want to be absolutely certain if you died today you would go to heaven, then I want you to leave your seat and come forward. And I want you to say to the minister, I'm trusting Jesus. We'll take a Bible, we'll guide you in this decision, answer any questions we can answer, and seal it in prayer. It will take just a few moments. You'll be so glad you did it. Don't let the devil intimidate you. And don't let the devil keep you from coming. Now if you don't want to come, there are not enough angels in heaven to drag you down this isle because God wouldn't allow it. But if you do want to come, there're not enough demons in hell or anywhere else to keep you from coming. You may come. The Bible says, whosoever will may come. Others of you are saved, some of you have never had believer's baptism. You need to come and say, Look I know I'm saved but I want to make an appointment for my Baptism. You're living in disobedience if you're not baptized as a believer in Christ. And you can't grow when you're living in willful disobedience. You need to come and say, "I want to be baptized. I want to make an appointment for my baptism." Others of you may need to come and say I want to transfer my membership. I want to place my membership here. If this is where you worship and God speaks to you, you just come and say I want to place my membership here. Now, some of you feel that God is calling you to full time vocational missions. I want you to come this morning (Cough) and tell the minister I I'm just placing my life in God's hand for His call upon my life. Respectfully I'm going to ask that no one leave during the invitation. All of us be in a spirit of prayer. If you're with a friend that needs to come forward, you may volunteer to come forward with your friend. How beautiful that is. We're going to pray. Then we're going to stand. And on the first stanza I want you to step out. Lord Jesus, bring I pray, the lost to You. Help those dear Lord, who need a church home to answer. Lord, those that You're calling into vocational missions, help them to say "yes". In Your Holy name, amen. Let's stand together. You step out and come FAITH TESTED AND CROWNED Alexander Maclaren Genesis 22:1-14. I. A life of faith and self-denial has usually its sharpest trials at or near its beginning. A stormy day has generally a calm close. But Abraham's sorest discipline came all sudden, like a bolt from blue sky. Near the end, and after many years of peaceful, uneventful life, he had to take a yet higher degree in the school of faith. Sharp trial means increased possession of God. So his last terrible experience turned to his crowning mercy. 1. The very first words of this solemn narrative raise many questions. We have God appointing the awful trial. The Revised Version properly replaces 'tempt' by 'prove.' The former word conveys the idea of appealing to the worse part of a man, with the wish that he may yield and do the wrong. The latter means an appeal to the better part of a man, with the desire that he should stand. Temptation says: 'Do this pleasant thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is wrong.' Trial, or proving, says: 'Do this right and noble thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is painful.' The one is 'a sweet, beguiling melody,' breathing soft indulgence and relaxation over the soul; the other is a pealing trumpet-call to high achievements. God's proving does not mean that He stands by, watching how His child will behave. He helps us to sustain the trial to which He subjects us. Life is all probation; and because it is so, it is all the field for the divine aid. The motive of His proving men is that they may be strengthened. He puts us into His gymnasium to improve our physique. If we stand the trial, our faith is increased; if we fall, we learn self-distrust and closer clinging to Him. No objection can be raised to the representation of this passage as to God's proving Abraham, which does not equally apply to the whole structure of life as a place of probation that it may be a place of blessing. But the manner of the trial here presents a difficulty. How could God command a father to kill his son? Is that in accordance with His character? Well, two considerations deserve attention. First, the final issue; namely, Isaac's deliverance, was an integral part of the divine purpose from the beginning of the trial; so that the question really is, Was it accordant with the divine character to require readiness to sacrifice even a son at His command? Second, that in Abraham's time, a father's right over his child's life was unquestioned, and that therefore this command, though it lacerated Abraham's heart, did not wound his conscience as it would do were it heard to-day. It is impossible to conceive of a divine injunction such as this being addressed to us. We have learned the inalienable sacredness of every life, and the awful prerogative and burden of individuality. God's command cannot enforce sin. But it was not wrong in Abraham's eyes for a father to slay his son; and God might shape His message to the form of the existing morality without derogation from His character, especially when the result of the message would be, among other things, to teach His abhorrence of human sacrifices, and so to lift the existing morality to a higher level. 2. The great body of the history sets before us Abraham standing the terrible test. What unsurpassable beauty is in the simple story! It is remarkable, even among the scriptural narratives, for the entire absence of anything but the visible facts. There is not a syllable about the feelings of father or of son. The silence is more pathetic than many words. We look as into a magic crystal, and see the very event before our eyes, and our own imaginations tell us more of the world of struggle and sorrow raging under that calm outside than the highest art could do. The pathos of reticence was never more perfectly illustrated. Observe, too, the minute, prolonged details of the slow progress to the dread instant of sacrifice. Each step is told in precisely the same manner, and the series of short clauses, coupled together by an artless 'and,' are like the single strokes of a passing bell, or the slow drops of blood heard falling from a fatal wound. The homely preparations for the journey are made by Abraham himself. He makes no confidante of Sarah; only God and himself knew what that bundle of wood meant. What thoughts must have torn his soul throughout these weary days! How hard to keep his voice round and full while he spoke to Isaac! How much the long protracted tension of the march increased the sharpness of the test! It is easier to reach the height of obedient self-sacrifice in some moment of enthusiasm, than to keep up there through the commonplace details of slowly passing days. Many a faith, which could even have slain its dearest, would have broken down long before the last step of that sad journey was taken. The elements of the trial were two: first, Abraham's soul was torn asunder by the conflict of fatherly love and obedience to God. The narrative intimates this struggle by continually insisting on the relationship between the two. The command dwells with emphasis on it: 'thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.' He takes with him 'Isaac his son'; lays the wood on 'Isaac his son.' Isaac 'spake unto Abraham his father'; Abraham answers, 'Here am I, my son'; and again, 'My son, God will provide.' He bound 'Isaac his son'; he 'took the knife to slay his son'; and lastly, in the glad surprise at the end, he offers the ram 'in the stead of his son.' Thus, at every turn, the tender bond is forced on our notice, that we may feel how terrible was the task laid on him--to cut it asunder with his own hand. The friend of God must hold all other love as less than His, and must be ready to yield up the dearest at His bidding. Cruel as the necessity seems to flesh and blood, and specially poignant as his pain was, in essence Abraham's trial only required of him what all true religion requires of us. Some of us have been called by God's providence to give up the light of our eyes, the joy of our homes, to Him. Some of us have had to make the choice between earthly and heavenly love. All of us have to throne God in our hearts, and to let not the dearest usurp His place. In our weakness we may well shrink from such a test. But let us not forget that the trial of Abraham was not imposed by his own mistaken conceptions of duty, nor by a sterner God than the New Testament reveals, but is distinctly set before every Christian in essence, though not in form, by the gentle lips from which flowed the law of love more stringent and exclusive in its claims than any other: 'He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.' The conflict in Abraham's soul had a still more painful aspect in that it seemed to rend his very religion into two. Faith in the promise on which he had been living all his life drew one way; faith in the later command, another. God seemed to be against God, faith against faith, promise against command. If he obeys now, what is to become of the hopes that had shone for years before him? His whole career will be rendered nugatory, and with his own hand he will crush to powder his life's work. That wonderful short dialogue which broke the stern silence of the journey seems to throw light on his mood. There is nothing in literature sacred or secular, fact or fiction, poetry or prose, more touching than the innocent curiosity of Isaac's boyish question, and the yearning self-restraint of the father's desperate and yet calm answer. But its value is not only in its pathos. It seems to show that, though he knew not how, still he held by the hope that somehow God would not forget His promise. Out of his very despair, his faith struck, out of the flint of the hard command, a little spark which served to give some flicker of light amid the darkness. His answer to his boy does not make his sacrifice less, but his faith more. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives a somewhat different turn to his hopes, when he tells us that he offered up the heir of the promises, 'accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead.' Both ways of clinging to the early promise, even while obeying the later command, seem to have passed through his mind. The wavering from the one to the other is natural. He is sure that God had not lied before, and means what He commands now. He is sure that there is some point of reconciliation--perhaps this, perhaps that, but certainly somewhat. So he goes straight on the road marked for him, quite sure that it will not end in a blind alley, from which there is no exit. That is the very climax of faith--to trust God so absolutely, even when His ways seem contradictory, as to be more willing to believe apparent impossibilities than to doubt Him, and to be therefore ready for the hardest trial of obedience. We, too, have sometimes to take courses which seem to annihilate the hope and aims of a life. The lesson for us is to go straight on the path of clear duty wherever it leads. If it seem to bring us up to inaccessible cliffs, we may be sure that when we get there we shall find some ledge, though it may be no broader than a chamois could tread, which will suffice for a path. If it seem to bring us to a deep and bridgeless stream, we shall find a ford when we get to the water's edge. If the mountains seem to draw together and bar a passage, we shall find, when we reach them, that they open out; though it may be no wider than a canon, still the stream can get through, and our boat with it. 3. So we have the climax of the story--faith rewarded. The first great lesson which the interposition of the Divine voice teaches us, is that obedience is complete when the inward surrender is complete. The outward act was needless. Abraham would have done no more if the flashing knife had buried itself in Isaac's heart. Here is the first great proclamation of the truth which revolutionises morality and religion, the beginnings of the teaching which culminates in the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, and in the gospel of salvation, not by deeds, but through faith. The will is the man, the true action is the submission of the will. The outward deed is only the coarse medium through which it is made visible for men: God looks on purpose as performance. Again, faith is rewarded by God's acceptance and approval. 'I know that thou fearest God,' not meaning that He learned the heart by the conduct, but that, on occasion of the conduct, He breathes into the obedient heart that calm consciousness of its service as recognised and accepted by Him, which is the highest reward that His friend can know. 'To be well pleasing to Him' is our noblest aim, which, cherished, makes sacrifice sweet, and all difficult things easy. 'Nor know we anything more fair Than is the smile upon Thy face.' Again, faith is rewarded by a deeper insight into God's will. Much has been said about the sacrifice of Isaac in its bearing upon the custom of human sacrifice. We do not believe that Abraham was led to his act by a mistaken idea, borrowed from surrounding idolatries. His position as the sole monotheist amid these, the absence of evidence that human sacrifice was practised then among his neighbours, and, above all, the fact of the divine approval of his intention, forbid our acceptance of that theory. Nor can we regard the condemnation of such sacrifices as the main object of the incident. But no doubt an incidental result, and, we may perhaps say, a subsidiary purpose of it, was to stamp all such hideous usages with the brand of God's displeasure. The mode of thought which led to them was deeply rooted in the consciousness of the Old World, and corresponded to a true conception of the needs of humanity. The dark sense of sin, the conviction that it required expiation, and that procurable only by death, drove men to these horrid rites. And that ram, caught in the thicket, thorn-crowned and substituted for the human victim, taught Abraham and his sons that God appointed and provided a lamb for an offering. It was a lesson won by faith. Nor need we hesitate to see some dim forecast of the great Substitute whom God provided, who bears the sins of the world. Again, faith is rewarded by receiving back the surrendered blessing, made more precious because it has been laid on the altar. How strange and solemn must have been the joy with which these two looked in each other's faces! What thankful wonder must have filled Abraham's heart as he loosed the cord that had bound his son! It would be many days before the thrill of gratitude died away, and the possession of his son seemed to Abraham, or that of life seemed to Isaac, a common thing. He was doubly now a child of wonder, born by miracle, delivered by miracle. So is it ever. God gives us back our sacrifices, tinged with a new beauty, and purified from earthly alloy. We never know how sweet our blessings are till we have yielded them to Him. 'There is no man that hath left' anything or any person for Christ's sake and the gospel's who will not 'receive a hundred-fold more in this life, and in the world to come life everlasting.' Lastly, Abraham was rewarded by being made a faint adumbration, for all time, of the yet more wondrous and awful love of the divine Father, who, for our sakes, has surrendered His only-begotten Son, whom He loved. Paul quotes the very words of this chapter when he says: 'He that _spared_ not His _own Son_, but delivered Him up for us all.' Such thoughts carry us into dim regions, in which, perhaps, silence is best. Did some shadow of loss and pain pass over the divine all-sufficiency and joy, when He sent His Son? Was the unresisting innocence of the son a far-off likeness of the willing eagerness of the sinless Sufferer who chose to die? Was the resolved surrender of the father a faint prelude of the deep divine love which gave His only Son for us? Shall we not say, 'Now I know that Thou lovest me, because Thou hast not withheld Thy Son, Thine only Son, from me'? Shall we not recognise this as the crown of Abraham's reward, that his act of surrender of his dearest to God, his Friend, has been glorified by being made the mirror of God's unspeakable gift of His Son to us, His enemies? II. THE CROWNING TEST AND TRIUMPH OF FAITH The first words of this lesson give the keynote for its meaning. 'God did prove Abraham'; the strange command was a test of his faith. In recent times the incident has been regarded chiefly as embodying a protest against child-sacrifices, and no doubt that is part of its intention, and their condemnation was part of its effect, but the other is the principal thing. Abraham, as the 'Father of the Faithful,' has his faith tested by a series of events from his setting out from Haran, and they culminate in this sharpest of all, the command to slay his son. The life of faith is ever a life of testing, and very often the fire that tries increases in heat as life advances. The worst conflicts are not always at the beginning of the war. Our best way of knowing ourselves is to observe our own conduct, especially when it is hard to do nobly. We may easily cheat ourselves about what is the basis and ruling motive of our lives, but our actions will show it us. God does not 'test' us as if He did not know what was gold and what base metal, but the proving is meant to make clear to others and ourselves what is the worth and strength of our religion. The test is also a means of increasing the faith which it demonstrates, so that the exhortation to 'count it all joy' to have faith tried is no overstrained counsel of perfection. The narrative plainly declares that the command to sacrifice his son was to Abraham unmistakably divine. The explanation that Abraham, living beside peoples who practised child-sacrifice, heard but the voice of his own conscience asking, 'Canst thou do for Jehovah what these do for Moloch?' does not correspond to the record. No doubt God does speak through conscience; but what sent Abraham on his terrible journey was a command which he knew did not spring up within, but came to him from above. We may believe or disbelieve the possibility or the actuality of such direct and distinguishable commands from God, but we do not face the facts of this narrative unless we recognise that it asserts that God made His will known to Abraham, and that Abraham knew that it was God's will, not his own thought. But is it conceivable that God should ever bid a man commit a crime? To the question put in that bald way, of course there can be but one answer, No. But several conditions have to be taken into account. First, it is conceivable that God should test a man's willingness to surrender what is most precious to him, and what all his hopes are fixed on; and this command was given with the purpose that it should not be obeyed in fact, if the willingness to obey it was proved. Again, the stage of development of the moral sense at which Abraham stood has to be remembered. The child-sacrifices around him were not regarded as crimes, but as worship, and, while his affections were the same as ours, and his father's heart was wrung, to slay Isaac did not present itself to him as a crime in the way in which it does so to us. God deals with men on the moral and spiritual level to which they have attained, and, by descending to it, raises them higher. The purpose of the command was to test faith, even more than to test whether earthly love or heavenly obedience were the stronger. There is a beautiful and instructive climax in the designations of Isaac in Ge 22:2, where four times he is referred to, 'thy son, thine only son,' in whom all the hopes of fulfilment of the divine promise were concentrated, so that, if this fruit from the aged tree were cut off, no other could ever grow; 'whom thou lovest,'--there the sharp point pierces the father's heart; 'even Isaac,' in which name all the ties that knit him to Abraham are gathered up. Each word heightens the greatness of the sacrifice demanded, and is a fresh thrust of the dagger into Abraham's very life. Each suggests a reason for not slaying Isaac, which sense might plead. God does not hide the painfulness of surrender from us. The more precious the treasure is, the more are we bound to lay it on the altar. But it was Abraham's faith even more than his love that was tested. The Epistle to the Hebrews lays hold on this as the main element in the trial, that he who 'had received the promises' was called to do what seemed to blast all hope of their being fulfilled. What a cruel position to have God's command and God's promise apparently in diametrical opposition! But faith loosened even that seemingly inextricable tangle of contradiction, and felt that to obey was for man, and to keep His promise was for God. If we do our duty, He will see to the consequences. 'Tis mine to obey; 'tis His to provide.' Nothing in literature is more tenderly touched or more truly imagined than that long, torturing journey--Abraham silent, Isaac silently wondering, the servants silently following. And, like a flash, at last 'the place' was seen afar off. How calmly Abraham speaks to the two followers, mastering his heart's throbbing even then! 'We will worship, and come again to you'--was that a 'pious fraud' or did it not rather indicate that a ray of hope, like pale light from a shrouded sun, shone for him? He 'accounted that God was able to raise him up even from the dead.' Somehow, he knew not how, Isaac slain was still to live and inherit the promises. Anything was possible, but that God's word should fail was impossible. That picture of the father and son alone, the one bearing the wood, the other the fire and the knife, exchanging no word but once, when the innocent wonder of Isaac's question must have shaken Abraham's steadfastness, and made it hard for him to steady his voice to answer, touches the deepest springs of pity and pathetic sublimity. But the answer is in the same spirit as that to the servants, and indicates the same hope. 'God will provide Himself a lamb, my son.' He does not know definitely what he expects; he is ready to slay Isaac, but his faith is not quenched, though the end seems so inevitable and near. Faith was never more sharply tested, and never more triumphantly stood the test. The divine solution of the riddle was kept back till the last moment, as it usually is. The place is slowly reached, the hill slowly climbed, the altar built, the unresisting Isaac bound (with what deep thoughts in each, who can tell?), the steady hand holding the glittering knife lifted--a moment more and it will be red with heart's blood, and not till then does God speak. It is ever so. The trial has 'its perfect work.' Faith is led to the edge of the precipice, one step farther and all is over. Then God speaks, all but just too late, and yet 'right early.' The willingness to make the sacrifice is tested to the utmost, and being proved, the sacrifice is not required. Abraham had said to Isaac, 'God will provide a lamb,' and the word 'provide' is that which appears in the name he gave to the place--Jehovah-_jireh_. The name, then, commemorated, not the servant's faith but the Lord's mercy, and the spirit of it was embodied in what became a popular saying, 'In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.' If faith dwells there, its surrenders will be richly rewarded. How much more dear was Isaac to Abraham as they journeyed back to Beersheba! And whatever we lay on God's altar comes back a 'hundred-fold more in this life,' and brings in the world to come life everlasting. Alexander