Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20080810.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Genesis: Explaining The Foundations Of History
Part VII: Explaining God's Plan To Bless Men Regardless Of Apostasy
K. Relying On God's Past Lessons For Hope In Life's Biggest Trials
(Genesis 22:1-19)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Sometimes, in God's permissive will, trials arise that we find are much larger than we can possibly handle ourselves!

The Apostle Paul himself, the Church's greatest missionary, faced such a trial according to his testimony in 2 Corinthians 1:8. He admitted, and we cite the clarity of the New International Version when he wrote: "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life."

We come today to a passage in the life of Abraham where he faced the greatest trial in his life: after decades of going childless, the worst possible pain a former pagan like him to endure, God had finally provided him and his wife Sarah a son, a beloved son, Isaac. Upon Isaac hung the whole walk of faith Abraham and Sarah had in the Lord, for in Isaac would be the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant to produce offspring through whom God would bless the world.

However, exactly at this point, according to Genesis 22:1-2, God told Abraham to take that unique, priceless, beloved son and offer him up as a burnt offering! That command seemed to challenge everything Abraham knew of God and of His plan in his life to that point in time!



Accordingly, we may ask, "If facing a trial where we simply have no capacity to address it well, what are we to do?!"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "When we face a HUGE trial that is far beyond our capacity even to BEGIN to HANDLE, HOW are we to RESPOND?!"
  1. God told Abraham to sacrifice his "only", beloved son, Isaac on a specific mountain in the "region" of Moriah, Genesis 22:1-2 NIV:
    1. [Muslims say the word "only" used of Isaac in Genesis 22:2, 12 & 16 proves "Ishmael" was replaced by "Isaac" in the text, for only Ishmael was ever Abraham's one son, making him the heir and Islam the truth.
    2. However, the Hebrew word for "only" in these verses is yahid, and, with the Greek word, monogenays, which is rendered "only begotten son" in Hebrews 11:17 KJV to depict Isaac, both mean "unique", the special son of the covenant, (T. W. O. T., v. I, p. 373 that cites T. D. N. T., v. IV, p. 738; B. D. B., Heb. & Eng. Lex. of the O. T ., p. 402)!
    3. Also, opposite the vague account of this event in Islam's Qur'an (Sura 37:99-113) that fails even to give the name of the son sacrificed, the Bible gives a detailed story rich in lessons (see VIII-XI) applicable to those who will worship Isaac's God at the site. The Bible is true!]
  2. Though heeding God's call to sacrifice Isaac threatened God's covenant that centered in Isaac, Abraham heeded God, Gen. 22:3.
  3. This OBEDIENCE arose from APPLYING God's PAST LESSONS:
    1. In Genesis 14:19-20, 22, Abraham had acknowledged Melchizedek's El-'Elyon, the "Most High Creator", so he knew God could raise a human to life just as He had created human life back in Genesis 1!
    2. In Genesis 17, God had announced He was El Shaddai, Lord of all fertility who renewed the "dead" capacities of Abraham and Sarah to produce Isaac, so he knew God could raise especially Isaac AGAIN!
    3. In Genesis 21:22-34, God had revealed He was the Eternal God Who thus KEPT His promises, so Abraham knew God WOULD raise Isaac to fulfill His covenant to him, cf. Hebrews 11:11-12, 17-19!
  4. This confidence in God is evidenced in the events of Genesis 22:4-8:
    1. Abraham used the plural form of the verb, "return" nashubah, to say he and Isaac would later be alive, Gen. 22:5; Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 29!
    2. When Isaac asked Abraham about the absence of a lamb, he replied God would provide, for Isaac's rising would nullify the death of the sacrifice and require a lamb to die in Isaac's place, Genesis 22:8!
  5. Just as he was about to slay his son, the "Angel of the Lord" stopped Abraham, Genesis 22:9-12a. God said his obedience showed he REVERED Him, a great TRIUMPH over PAGANISM !
  6. Abraham then saw a ram caught by its horns in a nearby thicket, so he sacrificed it in place of his son, Isaac, Genesis 22:13!
  7. The "Angel of the Lord" thus announced an expansion of His Covenant to Abraham, that He would vastly multiply and bless his seed and expand its influence in world history, Genesis 22:15-19.
  8. Abraham named the place "The Lord Will See/Provide," to honor God's work in his behalf at that location, Genesis 22:14a.
    1. The verb ra'ah, literally means "see, appear" and figuratively "see to it," "provide," Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Genesis 22:14.
    2. It is used in Genesis 22 with a play on these meanings: in verses 4 and 13, Abraham ("ra'ah") sees the place of the sacrifice and the ram God supplies, and in verses 8 and 14, God (" ra'ah") sees to it, provides!
  9. The location of this event later marked the temple site (2 Chr. 3:1) where God's people would meet their needs, Genesis 22:14b:
    1. All of Israel's men would later "appear" (ra'ah) before God at the temple site three times a year! (Exodus 23:17)
    2. God would then "see" (ra'ah) their needs and "see to it" (ra'ah) that they were met, Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 65.
  10. God's SUPREME provision would occur 1,000 yards northeast of that spot on the same ridge in Moriah at Golgotha: He would there SEE the travail of His Son (Isaiah 53:11) and PROVIDE salvation for those who LOOK to the Son in faith, John 3:14-15! (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, v. I, p. 93; The Mac. Bib. At., 1968, p. 149).
  11. Even greater, as the "Angel of the Lord" who kept Abraham from slaying his son is the Preincarnate Christ Himself (Gen. 22:11-12; John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, p. 52), Christ sealed His OWN destiny to DIE in OUR place by supplying the ram as a type of His work as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) in INFINITE GRACE!
Application: May we (1) trust in Abraham's God, Christ, Who, by supplying the ram in Isaac's place, SEALED His OWN DESTINY to DIE for our SIN for salvation, John 3:16; 8:56-58. (2) Then, in huge trials, may we (a) APPLY God's PAST lessons and (b) trust HIM, the God of all GRACE, to PROVIDE for our needs!

Lesson: In the biggest trial of his life, Abraham RELIED on God's PAST LESSONS to OVERCOME false views and REVERE God!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

God illustrated this sermon's lesson in Fellowship Hall after the last Sunday morning service, typical of what He has done before!

A woman I had not known and who had not attended our service, but who had read some past sermon notes we have produced, entered the Fellowship Hall and began to speak with me. She critiqued our stand in one of our past sermon notes regarding a minister in South Korea who had borrowed spiritist exercises from pagans for use in his Church. She defended the minister, saying he borrowed of the area culture to be relevant for his people. She also claimed that unless a Church was into miraculous dynamics, she considered useless.

I replied that Scripture teaches we should live by the Holy Spirit's power in our lives, but that Scripture and the testimonies of reputable believers also indicate that some miracles are not of God, but of Satan. Thus, we are to stay dependent upon the written truth of Scripture for discernment in such matters of the miraculous.

The woman politely listened to this reply, but she did not accept what was said, and she soon left the building.

It was only after she had LEFT I recalled that five minutes before she had arrived, one of our deacons and been telling me of a terrifying experience his unsaved associate had while involved in a mystical exercise in a karate workout. The associate had witnessed the sudden appearance of what he was sure was a demon, and he had called this believer for help as he knew no other friend of his would believe his account of what he had seen!

Recalling that deacon's testimony later served to encourage: (1) his testimony confirmed the validity of what I had told the woman, and (2) it also countered her implication that we were ungodly for not pushing miracles, for GOD HIMSELF had miraculously led the deacon to give me his testimony so the stand that needed to be taken with the woman could later be further verified as being in God's will!

That evening, I e-mailed the deacon to report on this whole event, and he sent back a simple "WOW" message in response!



God will provide when we TRUST Him and have NEEDS far above our human ability to address -- He did so for Abraham in Genesis 22, and He stands ready to help us similarly today. May we RELY on Him to help us in overwhelming trials today!