Abraham’s Faith Tested

Genesis 22:1-14 (NLT)
Abraham’s Faith Tested
¹ Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
² “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
³ The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
⁶ So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, ⁷ Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
⁸ “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”
¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Examine the Scriptures

Genesis 22:1-14 (NLT)
Abraham’s Faith Tested
¹ Some time later,

  A number of commentaries (6) have Isaac between the ages of 18-37.

God tested Abraham’s faith.

God does not tempt us.

Tempt – do something wrong. Test – do something right.

A most difficult test.

A test that defies logic.

James 1:2-4 (NLT)
² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect (mature) and complete, needing nothing.

• The testing of our faith helps us to become fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing.

“Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
² “Take your son, your only son—

Abraham had already sent Ishmael, a son he loved, away.

Genesis 21:9-14 (NLT)
⁹ But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. ¹⁰ So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”
¹¹ This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. ¹² But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. ¹³ But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.”¹⁴ So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba.

 yes, Isaac, (a young adult) whom you love so much

Much like God the Father and God the Son.

Matthew 3:17 (NLT)
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

 —and go to the land of Moriah.

Land of Moriah vs. Mount Moriah – Solomon’s temple (Jewish tradition – not certain)

Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

Unreasonable

Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT)
The Call of Abram
¹ The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Trust and obey.

• God asks that we love Him enough to trust and obey

Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.

• The burnt offering of children existed in ancient Canaan.

Are there any stories in scripture of parents offering up their children as a burnt offering?

Judges 11:29-40 (NLT)
Jephthah’s Vow
²⁹ At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. ³⁰ And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, ³¹ I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
³² So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory. ³³ He crushed the Ammonites, devastating about twenty towns from Aroer to an area near Minnith and as far away as Abel-keramim. In this way Israel defeated the Ammonites.
³⁴ When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.”
³⁶ And she said, “Father, if you have made a vow to the Lord, you must do to me what you have vowed, for the Lord has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites. ³⁷ But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin.”
³⁸ “You may go,” Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children. ³⁹ When she returned home, her father kept the vow he had made, and she died a virgin.
So it has become a custom in Israel ⁴⁰ for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah’s daughter.

³ The next morning Abraham got up early.

 Obedience without hesitation.

 He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 

 Abraham was prepared to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.

Hebrews 11:17-19 (NLT)
¹⁷ It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, ¹⁸ even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”  ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

• Abraham was prepared to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.

⁴ On the third day of their journey (50 miles),

 Not an easy task.

Obedience is not always easy.  (It was not always easy for Jesus.)

Luke 22:42-44 (NLT)
⁴² “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” ⁴³ Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

•  Obedience to God can and will be difficult.

Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther.

We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

Worship

Paying honor to God.   The feeling and expression of adoration, reverence, trust, love, loyalty, and dependence directed to God.

Psalm 34:1 (NLT)
 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.

• Worship helps us maintain a right relationship with God.

⁶ So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, ⁷ Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

 ⁸ “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,”

Prophetic (dual meaning)

Mark 10:45 (NLT)
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.
⁹ When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. ¹⁰ And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. ¹¹ At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

¹² “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

 Abraham demonstrated the fact that he clearly feared God.

Abraham was willing to give God anything, even his only son.

Abraham passed the test.

¹³ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 

Verse 8 – a sheep

John 1:29 (NLT)
Jesus, the Lamb of God
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Thessalonians 5:10 (NLT)
Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.

¹⁴ Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

•  The Lord will provide.