The Offering Of Isaac

“The Offering of Isaac” (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Introduction: The author to the Hebrews has been giving examples of that kind of faith that caused the saints of old to gain approval with God (11:2). And in each case we have seen that not only did faith motivate these saints to believe the Word of God, each of them was looking specifically to Christ by faith. Abel, when he offered his better sacrifice, looked beyond it to the coming of the promised Seed of the woman. Enoch, when he walked with God, looked to this seed as well, not only through the word of his fathers, but also through the prophetic vision that God gave to him of our Lord’s glorious second coming. Noah, not only believed God so as to build the ark and was saved from the flood, he also believed the promise which his fathers told him of the coming Messiah, and therefore Noah was called the only righteous man on the earth in those days. And then there was Abraham, the faithful. God called Abraham when he was in Ur of the Chaldees, the center of idolatrous worship in the Mesopotamian Valley, and he trusted God’s Word. He believed that God was going to give him the land which He had promised to him. And so he left Ur and went out, not knowing where he was going. And even once he was in the land, though he never possessed even a foot of it, yet he believed the Word of God that his descendents would possess the land. But more importantly, Abraham recognized that the promise of the land and the seed pointed beyond these earthly shadows to the heavenly realities. He knew that they pointed to the seed of the woman who would open for him and for all the faithful the everlasting doors of the eternal kingdom of God. Our text this evening singles out one more event in the life of Abraham, an event which was the greatest test of his faith, and also the greatest vindication of it. But more importantly, it became to Abraham the greatest picture of the coming Messiah who was the promised seed of God that he hoped for. I. I would like for us to consider this test of Abraham from two perspectives this evening: First, from the perspective of its being a test of his faith, and second, from its being a picture of the coming person and work of the Messiah. First, let us consider the offering of Isaac as a test of Abraham’s faith. A. After Abraham and Sarah patiently waited for many years, they eventually had a son. 1. We had seen, in a previous sermon, how Sarah herself by faith received ability to conceive. a. At first when she heard the Word of the Lord, she laughed, and wondered how it could be. b. But after the shock wore off, she believed and received the ability to conceive and bear a child, even though by this time, at the age of ninety years, her womb was dead, and so was her husband, with regard to being able to give a child, for he was one hundred years of age. c. God is able to bring life from the dead. Nothing is too difficult for God. And this should serve as a lesson to us, that no matter how dark the circumstances are, no matter how impossible it appears that God’s Word will be fulfilled, God is still able to perform all that He has promised. If we don’t believe this, our God is too small. The God which the Bible reveals is infinitely big and powerful. He is the One who

2 plans all things from the beginning to the end, and who works all things according to that plan. God holds everything in His hands with infinite ease. Your God is able to do all that He has said. You must never doubt Him! 2. After Isaac was born, Abraham and Sarah were elated. a. Here at last was the promised seed. Here was the one that God had told them about. b. “Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ And she said, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age’” (Gen. 21:6-7). c. Notice the joy that this child brought. The heart of the Israelite yearned to have children. It was a reproach to a woman if she could not bear a son, and especially if she could not bear at all. Today, so many consider children to be an inconvenience, rather than a blessing. But this only shows how much we have compromised to the world spirit that our own fun if what is most important. Children are oftentimes not too much fun. But they are at all times the greatest blessings. They are a gift from the Lord (Ps. 127:3). And I am so thankful that He has placed so many of them in the families of this church. d. The psalmist writes, in Psalm 113, “Who is like the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!” (vv. 5-9). e. But there was a problem. Since the conception and birth of Isaac had been delayed for so long, and since they had no direct revelation from God that the child was to come from both Abraham and Sarah, Sarah decided to give Abraham her Egyptian maid, Hagar, as a wife. And Abraham had a son by her, whose name was Ishmael. It wasn’t until Ishmael was about 13 years of age that the Lord appeared again to Abraham and promised him a son through his wife Sarai (17:25). And the Lord made it clear that He was going to establish His Covenant with this child, and with his seed, and not with Ishmael (v. 19). It was at this time as well that the Lord changed her name to Sarah, because of His intention to bless her and to make her a mother of nations (vv. 15-16). f. And when Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast. But Sarah noticed that Ishmael was making fun of him. And so she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac” (21:10). g. Abraham was grieved. But the Lord said to him, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named” (v. 12). He also promised that He would makea nation come from Ishmael’s loins, for he too was a son of Abraham. h. And so Abraham sent them away, as Sarah wished and as the Lord willed. B. Now after some time had passed, perhaps as many as thirty-three or four years, the Lord appeared to Abraham to test him. 1. God told Abraham that He wanted him to take his son Isaac, his only son, to the land

3 of Moriah, and there offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which He would tell him (22:1-2). a. And so Abraham did not hestitate to do what the Lord asked, but saddled his donkey, took two of his young men, Isaac his son, and the wood for the offering. b. On the third day Abraham saw the place from a distance, and said to the young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you” (v. 5). c. I would suggest to you that by the fact that Abraham did not hesitate to go, and by the fact that he told his young men that they would both return, knowing full well that God had told him that he was to take Isaac and burn him into ashes, that Abraham was looking beyond this test to the promise of God. For the Lord had told him that it was through Isaac that his descendants would be named. Isaac, though he may possibly have been of marrying age, was yet not married and had no children. He married Rebekah at 40 years of age, and even then didn’t have children right away (25:20-21). d. Then Abraham took the wood, laid it on his son, took some fire with him and the knife, and walked with his son to the mountain. e. And as they were going, Isaac 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?’ And Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together” (vv. 7-8). f. When they arrived there, Abraham built the altar, arranged the wood on it, bound his son Isaac--who apparently was old enough to run away from his father’s hands, but didn’t--, laid him on the altar on top of the wood, and stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. g. But before he could raise the knife to kill him, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and told him to do the lad no harm, for now He knew that Abraham truly feared God, since he was willing to obey Him even to the point of offering his son to Him, even though the Lord had never before required this of any of His people. h. After this, Abraham looked up and saw a ram behind him that was caught in a thicket. And he took the ram and offered it to God as a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, or “The Lord will Provide,” as Moses wrote in his day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided” (22:14). And there, the Lord renewed the covenant with Abraham, because he was willing to follow Him even to the point of offering his only son. 2. Now simply from the standpoint of what the Lord called Abraham to do, he exercised a great deal of faith in the Lord. a. He was willing to obey the Lord, even though it was going to cost him that which was dearest to him, his only son, the son he had waited for so many years to have. But of course, this is what following the Lord will cost each of us, not that we would have to offer our children on an altar to the Lord, but that they should be so far second in our affections to the Lord, that by comparison we would hate them. b. But we are not to think from this that Abraham believed that he was going to offer his son and then leave him as a pile of ashes on the mountain. Abraham, as I said

4 before, knew that God had promised that through Isaac his descendants would be named. This meant that even though the Lord might allow Abraham to go through with this execution, that He would then need to raise Isaac back again from the dead, so that Isaac would have children. But even here consider, would you trust the Lord enough to do this? Would you believe His Word enough to risk killing your child, believing that the Lord would raise Him up from the dead? Certainly Abraham did. He knew the voice of the Lord, and obeyed it without hesitation, because he truly feared the Lord and trusted Him. c. Where this comes home to us is that God has spoken to us in His Word. If you are truly born again from above, you know that He has. Are you willing to risk all to follow the Lord, as Abraham was? Do you believe that to loose your life in this world is better than gaining it? Have you left everything in this world seeking to attain to the eternal dwelling in heaven? If you fear the Lord and believe His Word, you have, and you will, no matter what it will cost you. This is the essence of true faith. It believes the promises, trembles at the threatenings and yields obedience to the commandments. This is what you will do, if you trust in the Lord. II. But as I said earlier, there is something more here. Abraham, through this test of faith, saw more than just the vindication of his trust in the Lord. He also saw the Lord’s Messiah. Notice the last clause in verse 19, “From which he also received him back as a type.”