SundayFebruary 7, 2016 Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas e-mail
Message # 12 “Names of God” Text: Gen. 22:1-14; Heb. 11:17-19; James 2:21-24
God Will Provide, Jehovah-Jireh
INTRODUCTION: Perhaps, God revealed Himself more to the most prominent character of the Bible, the patriarch Abraham, than to any other. And as such He demanded more from Abraham than any other man. This reminds me of Luke 12:48, "...for unto whosoever much is given, of him shall be much required..."
God gave Abraham perhaps the most severe test of a man's faith to be found anywhere in our Bible.
God asked Abraham to take His precious Son, that son of promise, to a mountain and sacrifice him.
All this is spelled out for us in Genesis 22:1-19,
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. (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. (3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. (4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. (5) 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, (6) 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. (7) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (8) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. (9) And they came to the place which God hadtold 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. (10) And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. (11) And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. (12) And he said, 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 withheld thy son, thine only son from me. (13) 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. (14) And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. (15) And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, (16) And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: (17) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; (18) And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (19) So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.”
Allow me to refresh your memory of this familiar story from your childhood Sunday school class. I believe I have several insights to share.
VERSE 1: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.”Please notice the opening words,“After these things" Remember God had promised Abraham a son, through whom the whole world would be blessed. This was not just any son, but a particular son of promise. This son was born to Abraham and Sarah when they were well beyond their age to conceive, and in this story he is now a young man. It appears that God’s promise of blessing through this son is about to be dashed, because of an incredible demand.
This event is coming to pass at the 11th hour of Abraham’s life when he thinks he can settle down and live his life in peace.
This event is coming to pass after Abraham has walked with God, and proven his faithfulness.
The word “tempt” found here in verse 1, implies a “test,” not the idea of temptation. In the Old Testament, this word is often translated by the word “prove.” God wanted to prove or test Abraham's ultimate obedience. Perhaps you are here today and you are saying,
God, haven't you put enough burdens on us?
God, haven't you given us enough loneliness, enough heartache, and tested us enough?
God, I don't mean to complain, but…what’s up?
VERSE 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.”It seemed as though in verse 2 every word was calculated to hurt Abraham as deeply as possible. "Abraham, I want you to take YOUR son THINE ONLY son Isaac, YOUR son WHOM thou LOVE." Each word was like a knife sinking deeper and deeper, “and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering…” The phrase “burnt offering” meant Abraham was to literally, totally cremate his son.
Before I go on I would like to call your attention to the phrase - "whom thou lovest." Here is the first use in the Bible of the word LOVE. It is interesting to note that this first mention is not in reference to the LOVE of
a man for his wife, or
a mother for her children, or even of
a man's love for God.
Instead it is used to convey the love of a father for his son. Oh, how Abraham loved Isaac. Now I wonder, if Abraham had that deep love for his son, how much greater is God's love for HIS SON, JESUS? Well, the answer is found in John 17:24 when Jesus said, "Father...thou lovedest me before the foundation of the world." Wow, that’s a very long time!
If this is the first mention of love in the Old Testament, can you guess where the first mention of love is in the New Testament? You guessed it - JOHN 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son…” You must understand God is prophetically heading toward Calvary even here in Genesis 22 and pictures it so. Now from Genesis 22:2
There is no question or hesitation in Abraham's mind.
There is no objection, or debate; Abraham simply obeyed.
God tells Abraham I want your son back, your only son. The test was very real; he was to give Isaac back to God. As a test, it was designed to prove faith.
For it to be a real test it had to defy logic; it had to be something Abraham wanted to resist.
God clearly tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But would Abraham willingly kill Isaac?
This was a test of how much Abraham would obey God's word. Would he cling to the boy now that he had him, or would he still obey and return him to God? I believe the key to this extended passage is the statement: "Perfect faith in the heart is exhibited by perfect obedience in the life." Let me repeat. "Perfect faith in the heart is exhibited by perfect obedience in the life."
Faithful obedience always results in faithful action. We can never TEST the great resources of God until our faith sees the impossible and yet believes the possible.
Faith is resting in the promises of God. Hadn't God promised Isaac? Hadn't God promised to make Abraham’s seed as the sands of the sea, and the numberless stars of the sky?
Faith does not question God; faith believes and obeys.
VERSES 3 & 4: “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.” Abraham immediately complied with God's wishes, but he had threefull days to mull over in his mind what God had asked him to do and what he was about to do. You know,
I wonder if we could feel as Abraham felt.
I wonder could we, would we respond as Abraham did, if God would tell us to take our son or daughter and offer them as a living sacrifice to be burned.
In all probability I would have responded negatively, and so would you. Thus the greatness of this man begins to immerge.
I am sure on his threeday journey there must have been great confusion in Abraham’s mind, and great anguish of soul as well as great horror at the prospect. Can you picture it?
There was Abraham on his goatskin pallet the first night reaching out and letting a handful of sand run through his fingers as he imagined "seed as the dust of the earth!" Then he thought, “What about this promise if Isaac is dead?”
Another night, perhaps the uncounted stars looked down on Abraham's sleepless eyes and he may have thought, “How will the heavenly seed be as “the stars innumerable” if Isaac DIES?” But faith leaped up, and Abraham believed and obeyed.
VERSE 5: “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,”This is an incredible verse, for in the tense of the Hebrew language we read,“I and the lad WE WILL go yonder and WE WILL worship, and WE WILL come again to you.” Did you catch that last phrase, “and WE WILL come again to you.” This speaks volumes concerning Abraham's faith.
Abraham had not staggered at the promise of God.
Abraham had learned to trust so fully that he believed He could even raise Isaac from the dead.
In the New Testament, Hebrew 11:17-19 interprets for us the action of Abraham,
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: (19) Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”
Abraham in his own mind had offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, the act was done.
Here's history's greatest example of faith in God.
Here's the reason God called Abraham the FRIEND OF GOD.
Here's the reason God called Abraham the FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL.
He believed God COULD and WOULD do something he had never SEEN before and never HEARD before, that is raise his son from the dead.
What did Abraham know about the resurrection? NOTHING!
Had he ever seen someone rise from the dead? NEVER!
Yet, he had such confidence in God that He believed.
Why? Because we have a God that can be counted on, we have a God that can be trusted. We have a God who is faithful.
VERSES 6-7: “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. (7) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”All this time Isaac asks no questions, he just obeys. However, here comes the first question, "Say Dad we have the wood, we have the fire, but if we are going to offer a sacrifice, WHERE IS THE LAMB?"
What a profound question, "where is THE LAMB?"
All through the Old Testament the question was asked "where is THE LAMB?"
It is not until you come to the New Testament that the answer is given when John saw Jesus and said in John 1:29"Behold THE Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world."
VERSE 8: “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”Now there are two ways of reading this verse.
First, to Abraham in the context we could read, "God will provide himself A LAMB".
Second, we could see this in a prophetic sense, "God will provide HIMSELF a lamb".
Remember the Lord Jesus is "THE lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Calvary was ever in view. Every sacrifice offered was a reminder that sin had not yet been paid for. Ultimately, it will take the sacrifice at Calvary. There God's Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, will pay the debt forever.
VERSES 9-10: “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. (10) And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”Finally they came to the appointed place. For three days they had been coming, and those three days must have been agony for them. Both father and son were fully set to do God's will and for all practical purposes, Isaac had been dead those three days.
Abraham had built altars before at Sichem, at Bethel, at Hebron, and at Beersheba. But none of these would do except the one on Mount Moriah. It had to be here, since Mount Moriah would become the location of Calvary. And may I remind you there is only one place for salvation. IT IS AT THE PLACE CALLED CALVARY, where redemption was forever paid for.
Previously, if Isaac had doubts regarding his father’s intentions, they were all removed now, as his father bound him and laid him on the altar. Picture it! Isaac gazing up to his father's eyes which were flowing with tears, and seeing the uplifted knife in his hand. Never was such a loving father or obedient son put to such a test as this. Abraham obeyed God, because He believed God.
Reading verses 9-10, I ask myself if I could really have gone this far. How far would you have gone? Abraham did this 4000 years ago. Oh, was he not a man like you, a man just like me? Think about it. How would you have reacted if God asked you to give up someone that was dear and precious to you?
I believe that the greatest victories in life and the greatest times of God's provisions come when we are experiencing "HEARTBREAK." May I remind you that every man in the blessed Book who saw the faithfulness of God experienced heartbreak.
There is a song that goes like this:
I Trust in God wherever I may be
Upon the land or on the rolling sea.
Let come what may from day to day
My heavenly Father watches over me.
He makes the rose an object of His love.
He guides the eagle through the pathless air
and surely He remembers me.
My Heavenly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me
On Mt. Bleak or on the stormy seas.
Though billows roll, He keeps my soul
My Heavenly Father watches over me.
The point being made in this indescribable story is: God CAN, God SHOULD, and God MUST BE TRUSTED regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself.
God CAN, God SHOULD and God MUST BE TRUSTED regardless of whether or not you feel this testing is coming from God Himself, or whether it is coming from your family situation, or your place of work where the circumstances seem dim.
God CAN, God SHOULD, and God MUST BE RELIED UPON AND TRUSTED at all times.
In verse 10 we read, “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” Abraham said, "I have trusted you this far. You are a faithful God and I'll do what you have told me to do." In his mind the act was consummated, it was already done.
I do not know what your situation is this morning. You may feel God has let you down. You may feel you are in the midst of some great unfortunate circumstance. But God has brought you here this morning to reveal something to you. Perhaps you needed to be reminded that we have a God who can be relied upon. He can be trusted.