Abraham: Faith Obeys God (17-19)

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

• 17 Offered up Isaac:

  • Story:

    • Genesis 22:1–2 (ESV) — 1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

    • Note: Isaac was Abraham's only son (Genesis 22:2, Hebrews 11:17) because Ishmael was not from faith or through Sarah.

  • An awful request: Gruesome. Ugly. Dark.

    • 1 - God never endorsed this form of sacrifice, but denounced it as a crime punishable by death (Leviticus 20:2, Jeremiah 32:35).
      • The culture Abraham came from would have been comfortable with this.
      • Ur and Canaan practiced human sacrifice.
      • God never asked Abraham to finish this, making it a way for God to show Abraham how different he was from the pagans gods!
        • Even Abraham seems to have anticipated this:
          • Genesis 22:5 (ESV) — 5 “...I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”
          • Genesis 22:8 (ESV) — 8 “...God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
    • 2 - God is the only one who went through with this!

• So what was God doing here?

  • There are some clues in the text.
    • 17 When he was tested: God was testing Abraham's faith.
      • Genesis 22:1 (ESV) — 1 After these things God tested Abraham...
    • 18 Through Isaac shall your offspring be named: By the time of this episode, Abraham knew Isaac was the child of promise.
      • Genesis 21:12 (ESV) — 12 “...through Isaac shall your offspring be named."

• Abraham's conclusion was incredible.

  • 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
    • Abraham knew two things:
      • God’s promise would be through Isaac.
      • God’s commandment was to sacrifice Isaac.
    • How could he reconcile those two things?
      • Abraham’s conclusion: God is able to raise him from the dead!
        • He had never heard of resurrection!

Faith obeys God.

• Faith obeys God no matter what because it believes God no matter what.

• Abraham could not reconcile the promise and command of God, except by a resurrection.

  • In that place of conflict, he decided to take care of only what he could (obedience) and let God take care of what only God could (fulfillment of the promise).
  • What was the result?
    • God stopped Abraham and provided a ram while promising a lamb.
    • Abraham's realization: Genesis 22:14 (ESV) — 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
      • The Lord sees. The Lord provides.
      • He'd seen God's faithfulness before, but this was the pinnacle.
      • He learned how God would always come through, always see, and always provide. He learned the trustworthiness of God.

• What about you?

  • In what ways must you trust God to fulfill his promises while you quietly and simply obey him?

    • To seek God:

      • Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) — 6 ...he rewards those who seek him.

      • vs. your alarm clock or the screen on your phone.

    • To prioritize God:

      • Matthew 6:33 (ESV) — 33 But seek first the kingdom of God...

      • vs. the little league coach or overwork.

    • To be equally yoked:

      • 2 Corinthians 6:14 (ESV) — 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers...

      • vs. romance or loneliness.

    • To pay your employees fairly:

      • Colossians 4:1 (ESV) — 1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly...

      • vs. making ends meet.

Isaac: Faith Submits To God (20)

20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

• 20 Isaac: His story.
  • As we've seen, he was the promised son (not Ishmael).
  • He lived longer than the other patriarchs, but less space is devoted to him.
    • 2.5 chapters in Genesis (Genesis 25-27)
    • He married Rebekah, whom Abraham's servant found for him.
    • He had two sons -- Esau and Jacob -- and we know more about them.
      • After struggling with infertility, he prayed for Rebekah, and she became pregnant with twins (Genesis 25:21-22). God told her two nations would come from her two boys, and that "the older shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23).
        • One was a wild man, a hunter and man of passion, while the other was more temperate, dwelling in tents.
      • Later, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:29-34), something which seems to have become public knowledge in the family (Genesis 26:36 -- "He has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright...").
  • In his old age, it was time for Isaac to present a customary blessing on his sons, starting with the firstborn.
    • Rebekah heard, so she helped Jacob deceive Isaac. Esau, who'd sold his birthright, thought he could get it back with a meal. And Isaac tried to ignore God! The whole family was in turmoil!
    • He was grieved when he learned he'd been tricked!
      • Genesis 27:33 (ESV) — 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”

Faith submits to God.

• Eventually, it seems, Isaac came around.
  • He invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.
    • Proper order, for Jacob had to be first.
    • Once the blessing was irreversibly fixed upon Jacob, Isaac submitted.
• We often argue with God.
  • Isaiah 45:9 (HCSB) — 9 “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, ‘What are you making?’
    • Accept God's path for your life.
    • Stop fighting, trying to be something you're not.
  • God is worthy of our trust.
    • He is wise, good, and sees the end from the beginning.
      • He chose Jacob over Esau for a reason.
      • Isaac came to realize God is better at decision making than he was.
    • Parents: teach submission, because your children need to grow into adults who know God is worth submitting to.
      • Ephesians 6:1 (ESV) — 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Jacob: Faith Worships Only God (21)

21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

• 21 Jacob:
  • His story.
    • He had to flee from Esau, going to stay with Uncle Laban.
    • On his way there, God spoke a blessing over him.
    • God reaffirmed this blessing a few times in his life.
    • He was married, had many sons through 4 women, and prospered.
  • He endured many trials, one significant one being the supposed death of Joseph, his beloved son.
    • But Joseph was alive, preserved by God, and near the end of Jacob's life, he was reunited with his long lost son. Joseph, as Jacob discovered, was now the second most powerful man in Egypt.
• 21 Blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff:
  • Near death, Jacob blessed all his sons, but rather than bless his son Joseph along with the others, he blessed Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (so they received a double portion).
    • He blessed the younger (Ephraim) above the older (Manasseh).
  • As he blessed them, he worshiped God.

Faith worships only God.

• Jacob had always wanted the blessings of God upon his life.

  • Genesis 28:20–22 (ESV) — 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

  • Genesis 32:26 (ESV) — 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

• But Jacob's life was often hard.

  • Genesis 47:9 (ESV) — 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “...Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”

• But, at the very end, he worshiped God alone.

  • He leaned on that staff, drew his feet up into bed, and, with only God, far from the Promised Land, died.
  • Because there is more to life.
  • We often get caught up in good things, making them ultimate things.

Joseph: Faith Believes In A Better Future With God (22)

22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

• 22 Joseph: His life.
  • Amazing man!
  • Dreams / Sold / Potiphar’s House / Prison / Cupbearer / Pharoah’s Dreams
    • Genesis 41:32 (ESV) — 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.
  • Testing of his brothers.
    • Genesis 50:20 (ESV) — 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Faith believes in a better future with God.

• 22 Made mention of the exodus: He foresaw a future day when God would take them out of Egypt. Things were good in Egypt, but God saw another day. Joseph too.
  • Gave directions concerning his bones:
    • Genesis 50:24–25 (ESV) — 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”
  • Joseph died believing in a future home for Israel.
    • They weren’t a nation, but a family.
    • They weren’t in trouble, but in a good place.
    • There weren't home, but sojourning.
  • But he saw it.
    • Joseph spent his whole adult life in Egypt. As a fourth-generation heir of Abraham's promise, he couldn't even claim to have sojourned in the Promised Land. Two hundred years had elapsed from the promise to Abraham to Joseph's day. Still, he believed.
    • His heart was set on Exodus.
      • His coffin laid above ground for 400 years until it was taken back to Canaan. It testified all those years that Israel was going back to the Promised Land. It spoke of the limitations of their attachment to Egypt. It spoke of a better day.
• Faith knows how no matter how good things are today, they will get better with God.