Key Scriptures: Genesis 22:1-18, Hebrews 11:17-19
Genesis 22:1-18, Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So, Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Hebrews 11:17-19, By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had believed the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and so figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
.
By faith, Abraham offered God his very best.
Genesis 22:9-10, When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
.
Lesson One: It is not unlike God to test you.
• God doesn’t test us so that he can find out what we’re made of—God test us so that we can find out what he is made of
Hebrews 10:35-36, So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
.
Lesson Two: God wants to make sure you don’t rest on the last miracle.
• God wants to exponentially grow your faith and he take you somewhere that you’ve never been
Genesis 22:1-2, Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah.
.
Lesson Three: Your test isn’t just for you.
• The test isn’t only to deepen your faith but to make you a conduit for God’s greater work in the world
Genesis 12:1-3, The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth.
Hebrews 11:17-18, By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
.
Lesson Four: Abraham’s test was to provide a picture of the ultimate provision of God.
• On the mountain where ‘the Lord will provide’—is on the mountain where the Lord did provide—and offered his one and only Son as the lamb who was slain
John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed in him would not perish but would have everlasting life