In this lesson, we examine the Genesis record of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Why did God ask Abraham to do it? Why did Abraham obey? How should Abraham’s example encourage us to trust God and wait for His provision? We look to answer those questions and also identify what this episode has to do with Christ and the gospel.
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foreign it is death and ultimately Eternal death what distinction though does God always make when it comes to his judgment what distinction does God always make we saw this with Sodom as well can you say that again all right he certainly the judgment is on wickedness and evil but when he pours out a judgment say on the on the city of Sodom or any time on Earth he makes a difference in how he pours out that judgment on the people of a certain area what distinction does God make that’s right God makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked he will never judge the righteous along with the wicked just say well sorry you were just kind of in the area no we saw with Abraham’s intercession that God acknowledges I will not sweep the righteous away with the wicked in fact I’ll be patient and merciful to the whole city if there’s a small group of righteous people there and if there isn’t a small group I will rescue the righteous out from the city which is precisely what God does God rescues Lots out of the city of Sodom just like he rescued Noah out of the world of the wicked Before the Flood now we asked at the end of last week’s lesson is our sin today just as bad as sodoms was the answer it’s yes and no and probably just as Bill said and in one sense we’re worse and one sense Alston is the same before God even little sins are infinite crimes against God’s worth and this makes us just like Sodom we are just the same and apart from God’s mercy we are doomed like Sodom like that verse in Isaiah unless the Lord had left us a Remnant we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah we would have perished in the Judgment but in another sense not all sin is the same before God God considers some sins to be more wicked than others especially the sins committed by those who have been exposed to the truth of God therefore it’s possible and I think likely that we are worse than Sodom today in our country not only do we have great perversions celebrated across our nation but we have been given so many blessings from God and great access to his truth if Jesus could say that Capernaum his hometown a place where he did much Ministry and miracles was worse than Sodom for rejecting the clear witness of himself the witness of the Messiah then the situation does not look good for our own Nation we have been given the witness of Christ in a very full way and yet the majority of the people in our land our countrymen reject the Lord so may all people turn to God in holy fear for how shall we escape if we neglect a so great a Salvation but having been rescued by God if that is indeed the case for you how great is his Mercy in delivering you from your sodom-like destiny he has chosen to make you an heir in the unilateral Covenant of Abraham he has chosen to make himself your God and rescue you any comments or questions about last week’s lesson yes Joe okay okay that’s a good question talking about Lot’s wife and how she turns into a pillars of Saul how do you explain that now do you mean physically scientifically or why God did that well I don’t know that’s a good question both theologically and scientifically why is that happening we do know that Jesus makes reference to it in the New Testament when he’s talking about the the judgment to come um on Israel and I think also the last days he says whoever’s in his house don’t go in to get your stuff or if you’re on the roof of your house or if you’re in the field don’t go back to your house remember Lot’s wife and so she becomes a symbol of uh reluctance and looking back and not fleeing to escape the Judgment now lot was like that to a certain extent too but the Angels specifically one law after they brought him and his family outside the city don’t even look back and she does now I think it’s not simply like um she was a righteous person and she just lived up in this one way and she was made into a pillar of soul I think the Judgment of God on her is kind of like um what we see Jesus doing in the New Testament he’s really seeing what’s in her heart and so her her looking back is uh is symbolic of what’s really going on in total in her heart and I think that’s why the Judgment of God comes upon her so instantly and completely now how physically she turned into a pillar of salt and it’s obviously miraculous I don’t know if she like instantly started falling apart or if she actually stood there as a as a pillar for a long time but whatever way God did it he did it I don’t know if we can get much more detailed physical explanation than that any other questions or comments on Sodom all right now we come to Abraham and Isaac though this is a famous narrative it’s possible that despite the frequency that we’ve heard this despite the frequency of our hearing this account we’ve nevertheless not come to grips with its Central message we are not given this record so that we might Marvel merely at the strangeness of God’s request the righteousness of Abraham or the happy outcome no this account was given for our instruction just like all things in the Old Testament we are to learn to trust in the faithfulness of God the same way that Abraham did and was Vindicated that’s what this lesson is going to be all about so let’s look for that as we investigate today here’s our outline we’re going to read make observations on the passage where we hear about this episode that’s Genesis 22. then we’re going to ask some interpretive questions focusing mainly on why and how Abraham obeyed God how was he able to do that why did he do that what was going through his mind because he is celebrated for being obedient like that we want to do the same then finally we’ll consider how this narrative ties into Jesus work on the cross how is the gospel in view or is the gospel in view whenever we look at this passage let’s pray before we continue hello God I thank you for being our father I thank you for being so faithful so good that you always do keep your promises Lord you will be faithful to yourself even when we are not faithful and we think of that scripture in the New Testament that says that if we deny you you will deny us because you cannot deny yourself Lord we thank you for keeping us in you but Lord we never want to to try and abuse your faithfulness because you will be faithful to your own character You Are Holy you are just you are good we thank you for your mercy we pray that we might see more of your great goodness today give me the ability to explain it in Jesus name amen let’s open our Bibles to Genesis 22.
let me remind you of the context what’s happened between last time we looked at Abraham and what’s happening now last time we saw Abraham was in Genesis 19 where God had confirmed to Abraham that a son through Sarah would be born to Abraham within a year God then told Abraham what he was about to do with Sodom God visited Sodom judge Sodom and rescued lot out for Abraham’s sake afterwards in Genesis 20 Abraham sojourned for a little while in southern Palestine in gorar where he once again lied about his relationship with his wife in order to protect himself from the locals once again his wife was taken to be the wife of the local King but once again God prevented that King from doing anything to Sarah and the Lord brought Abraham and Sarah out of Quran with even more possessions they than when they came in so God was very merciful to Abraham there a little later in Genesis 21 the Lord’s promise comes to pass Isaac is born and while there’s much celebration to Isaac’s birth there soon arises conflict between Sarah and Hagar and Sarah demands that Hagar be made to leave along with her son God told Abraham to permit this request promising to make a great nation from Ishmael for Abraham’s sake and Ishmael became the father of many Arab tribes but God said the promises are all going to Isaac the other son will not be an inheritor with him so it is fine for you to send him away this brings us to chapter 22. Isaac has grown into a young man sometime has gone by since the episode with Hagar Isaac is perhaps as old as 25.
but God comes to visit Abraham the beginning of Genesis 22. so let’s read the narrative starting in verse 1.
now it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him Abraham and he said here I am he said take now your son your only son whom you love Isaac and go to the land of Moria and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you so Abraham Rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him on the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance Abraham said to his young man stay here with the donkey and I in the lad will go over there and we will worship and return to you Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son and he took in his hand the fire and the knife so the two of them walked on together Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and 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 Abraham said God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son so the two of them walked on together then they came to the place of which God had told him and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said Abraham Abraham and he said here I am he said do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him for now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son your only son from me then Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the RAM and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son Abraham called the name of that place the Lord will provide as it is said to this day in the mounts of the Lord it will be provided then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said by myself I have sworn declares the Lord because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son your only son indeed I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore and your seed shall possess the Gate of their enemies in your seed all the nations of the Earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice so Abraham returned to his young men and they Rose and went together to Bear Sheba and Abraham lived at Beersheba all right that’s our text let’s make some observations God tells Abraham to do something very unexpected sacrifice your son as a burnt offering on a particular mountain in the land of Moria though the command is brief God takes time to describe Isaac in various ways your son your only son whom you love Isaac we’ve noted before that repetition like this is often used in the Old Testament for emphasis so what is God emphasizing yes Eric okay so there’s there’s emphasis on which particular Sun I think there’s also emphasis on something else yes Judy exactly there’s an emphasis on how precious the sun is to Abraham it says he’s not only a particular son he’s not only your only son he’s the one you love he’s your beloved Son Isaac now remember that Abraham had waited for this son for 25 years Isaac was the son of promise who was born miraculously to Abraham and Sarah in a in their old age he was extremely precious to Abraham he was going to be the means that God was going to accomplish various promises to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants but God strangely tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to God in an act of worship by the way God tells us the purpose of this Command right in verse 1. what is the purpose it was a test it said God tested Abraham this is a test now the text also mentions the land of Moria where is Moria and where is the mountain of Moria now the name Warrior is only mentioned one other place in the Bible but the other the other reference is very helpful for helping us understand moya’s location listen to what second chronicles 3 1 says and see if you can identify where morya is then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moria where the Lord had appeared to his father David at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of orn in the jebusite so where’s morya it’s Jerusalem it’s the land of Jerusalem and the mountain that Abraham Journeys to is likely the same Mountain on which God’s Temple is later built if not these same Mountain it’s very close by so Abraham’s told to go to morya and to sacrifice on a mountain there now when did Abraham act on God’s command yes Mike yes immediately specifically when not the same day early the next morning not even just the next day the next morning early the next morning he Saddles his donkey and sets out Abraham takes Isaac two young men some wood that he had cut and a donkey and heads to Moria and the journey takes three days now verse 4 says Abraham raised his eyes you see that also that phrase appears later on in the narrative don’t get confused by that phrase this does not mean that Abraham had been looking down or that he started to look up this is a Hebrew idiom actually to lift up one’s eyes or to raise up one’s eyes or Expressions used all over the Bible especially in the Old Testament and often the phrases he lifted up his eyes and saw or he lifted up his eyes and looked just as we see it used here I couldn’t find specific commentary on this phrase but for from comparing the 50 plus uses of this phrase in the Bible it appears to be simply a more emphatic way of saying to look he looked he lifted up his eyes and looked usually when when this phrase is used when people lift up their eyes and see something they usually notice something important so it’s like just saying look but with very special emphasis don’t get confused by that phrase now when Abraham sees the place at a distance when he looks up look raised his eyes and saw what does he tell his servants yeah Julie so he does say those things stay here the lad and I will go and worship and then he also promises something yeah Mike we will return to you the lad and I will go worship and then we will return so the two of them set out up the mountain carrying the necessary materials Isaac carried the wood while Abraham carried the fire in the knife what did Isaac notice was missing the lamb where’s the sacrifice where’s the land for the burnt offering how does Abraham respond God will provide the lamb God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering they arrive at the proper place in the mountain Abraham puts together the altar presumably from some nearby Stones he arranges the wood then binds his son Isaac and lays him on top of the wood at what point does God intervene in the sacrifice when he took hold of the knife and he stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son that’s when God intervenes and God commands Abraham not to harm Isaac at all and then he gives a reason what is the reason it says four I know that you fear God I now know that you fear God because you’ve not withheld your only son from me what does Abraham notice after God speaks to him behind him a ram was caught by its horns in the bushes in the thicket Abraham takes that Ram kills it and offers it in place of his son this final provision from God of Iran becomes the basis for a name and a Hebrew phrase Abraham names the place Yahweh Jireh Jehovah Jireh I am will provide he names that the mountain he gives it that name and this becomes a phrase that’s later passed down to the Hebrews the Israelites the phrases in the Mount of I am it will be provided and the mounts of the Lord it will be provided what does God reiterate to Abraham in verses 15 to 18.
the promise or the number of promises there but we’ve heard these promises before because these are the promises of what abrahamic Covenant these are the things that God promised Abraham initially when he first called Abraham he said I’m going to make of you a great nation and you all the families of the earth will be blessed so God repeats those promises to Abraham after this whole event but notice why does God say that these promises will come to Abraham look particularly at verse 18.
why will they come to Abraham say that again that’s right he says because you have obeyed my voice you will be blessed with these promises because you obeyed you will be blessed okay some important observations that we’ve made let’s ask some interpretive questions is the Bible an error When God says to Abraham your son your only son Abraham clearly had another son how do we explain God’s statement here right it’s it’s not wrong for God to say only son because there was only one son of promise and what happened to the other son well he’s going to be blessed that’s sure that’s true what that’s right he was sent away he was disinherited Abraham had only one son of promise and the other son was sent away no longer an inheritor so therefore in a sense it’s very accurate to say that Abraham had only one son Isaac was his only son don’t know the Bible’s not an error here now God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a test God even says later now I know that you fear God because you’ve not withheld your son for me but God is omniscient as we’ve talked about before he didn’t need to test Abraham to know what was in Abraham’s heart so in what sense can God say now I know there is a mysterious oh we’re gonna say Joe yeah I think it’s there’s going to be a different kind of knowledge at play here it’s going to be physically demonstrated just as you were saying Joe there’s a mysterious element to this because we’re talking about God and God’s nature he is eternal yet he acts in time in history he’s omniscient and yet he can speak of finding things out perhaps one could say it this way when God says now I know God knew in a different sense than he knew previously no longer did God simply know in heart knowledge or foreknowledge but in historical knowledge something actually happened you can write it down in the books there is hard evidence for it everyone can see it including God there’s incontrovertible proof because something happened in this sense God can say now I know I think that’s one way that we can explain it certainly we can also say that God is accomplishing something in this test of Abraham that he always accomplishes when he tests someone what is God revealing when he tests someone whom yes he reveals the heart but to whom is he revealing it he reveals it to the person he’s testing right and also to everyone around him this is exactly what we said about Sodom right when he says now I’m gonna go find out whether it’s outcry is as bad as I’ve heard well God knew but he was going to show everyone else and he was going to show us as readers of Genesis in the same way that we’re gonna we are learning about what’s in Abraham’s heart when we read this account this is what God does with us all the time when he tests us he shows us what’s really in our hearts and he shows everyone else so see in this sense God was testing Abraham and would find out something about Abraham now another question and this is our main question what is going through Abraham’s mind throughout this ordeal because this is so heavy how how could God tell him to do this what is he thinking what’s passing through Abraham’s mind and why does he obey the text doesn’t tell us directly what Abraham’s thinking but discovering what he’s thinking is key to our imitating Abraham we want to he’s an example of obedience so to get that benefit we need to see if we can figure out what’s going on in Abraham’s mind what details from the text can inform us a bit about Abraham’s thinking yeah I think he follows through in obedience knowing that God will provide but knowing that he has to obey right so you’re pointing to one of the details Magda where speaking to Isaac Isaac says where’s the lamb he says the Lord will provide the land so that tells you something about Abraham’s thinking and I’ll say a little bit more about what else you said Magda that he’s confident that the Lord will provide but he knows that he needs to obey to the uttermost what are the details in the text show us something by Abraham’s thinking yeah Danny yeah he says I and the lad will go worship and return to you that says something else about Abraham’s thinking what else from the text remember he didn’t wait around to obey this command we might expect that if he was distraught or if he distrusted God he may have put it off he certainly wouldn’t have left early in the next morning that tells us something about us thinking he immediately obeys after he obeys God says I know that you fear me you’ve demonstrated that so that tells us something about Abraham’s thinking and then of course when Abraham names the place that tells us something also about Abraham’s thinking Jehovah Jireh the Lord will provide now we might wonder if Abraham was merely obeying the Lord out of fear if he really didn’t expect the Lord to do anything to forestall the tragedy that was about to occur and that he expected that the promises that God had given to Abraham were coming to an end that when he told his servants that he and Isaac would return that Abraham was either unsure or he was lying but he was too afraid to disobey God Abraham in fact knew that Isaac would die but he was just assuring his servants otherwise so that they would not interfere was Abraham just obeying out of fear here well lest we get off course then characterizing Abraham let’s listen to what the New Testament says about this instance Hebrews 11 verses 17 to 19 says this listen carefully by faith Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac he who had received the promises was offering up or and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son it was he to whom it was said in Isaac your descendant shall be called he Abraham considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead from which he also received him back as a type so this the statement from Hebrews is profound according to Hebrews what confidence did Abraham have either at the beginning when God first told him to obey or some time on his way to morya what was Abraham’s confidence yeah Mike okay so he’s probably thinking through that question if Isaac dies and God promised that my descendants will come through Isaac and he will be the one who helps to fill the promises then that means that God is going to have to do something what were you gonna say Steve God made him this promise before and he was in fear of his own life to the point where he lied to preserve his life I would think just my guess that well how is God going to fulfill this promise if I’m dead and so and since but now he there’s a change in his life where he has this confidence in God where that even the actual promise itself could be taken away from him but God would be faithful enough to bring it back so that the promise could live off right and so if God has commanding me to kill my son and my son actually dies but God promised that the promises that His blessings would come through my son then God must do something what’s God going to do rich he’s going to bring him back from the dead now remember at this point in history this has never happened before no one has ever been brought back from the dead but he’s thinking to himself God made these promises God has to be faithful to these promises so the only way I can think of what’s going to happen here is either the Lord is going to provide something else or he’s going to bring Isaac back from the dead that’s got to be what happens this is a confidence that Abraham has and so when we align this with the details that we already saw in the text we’re seeing something truly remarkable here whatever sadness or perplexity Abraham may have felt initially Abraham did not offer his son up out of fear or doubt but out of faith Abraham did not see the end of all the promises of God in this sacrifice he trusted God so much that he inferred that God would do something that no one had ever seen before or witnessed Resurrection from the dead so no Abraham was not being deceptive when he told his servants that Isaac would come back with him or when he told his son that the Lord would provide the land Abraham righteously believed that God would do the impossible to keep his Covenant with Abraham even if it meant Abraham was to kill Isaac and burn his son’s body totally God was somehow going to bring Isaac back to life because God had promised that it was through Isaac that God would fulfill his Covenant to Abraham and God Vindicated Abraham’s Trust in a sense Abraham’s son did die that’s what Hebrew says and in a sense God brought Isaac back from the dead God had provided an unforeseen means for Abraham’s son to be spared therefore Abraham commemorated the place in such a way as to give glory to God’s faithfulness he said I’ve trusted in God and the Lord did provide Jehovah Jireh the Lord will provide so let’s talk application for a second here because as we’ve said this is written for our instruction as Heirs of Abraham we too are given promises and sometimes we arrive in the situations where it seems that God fulfilling those promises is impossible there’s no way that God’s being faithful to his promises here or that he can be when really we ought to use the same phrase that the Israelites used at one time in the Mount of the Lord it will be provided don’t forget God keeps his promises God kept his promise to Abraham when Abraham journeyed to the mountain of Moria he provided even if it meant doing the impossible so for you and for me whether it’s providing needs of food and clothing providing for your salvation through repentance providing for you to stand up under Temptation or if some difficult trial God will keep his promises to you God will bring someone back from the dead before he breaks any of his promises to you now we must be careful here to understand what God has actually promised us he has not promised us good health a spouse save children the latest smartphone he’s he’s not promised us Financial Security he’s not promised you a cushy retirement he has not promised you that you will not have to ask your brothers and sisters for help he’s not promised that what he has promised though is to meet every need of yours both physical and spiritual in whatever way until your time on Earth is done God has promised he will meet every physical and spiritual need you have Jesus reiterates this in Matthew 6 Matthew 6 32b to 33 for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things referring specifically there to food clothing and drink but representative of all our needs God knows you need these things but seek versus Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you focus on your greatest need God and he will add all your other needs Philippians 4 19.
after commending the Philippian church for their gift and providing for him the Apostle Paul writes and my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus God will provide everything that we truly need he knows them better than we do all our physical and spiritual needs because most importantly God has already promised to be our God if you’re an heir of Abraham he has promised to be your God to bring you to heaven with him and to give himself the glory he is worthy of and therefore to always do you good when God gives himself Glory he does you good this is our greatest need and God has provided it Revelation 21 7 Jesus says he who overcomes will inherit these things referring to a place in the New Jerusalem and I will be his God and he will be my son God has supplied your greatest need how will he not also Supply your lesser needs so are you believing in the promises of God like Abraham or have you concluded that God is not able to keep his promises to you he does for other people but for you he’s just not going to do it do you believe that God will do the miraculous before he breaks a promise to you or is the pain of being tested as to whether you believe in God too much too much for you to wait around and see whether God is faithful don’t let testing Sunder your faith see how Abraham was tested how he believed and was Vindicated and blessed see how job was tested was Vindicated and was blessed see how Noah was brought through testing was Vindicated and blessed see how Abel was Vindicated and blessed he would say wait Abel died but he’s commended in the New Testament as an heir of righteousness and he’s with God see how Paul even through all his trials all his testing was Vindicated by God and blessed we can believe in the Lord we can’t obey him and we will receive the promised reward let’s not miss that today one other question how do we explain verse 18.
in Genesis 22. God says he’s blessing Abraham because Abraham is righteous because Abraham obeyed yeah in Genesis 15 God throws God’s show through a covenant ceremony that God was taking unilateral responsibility for blessing Abraham for keeping his promises to Abraham that is God promised to bless Abraham regardless of Abraham’s performance doesn’t matter if Abraham was righteous or not God was going to be unilaterally responsible at least that was the implication of that ceremony so which is it God are you blessing Abraham because he’s righteous or because you promised to bless him how do we reconcile these two aspects okay so are you going to say more hmm emergency question right so just to repeat what bill was saying the principle is that faith is a result of election God chooses and he makes that person a man of Faith or I’m going to use the phrase a man of righteousness what we see Happening Here is that both these things are true because when God takes unilateral responsibility to bless Abraham he also had taken the responsibility to give Abraham faith and make him righteous and therefore God was justified in blessing him you see God said something very similar in just a few chapters earlier back when he was speaking to Abraham about Sodom the Lord says this this is Genesis 18 verses 17 and 19. the Lord said actually why don’t you turn there since it’s close Genesis 18 verses 17 and 19.
here’s verse 17 in chapter 18.
the Lord said shall I hide from Abraham when I’m about to do since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed abrahamic Covenant four I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and Justice so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about him you seeing the logic of these verses the reasoning is presented with the words for and so that and verse 19 the word for God says the reason I will make Abraham into a great nation and a blessing on the earth is because I have chosen him for what have I chosen him the boy says in the very next sentence I have chosen him to obey me and to teach his descendants after me to keep my way and do righteousness and Justice what is the point of causing him his descendants to love and obey me so that I may bring upon him and them the promises of my blessing you see God is a rewarder of the righteous so for God to promise a reward to someone unilaterally God then must make that person righteous or he must do it for the sake of a person that God has made the person that God has made righteous it was right for Bill to reference election because that is a place that we see this same principle I’m referring specifically to the doctrine of the perseverance of the Saints when we think about that Doctrine it isn’t that eternal security is given to those who confess Jesus whether they continue to live their lives for God or not once saved always saved doesn’t matter what they do afterwards that’s not what perseverance that’s not what the Bible actually tells us about the perseverance of the Saints rather whomever God elects and saves God keeps them from turning away from him he makes them righteous he makes them people of Faith he causes them to continue to follow after him he causes them to persevere therefore their salvation is eternally secure when God chooses or when God blesses he accomplishes the work of righteousness that keeps you in him and that keeps you blessed so truly as the psalmist says salvation Belongs to the Lord in love he is responsible for every part of salvation and therefore he must receive all the glory so your righteousness is gaining you a reward from God but the reason you are righteous is because God has made you righteous and is making you righteous just like Abraham so it’s right for God to say I unilaterally choose to bless Abraham and it’s because of Abraham’s righteousness because God is making Abraham righteous one final question for our lesson today how do we see a foreshadowing of the Gospel in this episode with Abraham Abraham and Isaac or do we see a foreshadowing of the Gospel now some say Answers in Genesis included that Isaac is a type of Christ he is a a representative before Christ came of what Christ would do and they say the Isaac sacrifice parallels Jesus’s own experience and you may have noticed in parallels as we read through read through the account there are some both Jesus and Isaac are the only sons of their fathers and they are beloved both were put to death by their fathers Jesus in a sense both death deaths were to be accomplished as sacrifices like that of a lamb both persons were responsible for carrying the wood to their places of sacrifice Isaac carries the wood and is laid upon it on top of the Altar and Jesus carries the wood of his cross and then is laid upon it and nailed to it both deaths were apparently voluntary as a strong young man Isaac could have resisted his father and prevented his own death but he apparently submitted to it Jesus 2 submitted voluntarily to death on the cross and both are offered as sacrifices in the land of Jerusalem so there are some parallels we could note but something else we have to observe is that no New Testament author ever makes the connection between Isaac and Christ even when they had ample opportunity to do so they will talk about Jesus as a Passover Lamb or they’ll talk about Abraham as a model of Faith but they never discuss Isaac’s sacrifice as a type of Christ’s work on the cross this should give us pause we do not want to say God was saying something in a particular sector of scripture when he wasn’t actually saying that thing there’s reason for us to pause and saying that Isaac is the type of Christ moreover there is one very important difference between the two situations Isaacs and Christ’s Isaac isn’t actually sacrificed what’s provided in Isaac’s Stead a ram right a male lamb this sounds like substitutionary atonement right the one designated to die is replaced by another sacrifice Jesus did that for us he is our substitute so in this sense if we’re looking for a parallel to Jesus work in Genesis 22 it’s the ram not Isaac rather than seeing the offering of Isaac as a direct foreshadowing of Jesus work on the cross it’s better for us to see the offering of Isaac as an example of a basic but fundamental gospel principle the Lord will provide the Lord will provide Abraham needed a provision for the Lord to spare his son but all people since Adam have needed a provision that they might be spared from sin and death we need God to provide for us and God has promised to do just that and he promised to do that even at the fall you remember the promise there Genesis 3 verses 14 to 15 God’s curse to the serpent the Lord God said to the serpent because you have done this cursed are you more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field on your belly you will go and dust you will eat all the days of your life remember we talked about that that’s a posture of defeat and I’ll put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed I will make her and her descendants not love you or serve you some of her descendants and one of her seeds he goes on to say in the last part of that section he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel one of the seeds will accomplish a total victory over you this was the promise that the Lord made in the garden after the fall and then to Abraham God promised that he would provide blessing for All Families of the earth through Abraham’s seed through his descendants and we’re going to keep seeing these promises of provision from God to man as we move through the Old Testament they get repeated they get expanded we hear about the promise to David we hear about various promises to Israel then all these promises about the Messiah until we get to the arrival of Jesus in the New Testament and Zacharias very appropriately says at the birth of John the Baptist something about the Lord’s provision being accomplished this is what Zechariah says in Luke 1 68-75.
blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited us and accomplished Redemption for his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us and the House of David his servant as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to show Mercy toward our fathers and to remember His Holy Covenant the oath which he swore to Abraham Our Father to grant us that we being rescued please might serve him without fear and Holiness and righteousness before him all our days Zachariah says God is accomplishing what he had promised even back as far as Abraham he is fulfilling his oath and John the Baptist says as you know very famously Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the Sinners of the world the promise provision has arrived with Christ came the literal fulfillment of the phrase from Abraham in the Mount of the Lord it will be provided at Mount Zion on golgotha’s Hill the Lord provided fundamentally for us the payment of our sin and the opening of a way into God’s holy of holies and fulfillment of This Promise required not just one Miracle but many God’s son became a man born of a virgin he lived a perfectly righteous life died for every sin of the elect and then was buried for three days and rose again on the third forever securing for his own freedom from God’s Wrath and entrance into God’s intimate and enjoyable presence this is ours if we believe in Jesus by faith if we entrust all our lives all our desires to him and we take Jesus as our treasure so yes Abraham’s offering of Isaac is a foreshadowing of the cross in this way the Lord will provide it showed that in a small way with Abraham and the RAM and Isaac but he’s shown that in the fullest way to us with Christ saw some hands as I was speaking Yeah Rob OT well you’re asking can the RAM and Isaac both be types that Isaac is a type in a certain sense and a ram is a type in another sense I want us to be very cautious when it comes to looking for types in the Old Testament because like I said unless the New Testament authors identify it we want to be really really careful because we don’t want to say thus say at the Lord when that’s not what God Said there there are some ways that Isaac aligns with Christ but if you if you really start digging then you could say there’s some ways that Isaac doesn’t align with Christ certainly we see gospel principles in Abraham’s ordeal in sacrificing Isaac most specifically that the Lord will provide I think that we can cling to with Surety is other things we want to be really careful about I’m not going to say I’m not going to go so far as to say absolutely that’s wrong if you say it’s heresy but I’m saying we should be really careful before we say that’s what the Lord is saying yeah Steve um he actually did the resurrection part you know symbol of Resurrection there so so in reference to a people so again there are some parallels we can draw those things you know you see you see also the the you know so again there’s a lot of things there I think our hearts should be more confirmed with uh with the substitutionary sacrifice and that God will provide you know these other things are nice and and at least steadfast and the substitution yeah yeah just to repeat just a few that those ideas yeah we can notice the different parallels um even things like Isaac coming back from the dead in a sense or even three days though I think that might be a little bit of a stretch because it’s not exactly dying for three days it’s a journey for three days but three days is mentioned but you’re right Steve that we’re really should be focusing on the idea of God’s provision and the idea of God’s substituting a sacrifice for a provision because that we can say with confidence is what’s going on later in the New Testament and I’ve said also when it comes to looking for types in the Old Testament that one of the reasons why we see things line up with Christ is because if people are being righteous they’re going to do what Christ does right we’re going to see people be betrayed by the people who are most close to them we’re going to see them forgive those people and so that like when we get to Joseph we’re gonna be like wow Joseph he’s like totally like Christ well yeah it’s because he’s a believer in God and anyone who follows after God is going to imitate Christ in many ways so we see gospel principles that’s what I would like to emphasize we should be careful when we talk about types yes that is waiting for strong and his father or God or not that’s a really good question is Isaac’s faith strong and is it strong in Abraham or is it strong in God it’s really hard to say what I what Isaac is really thinking he certainly is not aware of what’s going on at least until the last moment because he asked his father where’s the lamp it’s like I don’t get what’s going on I we’re missing something here you could say well there’s no sign of his resisting his father and he was probably a strong young man so he must have submitted in a certain sense is it because he believed in his father is because he believed in God I don’t know it’s a little hard to say probably that he was trusting his father in a certain sense because he was also trusting in God that when he sees that Abraham saying or showing that I’m doing this out of obedience to God for Isaac to submit if he did indeed submit it was because well if God told you to do it then I trust that God is is working something out here so to to say my answer again it’s really hard to stay what Isaac’s thinking but probably it’s a little bit of both yes Carol INE so I turned around and said yes that’s good that’s great Carol that’s great yeah it’s good it’s good to um to be bold for the Lord and that’s because of your faith in the Lord It’s because you believe that God’s going to keep his promises to you and so yeah show that to the bus driver and show that to anyone that’s great yeah Shane so like I said I’m not going to say no I’m not gonna say no that’s heresy when I’m gonna say that I don’t want to go that far because no New Testament author says it I want to be careful to not say something that God didn’t say I know that Jesus says the Old Testament is all about me but as I stressed in other classes that doesn’t mean that everything directly is about Jesus or directly about his his work on the cross I’m emphasizing that there are gospel principles here that have to do with Jesus and the cross but I don’t want to go so far as to claim that this or that is a type a specific type of Jesus that’s my position yeah Danny right right yeah that’s a really good point Jenny that’s why I say again it’s significant the the New Testament says nothing about this again that’s an argument from Silence so it’s not it’s not always the strongest argument to make but they do talk about Abraham and they do talk about Isaac but never in the sense of a type they always talk about well look at Abraham’s Faith this is an example of what salvation is never say look at Isaac because here’s the gospel beforehand now they don’t talk about it that way any other questions or comments I appreciate your questions and I think that it’s good to work through some of these things that’s it for today’s lesson next week we’re going to pause in the Genesis narrative and we’re going to talk about the Ice Age was there indeed a nice age well there’s good reason to believe there was well how long was this ice age when did it happen what was it like and how did it affect our world that’s what we’re going to be talking about next week we have one more week to memorize our memory verse it would really encourage me and the other Sunday school teachers if you and your kids memorized it with us we’re going to be reciting this verse in class next week so let’s read it together as we end today so acts 17 26-27 and he has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the Earth and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings so that they should seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope for him and find him though he is not far from each one of us let’s pray great great god Jehovah Jireh we are so glad that you have provided for us you have kept your promises you’ve shown God that you kept your specific promises to people like Noah like job like Abraham but God you’ve kept your promises to the entire human race you did send one from the seed of Eve who crushed the Serpent’s head you did send from Abraham’s seed one who blessed all the families of the Earth Lord you did send one to save us from our sins you rescued us for your own name’s sake because you were so glorious and great you rescued us you took interest in us and you loved us by sending your son Jesus we thank you for Jesus O Lord God if you took care of that the greatest need we have you will surely take care of our lesser needs but would you know our needs best so we submit to you we do not want to claim for ourselves anything that you have not promised for God what you have promised we will believe help us to believe in God we we see that you you are totally responsible for our faith and for our righteousness there’s an element of our responsibility too and yet God we know that without you Without You sanctifying us without you revealing yourself to us we cannot be saved we cannot be Sanctified we cannot grow so we pray that you’d make us grow help this church to grow help us to encourage one another helps to sanctify one another help us to love one another and serve one another God as we believe your promises help us to do that oh Lord by your spirit in Jesus name amen