Sermon: God Himself Will Provide
Bible Passage: Genesis 22:1-19
I. God demands from Abraham an expensive burnt offering—Isaac his son (verses 1-2)
1. God gave Isaac to Abraham
2. God’s covenantal promises were going to be fulfilled through Isaac
3. The purpose of this demand is to test Abraham (Gen 22:1)
a. Look at the expression “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you (verse 2)”
b. The test is about how much Abraham got attached to God’s blessing compared to how much is his attachment to God
4. From this narrative, the narrator shows us how “fear of God” and “obedience to God” go hand in hand from
II. According to the narrator, Abraham does not reason with God regarding His demand (verses 3-4)
1. Abraham showed no hesitancy to obey God’s demand how much ever big and expensive it might have
2. The passage does not indicate if Abraham agonized over the demand or bigness of the sacrifice
a. He did not place more value on his son more than the value he had placed on God
b. One’s claim about their faith is seen concretely in their response to God!
c. Anything or anyone that takes the place of God is an idol
d. Abraham loved Isaac, his only beloved son, but Isaac did not take the place of God in Abraham’s heart
e. Isaac remained always God’s gift to him and God always had the right to reclaim him
3. Abraham calls his obedience “worship” (verse 5)
a. Anything that does not cost the giver is not necessarily worship
b. Obedience is the best worship
4. All along Isaac had been silent but an active participant of his dad’s mission (verse 6)
a. This provides us with a wonderful model to train a person in godliness
b. Children learn from their dads
c. Look at the conversation between dad and son:
i. 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,
II. 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?”
5. Abraham teaches his son, Isaac, basic things about God, faith, and obedience
a. Isaac asks his father, “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (verse 7)
b. God will provide (verse 8): Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together
i. Until they reach the designated place, there is silence!
ii. Faith is to believe what God says and what He demands (verse 8)
c. Isaac did not seem to push back his dad’s plan to sacrifice him on the altar
d. Abraham tied up Isaac and placed him on the altar (verse 9) and reached out to his knife (verse 10)
6. God intervenes
a. Verse 11: the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
b. Verse 12 “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”
c. A sacrifice that is living, holy, acceptable!
d. God’s test of Abraham is done: “fear of God” is validated by his “obedience to God”
7. God provided a substitution (verses 11-13)
a. A male sheep
b. Isaac was unharmed
c. Almost died
d. But came back to life
e. God’s covenant promises would continue unharmed (15-18)
8. Abraham calls this place “Jehovah Jireh”
a. It became a place where the Jews commemorated annually God’s substitutionary provision for Abraham and Isaac
b. They also commemorated Isaac being almost sacrificed and got His life back
c. During their commemoration, they would always remember “Jehovah Jireh”
d. Sacrificing an animal annually did not necessarily mean that they sacrificed it to God, but they reminded themselves that God would provide for them
III. Lessons
1. Faith obeys the word of God even if it conflicts with our understanding and our preferences
2. A true worshipper of God does not hold anything back from God, but obediently gives Him what He asks, by trusting that God will provide all his needs
3. Faith surrenders the best to God, holding nothing back
IV. This incident and annual commemoration pointed to God putting up His Son, Jesus, on the cross
1. Romans 3:25 God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin (NLT)
2. Romans 8:31-32 God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
3. Abraham is a type of God the Father; Isaac is a type of Jesus the Son
4. Unlike God intervened and prevented Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, God the Father did not prevent Himself from sacrificing His Son Jesus
5. The Father took the lead, the Son followed the lead, and they together provided what we needed “the Savior”
6. The lesson is: God Himself will provide
Takeaways:
Give to God what He asks because God is the ultimate provider
1. Obey God without a protest
2. Give God without a question
3. Trust God completely for your provisions
Receive what God the Father has given, “the Savior”