“the faith of abraham – 12” genesis 22:1-19 dr. dane boyles

“THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM – 12”

Genesis 22:1-19Dr. Dane Boyles


– In our studies in the life of Abraham today we will ascend a far more dangerous mountain.

– Israel’s destiny will be shaped by what will happen there.


• God’s Terrible Request (22:1-2).1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. (Gen. 22:1)


– We know from the outset that what God is about to ask of him is merely a test designed to find out what lies within his heart (Deut 8:2).

– Abraham will embark on a journey that will rip his heart open.


2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Gen. 22:2)


– Abraham is supposed to lay his boy on the altar, slit his throat and burn the meat off his bones to express his complete dependence on God.


• The Journey to Moriah (22:3-10).– The Morning Departure (22:3).


3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled 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. (Gen. 22:3)


– Separation at the Foot of the Mountain (22:4-5).

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.


5 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.” (Gen. 22:4-5)


• We are left to imagine the pang that shot through the father’s heart when he caught sight of it.

5 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.” (Gen. 22:4-5)


• Abraham’s statement, “we will worship and return to you,” is the center of the story.

– The Journey Up the Mountain Alone With Isaac (22:6-8).


6 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,


7 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?”


8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.


• Abraham and Isaac, father and son, climb the last and steepest part of their journey alone.

7…“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7)


– Abraham’s only reply is that God will provide.

• In the Hebrew it says, “God will provide for himself,” and more literally it says, “God will see for himself.”


• Just as Abraham was to “go for himself,” now God will “see for himself” or “see to it,” meaning, he will provide the necessary sacrifice.


• At the Summit of Moriah (22:9-19).– The Preparations for the Sacrifice (22:9-

10).


9 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.


10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (Gen. 22:9-10)

• Was he able to look Isaac in the eyes as he laid him on the altar?

• But Isaac’s silent submission is equally remarkable.


– The Angel Speaks to Stop the Sacrifice (22:11-12).

11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.


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.” (Gen. 22:11-12)


• The angel calls from heaven just as he called out to Hagar.

• At the center of the story, Abraham’s hand holds the knife.

12 Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Gen. 22:12)


– Looking up, he beholds the provision of God.

– The Provision of the Ram (22:13-14).13 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.


14 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.” (Gen. 22:14)


– The Angel Speaks a Second Time (22:15-18).

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,


17 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,


18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Gen. 22:15-18)


• The LORD seals Abraham’s worship with an oath.

• This, the only divine oath in the patriarchal narratives, shows how deeply our obedience moves the heart of God.


17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:17)

21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (James 2:21)


22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. (James 2:22)


23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. (James 2:23)

• All of this is given to Abraham for the devotion he showed to God that day . . . because he obeyed the LORD.


• Descent Down the Mountain (22:19).19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (Gen. 22:19)


• Here at the highest peak we gain a clear vision of where our journey of faith is going to lead each of us.

• This is the paradox of true spirituality: the cost is terrible, the blessing indescribable.


• Lessons on Our Journey to Moriah.– The Terrible Cost of Obedience.


• First, after years of walking by faith, Abraham is given a command that takes him right back to his very beginnings: “go by yourself.”

– Obedience can be a lonely road.


• Second, God doesn’t tell Abraham exactly where, but he is to walk by faith until God reveals that place to him.

– Obedience is a lonely, uncertain road.


• Third, God asks Abraham to sacrifice the very gift he had invested all his hopes in.

– God commands him to kill the dream.


– The Blessing of Obedience.

• First, we discover Abraham’s loneliness is met by God himself.

– We reach a point in our destitute isolation when we find God, and he alone is more than enough.


– So don’t run away from your loneliness; run up the mountain to Moriah.


• Second, when Abraham walks by faith, not by sight, he ends up seeing everything.

– In that moment the dreaded mountain becomes the place of vision.


• Third, when Abraham is willing to give up his most precious possession to God, he receives him back with a new appreciation and a richer love than if he had tried to possess him for himself.

– His obedience is built into the very fabric of the promises of God, and shapes history forever.


– The Greatness of the Father’s Love.

• Many people have a hard time believing that God really loves them. How does that truth move from the head to the heart?

– The answer is, go to Moriah.


– Then you come to appreciate the greater horror of the story’s glow: the son that was spared was you, and the ram that took your place was his son, his only son, the one he loved, Jesus.


32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32)


Genesis 22:1-19Dr. Dane Boyles

“the faith of abraham – 12” genesis 22:1-19 dr. dane boyles

Documents