Introduction

What is your worst nightmare? How’s that for a warm, cozy introduction? I promise we’re going somewhere hopeful, but first, what do you fear the most? The analyticals are probably trying to define theologically what should be your greatest nightmare. But if you just go by your gut, most people’s strongest fear concerns great suffering and ultimately death—your own death, the death of your spouse, your parents, or your children.

Maybe you dread hearing the word, Alzheimer or cancer. Maybe you dread getting that awful phone call your parents or spouse are gone. Most people’s children take the cake. A few years back, Heidi had herself convinced, and she had me very worried that Isaac had leukemia. It was an awful couple day while we waited for blood work.

This morning we are going to look at a story that takes that sort of awful nightmare and, apart from faith, magnifies it by 10 (read). This is an incredible, gut wrenching story. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. But it’s also full of hope because God’s provision at the end is a beautiful picture of the gospel. And this story is also deeply challenging because Abraham sets the preeminent biblical example of truly life-transforming faith.

That’s why I am preaching on this passage today, because our theme this year is “Transforming Faith.” I can’t think of a passage that better exemplifies our theme than this one. This incredible story begins in vv. 1–2, which say that…

I.  God tests (vv. 1–2).

Verse 1 introduces the story by saying, “Now it came about after these things.” It’s important that we understand what “these things” are. Remember that Abraham’s story began when God called him to leave his home and travel to Canaan based on his promise to make a great nation of Abraham’s descendants.

But there’s one glaring problem. Sarah is barren, she can’t have children. And they aren’t spring chickens either. When they arrive in Canaan, Abraham is 75 years old, and Sarah is 65. Even then God made them wait. They waited and waited until they finally took matters into their own hands, and Sarah urged Abraham to have a son by her handmaiden Hagar.

But that wasn’t God’s plan. After Ishmael was born, God assured Abraham that Sarah would mother the son through whom he would fulfill his promises. Abraham and Sarah couldn’t believe it, but God kept his word! Finally, after 25 years of waiting, Sarah gave birth to Isaac when she was 90 years old, and Abraham was 100.

Imagine how thrilled they must have been. It is extra special to have a child when you have fought infertility. But they didn’t just fight infertility; they’re old! And on top of it all, God had promised to build redemptive history around Isaac. He was a special child. So, our text has a lot of significant background.

Now several years have passed. The Bible does not tell us exactly how long it has been, but Isaac is probably at least 15 or 16 years old. This is because later in the chapter, he has to carry a large bundle of wood up a mountain. Enough wood to burn a large sacrifice. He had to have some man-strength to do that.

So, Abraham and Sarah have been living the dream for 15-16 years, when God drops a bombshell on Abraham. “God tested…” This was exactly what it sounds like. God commanded Abraham to kill his son and burn him as a sacrifice. Again, talk about every parent’s worst nightmare.

This command would not have been all that surprising if it came from a contemporary pagan religion. Tragically, child sacrifice was quite common. But our God is different. He is righteous, holy, and good. He values and loves every one of his image bearers down to the smallest infant. So, it is shocking that he gave this command.

That’ why the narrator feels the need to preface the command by telling us this is a test. God hates child sacrifice. Leviticus 20:1–5 will command Israel to execute any man who sacrifices his child to a god. And in Jeremiah 32:35 God condemned Judah because they, “Caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech (burn them as a sacrifice), which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination.”

So, I want to be very clear that God never intended for Abraham to kill Isaac, and he never would have allowed it to happen. But while we know it’s a test, God didn’t tell Abraham that piece of the puzzle. He only knew that God had commanded him to sacrifice his son.

And God acknowledges the high demand in v. 2, when he calls Isaac, “your son, your only son, whom you love.” What a heavy statement from God. Of course, you may be wondering if God is mistaken. Technically, Abraham had two sons. But in terms of the covenant, Abraham had one child, and it was Isaac.

Of course, the covenant really compounds the test. Abraham had waited decades to receive Isaac, and all God’s promises to Abraham hung on him. Abraham couldn’t just beget another heir because God specifically said he would fulfill the covenant through Isaac.

So, Abraham had left his home and wandered about Canaan for decades based on promises God had said he would fulfill through this child. But now God was asking Abraham to kill him.

Abraham had to be stunned and even sick. God’s command violated his every instinct as a parent, it violated everything that he thought he knew about God’s character, and it threatened the promises on which Abraham had built his life.

How would you respond if you were in Abraham? Do you think he told Sarah? I’m guessing he didn’t. Most men want to bear this kind of burden alone. As the readers, we are left with two questions. Will Abraham obey? And how will God resolve the tension he has created? The second section of the story answers the first of these questions. Verses 3–12 tell us that…

II.  Abraham obeys (vv. 3–12).

You may think this section is anticlimactic. If this story were a modern movie, there would several dramatic, emotional scenes where Abraham grappled with God’s command and manifested every emotion imaginable. And Sarah would go ballistic.

But God doesn’t give us any of that. Instead, v. 3 immediately jumps to Abraham’s preparations for the journey. So, the text gives no indication that Abraham seriously considered disobeying God or doubted his promise. When God gave the command, Abraham immediately committed to obey. In fact, Abraham’s simple resolve to obey God is the primary theme of the story.

Verse 12 says Abraham had this incredible resolve because he feared God. He had a grand vision of God that transformed everything about him. How is that possible? Abraham had now served the Lord faithfully for around 40 years. He watched God reign fire down on Sodom for its rebellion, and he also saw God miraculously give him a son.

Now as a mature saint, Abraham has a big view of God. He has seen that God is the sovereign Lord of all things and someone we must obey at all costs. He knows that no challenge is too big for God because he is all-powerful. And he is sure that God always keeps every promise because God is faithful. So, Abraham didn’t make obedience more complicated than it should be.

But we make it complicated all the time. We think that maybe we know better than God. Maybe God didn’t really mean what he said. Maybe God messed up on this one. Maybe we can cut a deal with God and meet him halfway.

That’s not how a mature Christian behaves. Instead, when the sovereign Lord says to jump, he responds, “How high?” So, keep it simple. Believe everything God says in his Word, and when God gives a command, obey it by his grace. That’s what Abraham did.

But of course, there’s still a lot of tension building in this story. In fact, the narrator highlights that tension in v. 3 by deliberately walking through several seemingly insignificant details of the story. He wants us to imagine Abraham waking up early on that fateful, heavy day, his heart is flooded with emotion.

Then as we read about Abraham’s deliberate preparations, he wants us to imagine the awful conflict in his heart. He doesn’t have to explain; we all know what Abraham felt as he saddled his donkey, as he split the wood he would use to burn his son, and as he set out with Isaac and two servants.

It’s a heavy scene, and even though we know it’s only a test, we have no idea how it’s going to work out or what horrible experience Abraham will have to endure. To make matters worse, God doesn’t let him just get it over with. Rather, they have to travel for 3 agonizing days to the “land of Moriah.”

Interestingly, Moriah only appears one other time in the Bible. “Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lordin Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chron 3:1). That tells us that Mount Moriah is the place where David made atonement for his sin of numbering the people and the place where Solomon would build Israel’s most holy site.

All of that is very significant, and we’ll get to it, but again, Abraham doesn’t know any of that. He just knows that’s he’s on a grueling 3-day journey with his beloved son whom God has commanded him to kill and sacrifice.

Finally, they reached Moriah. Notice Abraham’s stunning instructions to his servants in v. 5. What is so surprising about that? He says, “WE will return,” meaning Abraham and Isaac. Is Abraham lying? Is he crazy? No, Hebrews 11:17–19 tells us what Abraham thought. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac yourdescendants shall be called.”He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

That’s incredible faith isn’t it? Abraham had thought this through by the time they reached Moriah. He didn’t know exactly how all this was going to turn out, but he was sure that God would keep his promise to make Isaac the father of a great nation. So, if Isaac died before he could have any children, God must plan to raise him from the dead.

That’s life-transforming faith. Abraham expected something that most people wouldn’t even imagine. That’s because he really believed God is all-powerful, and he couldn’t even imagine the possibility that God would break a promise. So, he expected the only solution he could imagine. “God must plan to raise Isaac from the dead.” Wow!

So, Isaac gets the responsibility of carrying the firewood, and Abraham has it a little easier. He’s carrying a knife, to kill the sacrifice and fire, to burn it. So, imagine Abraham and Isaac walking along quietly, and Isaac starts putting things together. He’s watched a lot of sacrifices, and he knows that Dad forgot something important. He says (v. 7), “My father…”

Abraham knew that question was coming. He had 3 days to think about how his answer. Abraham doesn’t burst into tears, nor does he immediately unload God’s full command on Isaac. Instead, he decides to include Isaac in his own anticipation of God’s provision. He wants to grow Isaac’s faith in the Lord. Therefore, he simply replies in v. 8, “God will…”

Considering the circumstances, that is an incredibly calm and moving expression of faith. Moms, do you think you could have gotten through that line without bursting into tears? Wow!

This is where a lot of people want to jump to the gospel. They’ll wax eloquent about how Abraham was prophesying about Jesus’ death on the cross as the ultimate “Lamb of God.” And clearly that idea is present in God’s mind. Hebrews 11:19 says Abraham “received him back as a type.” However, the narrator is clearly on Abraham’s faith, so let’s give him his due before we jump to Christ. God first wants us to consider Abraham’s simple faith that God will do what he said.

Abraham didn’t just talk the talk of faith like so many people today. So many supposed Christians wax eloquent about their “faith,” but it doesn’t show in how they live. They don’t live like they truly believe God is sovereign or that his Word is true. In fact, other than changing the décor of their lives a bit, their faith makes little practical difference. But not Abraham. His faith transformed his life. And apparently, Isaac’s also. He’s satisfied with Dad’s answer, and “The two of them walked on together.”

Finally, Abraham and Isaac reached the top of Moriah. But God still gave no hint he was not going to rescue Abraham. So, Abraham and Isaac begin collecting rocks and building the altar. I wonder what Abraham felt. Was he calm, or was he overwhelmed? Was he moving extra slow, or did he just want to get it done?

Eventually, they finish the altar. Then, they arrange the wood. Maybe Abraham is waiting for God to stop him, but he doesn’t. Finally, Abraham had to tell Isaac exactly what God had commanded. Imagine that moment.

Isaac was either very submissive, or he also had great faith because there’s no way his aged dad could have wrestled him onto the altar. Instead, Isaac must have willingly climbed onto the altar and laid still while Abraham bound his hands and his feet. Maybe Abraham is still hoping that God will stop him but he doesn’t.

Finally, he pulls out his knife, and he raises it over his head to kill his son. He fears the Lord more than he loves Isaac, and he believes that even Isaac’s death cannot stop God from fulfilling his word.

Then just as begins to thrust down with the knife, Abraham hears the most wonderful sound he had ever heard. The angel of the Lord shouts, “Abraham, Abraham.” It stops him in his tracks.

If you or I were in his position, this might be the moment when we unload on God. “How could you put me through that?” Or “Look at what I did for you God. I hope you saw that.” But instead, Abraham humbly answers, “Here I am.” His humble reverence and submission didn’t waver.

And v. 12 follows with God’s incredible evaluation (read). God immediately puts Abraham at ease. “Don’t kill your son. Don’t do him any harm.” Then God praises Abraham’s godliness. It’s worth noting that God knew all along what would happen because God is all-knowing. He’s simply speaking in a way that finite creatures like us can comprehend.

But this is God’s chance to highlight for all generations to come a testimony of exemplary faith. Abraham demonstrated that he truly feared God since he held nothing back from God. Instead, he was ready to make the greatest sacrifice he could make.

Do you fear God like that? Do you have that kind of life-transforming faith? Is there any sacrifice God could demand that you would be unwilling to make? What does your daily life say? Do you live like someone who fears God, believes his every promise, and is willing to obey whatever he demands? Or do you live like someone who is trying to bargain with God. You’ll give him a lot, but you won’t give him everything.

What about ministry and the Great Commission? When was the last time, you made an uncomfortable sacrifice because you are committed to reaching the lost and making disciples of the nations? May God give each of us the same life-transforming faith that Abraham exemplified when he raised that knife. But the story isn’t over. God tested. Abraham obeyed. Finally, vv. 13–14 say…

III.  God provides (vv. 13–14).

Can you imagine what it must have been like for Abraham and Isaac to hear God speak his own approval. Wow! God finishes, and as he does, Abraham hears something rustling behind him. He turns around, and a “ram (is) caught in a thicket by his horns.”

Abraham is stunned. He quickly unties Isaac and uses the same rope to tie up the ram and to offer the ram in Isaac’s place on the altar. It’s fun to imagine the conversation Abraham shared with his boy as they offered that ram. They worship the Lord and give thanks for what he has done.

And Abraham commemorates the moment by naming the spot, “The Lord Will Provide.” In the Hebrew this is “Jehovah Jireh.” It’s the same verb Abraham used in v. 8 when he predicted that God would provide. Now he commemorates God’s provision. God was faithful!

And the narrator then adds for us, “As it is said…” Someday after Solomon completed the temple, Israel would kills 10s of thousands of sheep on this same mountain to atone for their sins. But of course, none of them could truly take away sin.

Ultimately, this assurance from God looks ahead to the perfect and infinite Lamb of God who is Jesus.” Someday, not far from Mt. Moriah on Golgotha Jesus would take on himself the sins of the world. He fully and finally satisfied God’s just demands for our sin.

So, understand there is nothing you can do, and there is no sacrifice you can bring that can ever take away your sin. Only the perfect lamb of God can do that for you. And his sacrifice can be applied to you if you simply receive him.

On Tuesday, we taught the kids that there are 3 simple steps to becoming God’s child. You must admit that you are a sinner who deserves God’s wrath and cannot resolve it yourself. Second, you must believe that Jesus is the your creator Lord and the only Savior. Third, you must forever receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. Have you done that? Are you sure that you belong to him based on the clear testimony of Scripture. If not, please receive him today. We’d love to share with you how you can be saved.

If you are saved, give thanks for the provision of Christ. Then by his grace grow Abraham’s faith. It will transform your life. It won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth it. And God will always be worthy of it.