Abraham and Isaac
By: Jeff Faust

Genesis 22:1-4 (NLT)
(1) Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” (2) “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” (3) The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. (4) On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

1. You will be tested.
   • Abraham’s life was marked with blessing and favor—but also, one of the major themes of his life was getting tested.
   • Abraham was to take his one and only son, whom he loved so much, up the mountain to be sacrificed. This kind of sounds a lot like the way God talks about Jesus.

Genesis 22:5-10 (NLT)
(5) “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” (6) So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, (7) Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”, “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” (8) “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. (9) When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. (10) And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.

1. The Father and the Son Go Together
   • Abraham and Isaac seem to be in on this together.
   • Abraham didn’t force Isaac to do anything.
2. Abraham had hidden faith.
   • Hebrews 11:17,19 (NLT)
     (17) It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him...(19) Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.
   • This demonstrates to us today that when things are going bad, the Father has a plan that includes resurrection life for you and for me.

Genesis 22:10-14 (NLT)
(10) And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. (11) At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”, “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” (12) “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” (13) Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. (14) Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

1. God provides the love, he provides the sacrifice, and he provides the blessing.
   • Yahweh Yireh means God provides the sacrifice—you can’t add to it, you can only receive it.
2. Up to this point, Isaac was representing Jesus, but now:
   • You are Isaac
     Jesus is the Ram
     • Isaac gets off the altar and is replaced with the ram. 
3. He died our death—so we could live his life.