Trusting Friend

January 21, 2007

Genesis 22 1 -14 T

ILL :I was at Tom and Shari ’s on that Warm Saturday. We were dispatching the last of the chickens and preparing them for the freezer. Actually we, Tom and I were dispatching and Shari was doing the preparing but that's another story. A week before Jonathan, my grandson had entered the world in grand fashion and my wife was down there in VA overseeing things.

Now many of you know exactly what I felt that day as I heard my usually calm wife’s voice on the phone. Usually calm because this time even her cool was not enough to hide the fear and sorrow in her voice. Jonathan had been given someone else's breast milk by a nurse, and it was contaminated with hepatitis B.

I wasn’t sure what that meant and in my ignorance, I suppose, I as well as they feared the worst. I remember the thoughts that raced through my mind, the “what ifs” and the “God whys” that pounded on my brain.

I recall vividly the overwhelming love I had and have for that baby boy and the horrible fright of something happening. And as I sat and studied this passage this week, my wife reminded me that perhaps, just perhaps Abraham had some of those feelings too and much more as He was asked by God to offer this precious sweet son.

I wonder about this scene rather often and I ask myself why God, who is pro-life to the Max, would ever even consider such a thing, don’t you? But then I stop a moment and recall that God already knew He’d not allow this deed to go on. And I also realize that He was not asking Abraham to do anything that He was not willing to do Himself. I also realize that more than anything anything anything in the world, God wants the obedience of faith.

I want to address two things today in regard to this passage, First I’d like to look at the Heart of an obedient servant, then at the heart of a holy God.

We will see in the first segment the implicit trust in God of a man who knew by now that God was one who keeps His word. The Heart of an obedient servant, Here God tests Abraham, God is the only one who can perfectly test like this, He alone has perfect motives.

We do not so we shouldn’t play that game. But here in this passage God gives to Abraham an obedience test. That is the nature of faith by the way, it results in obedience. Faith trusts enough to do it God’s way.

Now look at what God asks of this man, a horrendous thing to my mind but something that gets to the core of Abraham’s trust. He asks the life of his only son.

Was Isaac Abraham’s only son? NO. So we better stop and look at the text a moment to straighten this out. Why does he call him that? In fact if you were to look in Hebrews 11:7 you will find that there he is termed the “only begotten son.” You need to get into the mind set of the Hebrew people here and into their dictionary as well.

Abraham did beget another son but Ishmael did not enjoy the status as “SON.”
An ancient body of law, the code of Hammurabi, shows that a man’s offspring by a slave was not given the rights that belong to the offspring of a wife. Only if in the course of his life the father said to the son and the slave woman in public “thou art my son” would her offspring be treated as a real son with inheritance rights. If that happened he was counted as an heir, if not he was given gifts and sent away before the inheritance was divided. So in the legal sense here Isaac is the ONLY son of Abraham and received his entire inheritance. And even though he had several other offspring later on, Isaac was his “unique” son.

As I mentioned Heb. 11 refers to him as “only begotten”. That a term “monogenes” a term that means “single, the only one of its kind” unique. This denotes Isaac’s special status as heir, He was the unique son.

That same term is used in John 3:16 of Jesus “Jesus is the “only begotten” the one of a kind, Son of God and that too refers to status and position. In Jesus case it does not relate to the idea of birth in a sense of beginnings but is a reference to His special unique status.

Now we need to look at the command of God here and really examine it in light of His nature and see what's up.

In the ancient Near East in Old Testament times, human sacrifice was a common practice. But it was not practiced by those who followed God. Abraham would have been familiar with this horrid practice and now wondering “What is God up to?”.

Abraham may have talked to himself a lot during this time. He could have explained this thing away, accused God of being erratic, could have said,” That’s not realistic; it must not really be what He means.” You see there is a conflict for Abe here, a conflict between God’s current command and God’s persistent promise. God has Promised Abe that “In Isaac thy seed shall be passed on” and now he says, “Kill Him?”

The idea of having faith to beget a child in old age was one thing but not as tough as this. This involves a great conflict within the words of God himself. He promised posterity through Isaac, now commands his death.

You ever been in those situations? When what the Word of God said didn’t make any sense? Ever had to persevere through a trial, turn the other cheek when all that is human said “break out, retaliate end this? If so then you have an inkling of Abraham’s choices here.

I’ve noted he could accuse God of being erratic or unrealistic, but note that he opted to follow another course of action; He chose to trust God enough to carry out God’s command and leave the resolving of the apparent tension of that command to God.

Do you know what Abraham was thinking here? I do. I know because Hebrews 11:17-19 tells me exactly what he was thinking. Listen to this: “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son], Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”

Isn’t that something? This man had the kind of trust that carried him through. The kind of trust that earned him the name "Friend of God.”

That is it; the Heart of an obedient servant, Look at what he’s being asked to give up here, what is being offered up as a sacrifice, His hopes. You ever had to sacrifice all your hopes to God in trust that he’ll take care of the future?

Abraham’s hope of being a great nation rested in this young boy. God had promised (in chapter 17) that in Isaac His lineage would continue. God is asking him to give up his national hopes.

He is also asking him to give up His spiritual hopes. Keep in mind that through this offspring would come his own redeemer, Jesus the Messiah. He’s being asked to sacrifice his own hope for redemption. He is asked to sacrifice his dearly loved son, Gift of God.

There’s a funny thing about God’s gifts, maybe we could see Isaac representing those gifts as God asks him to give up a special gift.

Watchman Nee wrote, “Isaac represents many gifts of God’s grace. Before we are given them our hands are empty. Afterward they are full. Sometimes God reaches out to take our hand in fellowship. Then we need an empty hand to put into His. But when we have received His gifts and are nursing them to ourselves our hands are full, and when God puts out his hand we have no empty hands for him to hold.”

All of these thoughts and reasonings are things to consider as we think of this faithful servant of God being put to the test here. And when the time comes to actually do this thing, we notice also in the text that Abraham resolutely obeys.

v3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

But notice again Abraham’s faith and trust,” And Abraham said to the young men, you stay here with the donkey and the boy and I will go yonder and worship and then we will come back again.

This was no empty phrase, this was speech based on the firm conviction that God was trustworthy. It was based on trust that God meant it when he said “in Isaac shall thy lineage be prolonged.”

One more thing, about a faithful servant of God. He is willing to give his best to the master. V 9-, He actually prepares to do the horrible deed, and God intervenes, and in verse 12 he hears this,” I know for sure that you fear God seeing that you have not withheld your most precious gift, your unique son from me.”

That is the nature of real sacrifices, love sacrifices, they stem from a desire to give the best to one you love. I’d probably go in hawk to get my wife what she needed because I love her. Sacrifice is like that. When you really honor and love someone you offer the best that you have.

In 1st Chronicles David after numbering the people had to give a sacrifice to the Lord and He bought a threshing floor and all the oxen there. He wouldn’t accept the threshing floor as a gift because, he said, “I will not offer anything that cost me nothing.”

That is the heart of an obedient servant. That's an expression of love, that's why God, in the Newer Testament doesn’t command a tithe, he says rather, Give to show your love from a free heart. He loves heartfelt cheerful giving.

Now having seen the faithfulness of Abraham, the heart of an obedient servant, Lets look secondly at the WHY of His faith as we see “The Heart of a Holy God.”

We may not always understand God, in fact we probably will seldom understand Him as we’d like. That is why the world has so many doubts as to His reality, they and we are not used to absolute perfect judgment and when we try to measure God, infinite and awesome, by our meager and paltry standards we fail. So God, knowing we cannot comprehend His perfect ways, says “don’t try to understand just accept that my way is best and I really do know what will get you safely home. “

Abraham has been learning that. Abraham has been walking with God now for years and he really is learning that God is a truth teller and He believes it so much now that He proceeds on this mission fully persuaded that both He and Isaac will return from that Hill alive. He really believed what he said in verse 8
“ And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place He was faithful. He remembered Gen 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

He was faithful. Like Job of Old he could say: Job 36:5 Behold, God [is] mighty, and despiseth not [any: he is] mighty in strength [and] wisdom.
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every [thing], and [that] no thought can be withholden from thee.

He was faithful He could say as the psalmist and Jeremiah later would say:Ps 95:3 For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee: He was faithful.

BUT it is important to note here that the faith of these people of God was faith placed in a TRUSTWORTHY GOD.

Faith in itself is a nice concept, but for faith to be effective, the object of that faith has to be trustworthy. Abraham had walked with this God for years and even though Abraham’s faith had not been always up to snuff, God’s faithfulness had NEVER missed a beat.

When God said “I will bring you into a land,” He did it. When God said “you will have a son” It happened. So when God says Isaac will be your seed and through Him shall the promise come; now sacrifice him, Abraham knows that this faithful God will not renege on His word, never has never will.

As we get to the end of this story next time we’ll see God’s provision, not just for Abraham now, but for Abraham eternally and for you and me. But for a moment let’s consider this holy and faithful God.

You need to know that He’s faithful. You need to know because there are times when you are bewildered by what happens to you and wonder “where is God”. We can only follow Abraham’s example of implicit trust if we, like Him know our God is trustworthy.

Hear David:
2Sa 22:31 [As for] God, his way [is] perfect; the word of the LORD [is] tried: he [is] a buckler to all them that trust in him.
Ps 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler.
Ps 36:7 How excellent [is] thy loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

Hear Moses:
De 32:4 [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.

Hear a pagan King
:Da 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works [are] truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Hear Solomon: Pr 30:5 Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Hear Isaiah: Isa 12:2 Behold, God [is] my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH [is] my strength and [my] song; he also is become my salvation.

Hear King Jehosophat :2Ch 20:6 ...O LORD God of our fathers, [art] not thou God in heaven? And rulest [not] thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand [is there not] power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Hear the three Hebrew Children, and Daniel: Da 3:17 If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king.
Da 6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: [and] the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

And hear Daniel reply “O king live forever, He IS able...very Able.

Hear the Apostle Paul: 2Co 9:8 And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work:

Then hear this, I think it to be the greatest measure of God’s ability and trustworthiness:
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

He calmed the seas, raised the dead, healed the sick, brought nations in and out of existence and took time to speak kindly to the least of His servants, but in this great salvation he provided Life from death, forgiveness from all wrong, and an eternity of joy.

Abraham could trust God because He knew Him well. He had walked with Him and communed with Him, heard His word and then trusted Him enough to do what He said.

Do you know God? Do you read His word? Daily? Do you talk with Him as a friend talks to a friend? Do you know Him enough to know that even when it looks real bad, He really knows what’s up; do you trust Him enough to do what He says?
Abraham can be held up in faith’s honor roll because He had a faith that walked.

An Old legend tells of a missionary who was lost at sea. He was washed up on the shore near a remote native village. Half dead from starvation and exposure and sea water he was found on the beach and nursed to health.

This man lived among these people for a long time. He never told them who he was, never taught a creed, never sang a missionary song never had a Bible, never preached a sermon. He claimed nothing but when people were sick he attended them, sitting long into the night .when people were hungry he helped them find food. When people were lonely he was their encourager and company to them. He was a source of enlightenment to those who were more knowledgeable.
He always took the side of the one who had been wronged. There was not a single human condition with which he did not identify.

20 years passed and missionaries came from across the sea and began talking to these villagers about a man called Jesus. After hearing of Jesus the natives surprised the missionaries by saying” That man has lived among us for 20 years, we know Him.” Come we will introduce YOU to the man of whom you speak.

And these missionaries were led to a hut and found their long lost companion who they had thought dead.

I am sad in a sense, I really think that at times I talk too much about the Lord and don’t walk enough like Him. I really Do want to, you know.

I believe that Abraham was not a great talker, but he was a great WALKER . He Believed God enough to live as God would have Him live...even in the hard times.

You didn’t know Carmen Davis, you never knew that she served God well, and you didn’t know that she went home to be with Him while still young.

As Carmen lay in her sickbed near the end she got a letter from a person who really hadn’t a lot of use for the church, and did you know that that letter said,” I am not very religious, but I know that Jesus is real because I see Him in you.”

IF strangers came to your town as missionaries wouldn’t it be nice if your neighbors said, “Oh, we know Jesus, He lives right here right next door.”

Now you think about that Amen