Genesis 22:1-24

Genesis Study 104

GOD TESTS ABRAHAM

Genesis 22:1-24
Key verse 22:2
"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.'"

In the last chapter Abraham got Isaac at the age of hundred as God had promised. After three years he sent off Ishmael in obedience to God's direction. Then he concentrated only on Isaac and grew him as a man of faith. By this time Isaac became a teenager. The tamarisk tree Abraham had planted grew very tall and graceful. Everyday Abraham praised God. But in today's passage God tested him with the hardest command: "Sacrifice your only son Isaac as a burnt offering." Let's learn why God tested Abraham in this way and how Abraham passed God's test.
Look at verse 1. In the previous chapter Abraham had made a peace treaty with the king of Gerar. Some time later God tested him. Abraham might have thought he had passed all God's tests and already graduated. But there was still one more test left. When Abraham opened the test paper, it was written, "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." We remember how much Abraham was distressed when he had to send off Ishmael. But now God was asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. It means Abraham had to slay his son Isaac and skin him, cut him into pieces and burn them all on the altar. Can any father do such a cruel thing to his beloved son? If Isaac was sacrificed what would happen to God's promise to Abraham? Most of all, how could Holy God demand such an inhuman sacrifice? In the answer sheet Abraham could have written: "Lord, I will sacrifice all my sheep, cattle and even myself but not Isaac."
Why did God give him such a hard test? In general the purpose of a test is to evaluate how much a student understood his subjects. Unit tests are simple and easy. But a final test is very comprehensive and thus requires correct and balanced understanding on the subjects. If anyone fails in the final test, he has to repeat his course. In the college of faith, Abraham was not a good student. He failed in his four major subjects and God had to help him in each time. Subject # 1: "Save your wealth in heaven". God commanded Abraham to go the land God would show him. But when he reached Haran he desired to save his wealth on earth. So he settled there accumulating possessions and acquiring servants. God helped him come out of Haran. Later Abraham yielded the best land to his nephew without hesitation thus he completed this subject. Subject # 2: "Be courageous in God". Abraham failed in this subject not one time but two times. Out of fear he let the kings take his wife. But in the previous chapter he became courageous enough to rebuke the king of Gerar for the well. Subject # 3: "Live on God's plan". According to his human plan, Abraham slept with his maidservant and got Ishmael, a seed of flesh. But God helped him send off Ishmael and focus only on Isaac, a seed of faith. Abraham obeyed and completed this subject. Subject # 4: "Trust in God in all situations". This subject was very tough for Abraham. So sometimes he complained and some other times he just laughed during the class. God had to give him a private tution for twenty five years. Sometimes God used the stars as the study material and circumcised his flesh and had a lunch cum counselling session with him. At last Abraham believed that God could give him a son even at the age of hundred. Finally Abraham completed his four major subjects. But there was one last and most important subject: "Love God most". Abraham had loved himself more than his wife. But there was one person whom he loved more than himself that was Isaac. So God tested Abraham if he loved God more than Isaac. Would he pass the test?
Look at verse 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. Abraham did not submit a blank paper saying, "Lord, I'm sorry." He did not call Sarah for an advice. Instead he immediately gave a correct answer as if he was fully prepared for the test.
When we receive a questionnaire we reason first before giving an answer. What then was Abraham's reasoning? Hebrews 11:19 says, "Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death." The Bible does not recommend blind faith. Instead it recommends faith that comes from reasoning based on God and God's promise. It was easy for Abraham to reason based on common sense thinking, "No one has ever been raised from the dead. So if my son dies he will never come back to life. Therefore I cannot sacrifice him." But he reasoned based on God's almighty power, "When I was hundred years old, my body was as good as dead. But from such dead body a life was born as God had promised. Now even if I sacrifice my son Isaac, God Almighty will surely raise him from the dead." This time Abraham was not distressed because he reasoned from God's point of view.
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 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." He did not say, "I will come back to you," but said, "WE will come back to you." He had no doubt about the resurrection of Isaac. What he believed was reflected in what he said.
He took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. The whole world deserted the true God. But here go two people who loved God more than their lives. As Jesus carried the wooden cross to which he would be nailed, Isaac was carrying the wood on which he would be burned. As God punished his Son Jesus on the cross, Abraham would slay his son with the knife and burn him with the fire.
As the two of them went on together, 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?" This must be the hardest question for Abraham to answer. He knew why Isaac had to be sacrificed as a burnt offering. It was on behalf of the sinful world so that all nations might be saved from God's terrible judgment. Abraham should have said, "My son, it is you whom I have to sacrifice. I have to slay you, cut you into pieces and burn them on the altar." Will Isaac understand this? Even if he understands it, will he accept it? Here comes Abraham's wise answer, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. I believe while going together, Abraham must have explained to his son about God's heart for the perishing world.
Look at verses 9 and 10. 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. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Isaac could have strongly resisted and run away. But he didn't. He was silently obeying his father who was obeying God. Being a teenager he could have run after beautiful girls and enjoy funs. But he was different. He humbly accepted God's will and willingly gave his life to save the perishing world. Abraham and Isaac knew how wicked the world had become that no animal sacrifice would solve the sin problem. There must be a greater sacrifice, a sacrifice of an innocent person. In spiritual point of view Isaac was also a sinner. His sacrifice would not solve the sin problem of the world. God knew it. In fact God had already decided to sacrifice his Son Jesus. Why then did he ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? God works always through man's faith. God can send Jesus to this world only when there is someone who really believes in him. Abraham believed in God beyond his human reasoning. And he loved God more than himself and his beloved son.
Look at verses 11 and 12. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "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." It was easy for Abraham to fear the loss of his son and life without him. But he feared the Lord most. He loved God most. Thus he got full marks in the final test. What God really wanted was not Isaac but the heart of Abraham.
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. 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." The ram points to Jesus. When God's time came God himself provided his one and only Son Jesus. Holy and innocent Jesus was tortured and nailed to the cross. He shed his lifeblood to the last drop. He died not for his sins but for the sins of the world. God sacrificed his beloved Son Jesus to forgive all our sins and change us into his holy children.
Look verses 15 to 18. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." When Abraham passed God's test, abundant blessings were poured out upon him, his descendants and all nations on earth.
In verse 23, there is a girl named Rebekah. God was growing her up as a woman of faith to be married to Isaac. In one hand God was testing Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. But on the other hand God was preparing Isaac's life partner.
In conclusion, God trains us and tests us so that we may love him most. He even asks us to sacrifice what we have received by faith. We fear to lose our best things. But when we give our best things to God, he fills our lives with his best things. May God grow us to be like Abraham in this generation.

Genesis 21:1-34

Genesis Study 103

ISAAC OR ISHMAEL

Genesis 21:1-34
Key verse 21:12

"But God said to him, 'Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'"

We have been studying about Abraham last six months. We waited and waited the time Abraham would get a son from God. At last in today's passage he received a son after twenty-five years. Let's learn what Abraham learned.

Look at verses 1 and 2. "Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him." Now Abraham was at his hundred and Sarah at her ninety. But the promise of God came true at the very time God had promised them. God does not work according to human condition but works according to his promise and his time. We have received many promises that are not fulfilled yet. Some may be fulfilled this year, some next year, some after twenty five years and some after thousand years. But the important thing is that we have the promises of God and they will surely be fulfilled at God's right time.
Look at verses 3 to 5. "Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." Abraham gave his son the name God had designated. He circumcised his son as God commanded him. It means he offered his son to God from his birth. He considered his son not as his possession but as God's possession and God's gift. Our children are not ours but God's. God entrusted them to us for sometime so that we might bring them up as God-fearing people.
Look at verses 6 and 7. "Sarah said, 'God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.' And she added, 'Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.'" Earlier people laughed at Sarah. But now they laughed with her praising God. Everyone wants laughter. So people watch a comedy show or talk about jokes. But such laughter vanishes away within a minute. What about the laughter God brought Sarah? She could laugh all the days of her life. She laughed not just because she got a son at her old age. Mothers laugh after their baby delivery. But such laughter does not last long. Especially when they have to wake up every two hours at night to feed their babies, they almost go mad. But Sarah's laughter came from God who kept his promise to make her a mother of nations. Through Isaac's birth Sarah could see the fulfilment of all God's promises. Psalm 30:5 says, "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Sarah wept for twenty five years to undergo God's faith training but from now on she would laugh forever.

Look at verse 8. About three years had passed. "The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast." In chapter 18, Abraham served the three visitors with a choice and tender calf and he considered it as a simple lunch. Now he held a great feast. He must have invited all the people of Gerar including the king and all his officials.
Look at verses 9 and 10. "But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." By this time Ishmael was about seventeen years old. For many years he had been treated like a prince. But after the birth of Isaac he became nothing. While everyone was praising the great work of God, Ishmael was mocking Isaac the very work of God. In the future Isaac might fear Ishmael more than God. While learning God's word from his father, Isaac might learn all the bad habits from his half brother. Who knows? Ishmael would kill Isaac to inherit his father's property.
Look at verses 11 to 13. "The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, 'Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring." As for Abraham both Isaac and Ishmael were his beloved sons. He wanted both of them to grow under the blessings of God. He never wanted to lose any of them. But God's will was different. God agreed with Sarah. Isaac must remain but Ishmael must be sent off. Abraham must cut off his human attachment to Ishmael. And he must fully focus on Isaac and grow him as a man of faith. As for Ishmael, God would take care of him. At present Isaac was much younger and weaker than Ishmael. But only those born of Isaac would be considered as Abraham's descendants and inherit God's blessings.
Why is it so? It is because Isaac was a son of faith whereas Ishmael was a son of flesh. God's blessing flows not through flesh but through faith. Anything we got through human struggle is Ishmael. But anything we got through faith is Isaac. In order to have a boy friend or a girl friend we don't need faith. It just needs a bit of luck and so much investment of time and money. But we can have Jesus as Eternal Friend only by faith. Enjoying with a boy friend or a girl friend is something very sweet. So this baby grows much faster and stronger than our relationship with Jesus. Our desire for a boy friend or a girl friend mocks our desire for Jesus. But we want to keep them both. We want to enjoy both romance and Jesus' blessing. Some people may not be interested in romance. But they have another Ishmael. It can be money or fame or recognition. Such Ishmael mocks our Isaac that is our small faith. If possible Ishmael tries to destroy our Isaac completely.
What should we do with our Ishmael? God says to us, "Send him off. Cast him away from your life. Focus only on Isaac. Devote your life to grow him before the Lord. Then all my blessings will come to you through him." 2 Corinthians 6:14c says, "…what fellowship can light have with darkness?" As light and darkness cannot stay together, our Isaac can never stay together with Ishmael. If we do not send off Ishmael today, tomorrow he will surely destroy our Isaac. It is very important to receive Isaac from God. But it is more important to protect him by sending off Ishmael from our hearts. Then God will bless us to be a source of blessing for all peoples on earth.
What was Abraham's response? Look at verse 14. "Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba." Abraham did not try to be a good father to Ishmael. Instead he entrusted Ishmael's life in God's hand. If we look at verses 15 to 21, Hagar and Ishmael were desperate in the desert. They were about to die. But in their helpless situation they met God. They came to fear God and rely on him. God was with the boy and he became an archer.
Look at verses 22 to 32. Abimelech the king of Gerar and Phicol the commander of his forces visited Abraham. They said, "God is with you in everything you do. Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you." Earlier Abraham was afraid of Abimelech. So he gave his wife to him. But now the table was turned upside down. Abimelech was afraid of Abraham. He witnessed how God answered his prayer and healed him and his people. He also saw how God granted him a son at the age of hundred. The news that Abraham sent off Ishmael was a great shock. "If Abraham could be that much harsh to his own son," he thought, "how terribly he will treat us!" He was afraid. There were many more events through which he could see mighty hand of God upon Abraham's life. So he begged for Abraham's mercy. Then Abraham regained his well from Abimelech and made a treaty with him at Beersheba. When we live only by faith, at the end we gain everything.
Look at verses 33 and 34. "Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time." A tamarisk tree looks very graceful and has a very long life span. Abraham planted this tree to remember God who lives forever. Even after his death the tree would live and grow generation to generation. Beginning from his son to all his descendants would enjoy its good shade. Eternal God lives much longer than the tamarisk tree. In fact he lives from eternity to eternity. And he will fulfil all his promises given to Abraham in eternity. The birth of Isaac was a very small part of God's promise fulfilled. Abraham saw only this much in his lifetime. But even after his death the Eternal God would continue to fulfil all his promises. Even today he is fulfilling his promise to Abraham by raising his spiritual descendants throughout the world. And we are the living proofs of God's promise fulfilled in this generation. May God help us to send off our Ishmael today. Then the Eternal God will fulfil all his wonderful promises for us.