Father’s Day, Abraham and God
-Introduction
-Since I just returned from Green Valley Bible Camp, I would like to use a story
involving the camp to get our lesson underway this evening.
-At GVBC, there is a designated time each day for the kids to clean their cabins.
Following that time, there is a “cabin check” - a little contest to see who has
the cleanest cabin.
-The kids are allowed to leave “appropriate” notes for the cabin checker(s).
Sometimes the notes are simply silly. Other times, they are pretty funny.
-One time, I got in the act. As some of you already know, I’m a KC Chiefs fan.
I have a Chiefs bag that I normally take to camp and I usually have a chiefs hat
around as well.
-Well, a couple of years ago, one of the cabin checkers was a big St. Louis Rams fan.
So, she took points away from my cabin due to my Chiefs items.
-So, I left a fairly long note. In that note I indicated that Jesus is a Chiefs fan -
afterall, when Peter explained that Jesus is the corner stone, he referred to Him as
“chief” (1 Pet 2:6). I then pointed out that when Abraham needed a sacrifice, what
was it that God provided? - a ram (Gen 22:13).
-It is the passage in Genesis 22 that I would like to focus on this evening - a passage that
I find simply amazing.
-Abraham - A Great Man of Faith
-Of course, Abraham was first known as “Abram.” His name is first mentioned in the
scriptures in Gen 11:26 - the son of Tehrah.
-Genesis 11:31 tells us that Abram was from “Ur of the Chaldees” - a place in
Mesopotamia. It was here that Abram was called - Acts 7:2-4.
-With this being Father’s Day, it seems that this portrays honor toward a father.
Abram paused in his travels due to the health of his father. And, of important note
as well is the fact that God allowed Abram to do so.
-So, after the death of Tehrah, Abram - by Divine instruction - continued his travels.
-Heb 11:8
-We find that throughout the life of Abraham, he walked by faith and not by sight.
-2 Cor 5:7, Rom 4:12-13
-The Promise of Isaac
-God’s promises to Abraham included blessings for his seed. Obviously, Abraham was
going to have descendants. Yet, Genesis 11:30 tells us that Sarai was barren. We
are reminded of that fact in Genesis 16:1.
-In Genesis 16, it seems that Sarai and Abraham decided to “help” God in fulfilling
the promises - the birth of Ishmael by Hagar.
-Yet, it was through Isaac that God would fulfill his promises.
-Gen 17:17 - Abraham was 100 (Sarah - 90) when God promised the birth of Isaac.
-Gen 11:4 - Abraham was 75 when he left Haran. He had been waiting for 25 years.
-Genesis 21 - Isaac is born. Now, the one through whom the promises would be fulfilled
was here.
-The Ultimate Test of Abraham’s Faith- Gen 22
-Gen 22:2 - Notice the wording - “...thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest.”
-I can’t imagine how piercing those instructions must have been.
-Also notice, this was not something that God called upon Abraham to do in a moment’s
notice. Instead, the instructions were given in such a manner that allowed Abraham to
contemplate these instructions.
-Gen 22:4 - I cannot imagine how agonizing those three days must have been!
-Yet, there is no hint of questioning or complaint on the part of Abraham. What faith!
-Even when called upon to sacrifice his own son, Abraham obediently submitted.
-[Side note: Isaac may not have been as young as we sometimes imagine. In Gen 22:5,
the word “lad” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “a boy...from the age of infancy to
adolescence.” This word is applied to Joseph in Gen 37:2 at the age of 17.
-For a long time, I always pictured Isaac as very young in this passage. He might not
have been. Josephus has indicated that Isaac may have been as old as 25.]
-Of course, we know that they angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac.
-Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been put in that situation?
-How was it that Abraham had such strength in such difficult circumstances?
-The answer is found in Heb 11:17-19 - Abraham knew that if he sacrificed Isaac,
God would raise him up. Why? God would fulfill His promises.
-God’s Sacrifice of His Son
-A couple of weeks ago, we addressed the fact that Jesus is eternal - part of the Godhead.
-Yet, isn’t it interesting that the relationship between God and Jesus is presented as
Father and Son!
-Notice that Gen 22:2 reveals that Abraham was to go to Moriah to sacrifice Isaac.
-2 Chon 3:1 - the only other time Moriah is mentioned - Jerusalem.
-Could it be possible that God led Abraham to the location where He himself would
later give Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of the world? If not the exact location, it
would have been in that same general area.
-We can see many parallels between what Abraham was instructed to do to Isaac (but
later stopped) to that which God did.
-For approx. 33 years, God knew exactly what was going to happen to Jesus.
-He knew that He was going to be sacrificed for the sins of the world.
-This time, nothing would stop the sacrifice from taking place.
-Let’s admire the faithfulness of Abraham, a loving father.
-Let’s always stand in awe of the sacrifice our The Loving Father.
-Invitation
-Have you responded in obedience to the sacrifice that God made for us? If not, obey the
Gospel - believe in Jesus (John 3:16, 8:24), confess that belief (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-
10), repent of your sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 17:30), Be baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38,
Gal 3:26-29).
-If you’ve obeyed the Gospel, have you remained faithful? If not, remember the sacrifice that was made for us. Acknowledge your shortcomings, repent of them and pray for God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24).