We begin our Lenten season with a reminder of why we have Lent. We could go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, but for today our text takes us only as far back as Abraham. So, we begin by going back and hearing God’s threefold covenant with Abraham. We begin with the reminder that this covenant came about because of sin and temptation. The three readings for today remind us: The Old Testament reading reminds us of the testing of Abraham; the Gospel reading reminds us of the temptation of Jesus; and in the Epistle reading James reminds us that there is a difference between tempting and testing; that temptation never comes from God, but only from Satan, and that although God may test us in order to strengthen us in our faith God never tempts us to sin. So, all our texts for this morning carry this theme of testing.
Our text for today is the testing of Abraham. We read beginning at verse one, “1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ 2He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’” (v.1-2). Notice how the words, “take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love,” reflect the words of God the Father about Jesus, “this is my son, whom I love, listen to Him.” Just as an aside, this is a great passage to quote to those of the Muslim tradition who suggest that the line of the promise was through Ishmael, not Isaac; notice, from God’s Word, that Ishmael is not even considered a son of Abraham, only Isaac, Abraham’s “only” son, his “only son, Isaac”. Isaac is the son of Abraham, the son of the covenant.
As for where Abraham is to go, at first God is not specific, He simply tells Abraham that He wants him to go to the region of Moriah. Abraham does not know exactly where he is to go, but he obeys, knowing that God will guide him as he goes. We pick up at verse three, “3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.’ 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together” (v.3-6). Notice that Abraham does not doubt. He does not stop to think about what he is about to do. Abraham believes God and he believes in the resurrection. Notice Abraham’s words of faith, “I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” He has confidence, he has faith that he and the boy will come back to the young men.
Next we have Isaac’s question. We pick up at verse seven, “7And Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here am I, my son.’ He said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ 8Abraham said, ‘God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together” (v. 7-8). Here again we see with what great faith Abraham moves. He does not doubt God. He does not expect to get out of sacrificing his son, yet he knows that God will make all things work to His glory. Thus, in faith he tells Isaac, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” Notice also, that Abraham understands that all things do come from God, that we provide nothing. It is not as if we bring anything to give to God, our offerings, first fruits, or tithes, rather these are only the things that God provides for us to bring to Him.
Our text continues with the attempt to sacrifice and the intervention. We read from verse nine, “9When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ 12He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me’” (v.9-12). The fact that God did not allow Abraham to sacrifice His Son, and yet received his intention as the sacrifice reminds us that it is not when we actually commit a sin that we have sinned, rather we sin when we have the very intention of sinning in our hearts. So, we see that we do not always sin only if we actually commit a sin, we sin when we first have the intention in our hearts. This reminds us of the fact that we do sin in thought, word and deed.
In the end, God provides. We read from verse thirteen, “13And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called the name of that place, ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’” (v. 13-14). God did provide a substitute for Isaac. He did provide the ram for the sacrifice.
With the testing of Abraham’s faith and his passing the test we have the reiteration of the threefold covenant which God originally made with Abraham. We read from verse fifteen, “15And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, ‘By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.’” (v. 15-18). Here I want to make a note about the text. Our translation infers that Abraham was blessed because he obeyed the Lord. Going back to the Hebrew, what the text literally says is that Abraham was blessed because he heard the Lord. In other words, God tells Abraham that all nations will be blessed because he heard Him, not because he obeyed Him. Here we are reminded once again that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We are also reminded that God’s provision is not conditioned on us, but on what He is doing and what He is telling us He is doing.
Our text for today shows us that Isaac is a type of Christ. Christ knowingly and willingly gave himself for us on the cross, willingly. Isaac gave himself to be sacrificed on the altar, perhaps willingly, although we might infer that he did it unknowingly.
Isaac carried his own wood, the wood on which he was to be sacrificed, again, perhaps willingly, yet unknowingly. Christ willingly and knowingly carried His own cross, the cross on which He was to be nailed.
Isaac received a ram as a substitute, so that he was not sacrificed. Jesus did not receive a substitute rather He made Himself our substitute, so that we do not have to suffer the eternal punishment for our sins, eternal spiritual death.
To Abraham, God reiterated the threefold covenant of a great number of descendants, the land, and that through his seed all nations will be blessed. This threefold covenant that was made to Abraham is the same covenant we have today. We are a part of this covenant, because we are the children of Abraham. By grace, through faith in Jesus’ death on the cross we are children of Abraham.
Because we are children of Abraham, we have been blessed. We are a part of the “all nations will be blessed.” All nations are blessed, because Jesus gave His life, He shed His blood for all nations, for all peoples of all places of all times. By grace, through faith, we share in the blessing of Jesus.
And we have the promise of the promised land, only our promised land is not a land here on this earth, rather our promised land is heaven. Again, by grace, through faith in Jesus, heaven is our home.
As we begin this Lenten season we are reminded that God first spoke His promise to send a Savior back in the Garden of Eden, immediately after Adam and Eve fell into sin. We are reminded that God reiterated His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the children of Israel throughout their years. This was not a new covenant. This was not a second covenant. This was not a different covenant. This was the same covenant with more details. Here again this morning I urge you, I beg of you, be discerning in what you read, hear and believe. There are many in our world today who believe that the children of Israel have a different or second covenant, other than the one we as Christians have. This is not the case. We have the same covenant. The difference is that the children of Israel have rejected God’s covenant by not believing in Jesus. Thus, Jesus, Paul and the other Gospel writers tell us that we, Gentile Christians, as well as believing Christians of Jewish descent are children of Abraham by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus as our Savior. It all goes back to the first giving of the covenant in the Garden of Eden before there was a Jew and Gentile, when there was only Adam and Eve. There are not two ways into heaven, but only one way, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Today we are reminded that as God tested the faith of Abraham He supplied him with an alternate sacrifice. And as He reiterated His promise to Abraham to give him the promised land, to make him a great nation and that through him all people, all nations will be blessed. We are reminded that we are a part of that great nation, a part of that blessed nation. Today we are reminded that this same covenant that God made with Abraham is in effect today. God gives us our promised land of heaven, God makes us a part of His great nation, and God has blessed us, giving us all the gifts and blessings He gives to us through the blood of His Son on the cross. Indeed, it all begins, continues, and points to Jesus. God promised a Savior. Jesus is our Savior. God gives us faith in Jesus as our Savior. God demands perfection of us and by faith in Jesus God sees His perfection as ours. Jesus took our sins and suffered and died paying the price for our sins. God gives us the forgiveness Jesus earned and paid for us. With forgiveness we know we have life, eternal life and salvation. May the Lord give us the strength and honesty we need during this Lenten Season to confess our sins, to be given His forgiveness and to cry out with a loud voice, “to God be the glory.” For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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