Spring 2000
“At the age of 75, Abraham enrolled
in the “School of Faith.” Now he was
over 100, and he was still having soul-stretching experiences. We are never too old to face new challenges,
fight new battles, and learn new truths.
When we stop learning, we stop growing; and when we stop growing, we
stop living.
“The first forty years of life give
us the text,” wrote Arthur Schopenhauer, “and the next thirty supply the
commentary.” For the Christian
believer, the text is Habakkuk 2:4:
“The just shall live by his faith.”
The “commentary” is being written as we listen to God and obey His
directions a day at a time. Sad to say,
some people understand neither the text nor the commentary, and their lives are
ended before they have really started to live.
Genesis 22 records the greatest test
that Abraham ever faced. True, it also
presents a beautiful picture of our Lord’s service at Calvary; but the main
lesson is obedient faith that overcomes in the trials of life. Abraham teaches us how to face and handle
the tests of life to the glory of God.
-Warren W. Wiersbe
1. Briefly discuss the difference between what is a test and what is a temptation.
q
“Satan
tempts us that he may bring out all the evil that is in our hearts; God tries
or tests us that He may bring out all the good.” (F.B. Meyer)
q
Trials
lead to the crown of life; God does not tempt.
See James 1:12-14.
q
Our
limited human perspective makes it difficult to differentiate between a trial
from God and a temptation from Satan.
From our limited view the two experiences seem to overlap but from God’s
they are totally separate. Consider Job
and Joseph narratives. God and Satan were
both active in both accounts. Yet trial
and temptation are not the same. We
must see what happens in our lives through the lens of Romans 8:28.
2a. Describe the command that Abraham receives.
q
The
son he loves and has waited all his life for.
q
Abraham
was 75 years old when first called by God (Gen 12:4). Isaac is born when Abaham is 100 years old (Gen 21:5).
q
Go
on a three day journey to the region of Moriah.
2b. What are some problems with this command? Why does it not make sense?
q
This
command is a logical absurdity! God
promised Abraham that he would establish his covenant with Isaac in Gen
17:19. But here in Gen 22:2, Isaac is
to be killed.
q
Isaac
was the product of a miraculous conception.
The promise of having descendant as numerous as sands on the seashore
was to be through Isaac. There is no
earthly way to harmonize God’s standing promise and this command.
q
Sacrificing
a son was a pagan ritual to appease pagan deities at the time but not an act
for a follower of Yahweh.
3a. Abraham had entered into a covenant relationship with God (Gen 17:19). What thoughts and emotions would Abraham have been pondering during this three-day journey?
q
A
parental heart could not help to be grieving uncontrollably.
q
Yet,
consider that Abraham responds immediately by departing early the next morning.
(22:3)
q
In
22:5, he tells the two servants that “we” will come back to you. The plural pronoun implies that Abraham must
have believed that Isaac would be coming back with him.
q
Consider
Hebrews 11:17-19 where Abraham reasons that God could raise the dead. This is tremendous faith especially for
someone who has never heard of resurrection.
3b. How is Abraham living by the principle of Proverbs 3:5-6?
q
He
is not making decisions based upon logical conclusions. He chooses based upon obedience.
q
He
understands that his perspective is limited to the earthly realms but his God
dwells in a realm he cannot fathom.
q
Abraham
understands an eternal perspective. See
Hebrews 11:8-10.
3c. What areas of our lives do we often struggle to live by this principle of Prov 3:5-6?
4. How does this story of sacrifice show a picture of what is to come in the sacrifice at Calvary?
q
Picture
of a Father sacrificing his Son.
q
A
Son who does not resist sacrifice though he could. Isaac was a full grown man.
q
In
Isaac’s case, a substitute died for him but nobody could take the place of
Jesus on the cross.
q
“It
is interesting that the wood is mentioned five times in the narrative and that
Isaac did not start carrying the wood until he arrived at Mount Moriah. The wood is not a picture of the cross, for
Jesus did not carry His cross all the way to Calvary. The wood seems to picture the burden of sin that Jesus bore for
us (1 Peter 2:24). Abraham took the
wood and ‘laid it upon Isaac his son’ (Gen 22:6), and ‘the Lord hath laid on
Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all’ (Isa 53:6). The fire consumed the wood as a picture of the judgment of God
against sin.” (Warren Wiersbe)
5. Spend some time thanking God for Abraham’s obedience, for Jesus’ obedience, and strength for our obedience in times of testing.