20 TEST PASSED

Until now this story of Abraham’s test has been very melancholy, and seemed to hurry us towards a most tragic period; but in today’s verses the sky suddenly clears up, the sun breaks out, and a bright and pleasant scene opens. The same hand that had wounded and cast down here heals and lifts up; for, though He cause grief, He will have compassion. “The angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven (11) and, oh, what great news He delivered! God himself, the eternal Word, the angel of the covenant, who was to be the great Redeemer and comforter interposed and declared that Abraham had passed the test.

The command to offer him was intended only for trial, and when tried it appeared that Abraham did indeed love God more than he loved Isaac, the purpose of the command was completed and therefore the order is canceled. “Do not lay a hand on the boy” (12). God’s time to help and relieve His people is when they are brought to the greatest extremity. The more imminent the danger is, the more wonderful and welcome is the deliverance.

Abraham is not only approved, but applauded. He obtains an honorable testimony that he is righteous: “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” God knew it before, but now Abraham had given evidence of it. He needed do no more; what he had done was sufficient to prove the devotion and commitment he had towards God and His authority. When God hinders the performance of our sincere intentions in His services, He graciously accepts the will for the deed; the endeavor as though it were finished. The best evidence of our fearing God is being willing to serve and honor Him with what is dearest to us, and to part with all for Him.

God is looking today for Christian leaders who are obedient even in the difficult or hard assignments. A greater test of one’s faith and obedience cannot be imagined than for God to require what He required of Abraham. Yet Abraham obeyed. Hebrews fills in an important part of this story. Hebrews 11:17-19 say, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.”

Another sacrifice is provided instead of Isaac, “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” (13). Now that the altar was built, and the wood laid in order, it was necessary that something should be offered. God was to be acknowledged with thankfulness for the deliverance of Isaac; and the sooner the better especially when here is an altar already prepared.

Abraham’s words must be made good: “God himself will provide the land for the burnt offering, my son” (8). God will surely fulfill the expectations of his people which He Himself has raised. It could just as well be said even more plainly that God gives what He says He will give.

The heart of the gospel message is that Jesus, the Messiah, is the One who is sacrificed in our stead just as this ram was sacrificed instead of Isaac. Later the temple built by Solomon was built on this mount Moriah, “Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David” (2 Chronicles 3:1). And we also know that Calvary, where Christ was crucified, was not far off. The new name of this site gets right to the heart of the central meaning of sacrifice. A sacrifice is a substitute; a substitute only God can provide. When God provides a qualified substitute, He provides what we need the most.

A new name is given to the place, to the honor of God, and for the encouragement of all believers, to the end of the world, cheerfully to trust in God in the way of obedience:  “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’”  (Genesis 22:14). By faith Abraham had said the Lord would provide a sacrifice and now that God had done that, to acknowledge it, Abraham names the place accordingly. It was not owing to anything Abraham did, nor was it in answer to his prayer, though he was a distinguished intercessor; but it was purely the Lord’s doing. Let it be recorded for the generations to come. The Lord is our Provider.

The Lord sees and the Lord provides. He will always have his eye on his people in their difficulties and distresses, that He may come in with seasonable help, the right kind of help, help that helps, in the critical juncture. A pastor I worked with once told me about help that helped and help that did not help. She wanted help that helped. I have learned that she was right. Some help helps and some help does not help. God knows what we need so the help that He gives always helps. He provides the right thing. In this case Abraham was provided with a ram to be sacrificed to take the place of Isaac. On this same site Jesus, the Lamb of God, was provided to take away the sin of all the world.

Abraham’s obedience was graciously accepted; but this was not all. It was greatly rewarded even before he left that place and possibly while the ram he had sacrificed was still burning God sent him this wonderful message, renewing and confirming His covenant with him. All covenants were made by sacrifice, so was this by the typical sacrifices of Isaac and the ram. Very high expressions of God’s favor to Abraham are used in this confirmation of the covenant with him. The expressions God now used exceeded any with which Abraham had yet been blessed with. Extraordinary services shall be crowned with extraordinary honors, comforts privileges, responsibilities and favors. These are mentioned in verses 15-18: “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.”

God is pleased to mention Abraham’s obedience as the qualification of the covenant; and He speaks of it with an congratulatory speech or formal expression of high praise “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son” (16). God lays a strong emphasis on this, mentioning obedience again in verse 18, “. . . and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” The God of Abraham is the same God who later says through Samuel, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Abraham had honored God by obeying Him and now God is honoring Abraham by blessing him for obeying Him. Could there ever be any issue in leadership more important than this if we are going to lead God’s people as God wants us to, than to obey? Perhaps the most important leadership principle we learn from Abraham is the combination of faith and obedience. Without faith he could not have obeyed this difficult command and without obedience we would never know of his true faith.

God now confirmed the promise with an oath. It was said and sealed before; but now it is sworn: “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,” (Hebrews 6:13).  In this way God bound Himself by an oath, as the apostle expresses it, “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.” (Hebrews 6:17). God tells the truth and need not  ever have sworn anything, but He wanted to be clear in His commitment so He swore it. He did this so that by all those unchangeable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, believers might have strong consolation. If we exercise faith, God will encourage it. He will strengthen the promises and ratify (confirm) them.

The particular promise here renewed is that of a numerous offspring:  “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 (17). Those that are willing to part with any thing for God will have it made up to them with unspeakable advantage. Abraham has only one son, and is willing to part with that one, in obedience to God. “Well,” said God, “You will be rewarded with thousands and millions.” What a figure do the descendants of Abraham make in history! How numerous, how illustrious, were his known descendants, who, to this day, triumph in this, that they have Abraham as their father! This way Abraham received a thousand-fold in this life: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Surely Abraham experienced a complete fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 19:29.

The promise points at the Messiah, and the grace of the gospel. This is the oath sworn to our father Abraham, which includes a promise of the great blessing of the Spirit: In blessing, I will bless you, namely, with that best of blessings the gift of the Holy Ghost; the promise of the Spirit was that blessing of Abraham which was to come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. This is spoken to us in Galatians 3:14 which says, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” It includes the increase of the church, that believers, his spiritual seed, should be numerous as the stars of heaven. The promise included spiritual victories. Believers, by their faith, overcome the world, and triumph over all the powers of darkness, and are more than conquerors.

However, the crown of all is the last promise, the incarnation of Christ: In your descendant—one particular person that will descend from you. As Galatians 3:16 says, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.” Through Jesus Christ all the nations of the earth are blessed. This was  referred to in the promise God gave to Abraham just after he passed the test on Moriah and was willing to slay his own son. Christ is the great blessing of the world. Abraham was ready to give up his son for a sacrifice to the honor of God, and at that time God promised to give His Son a sacrifice for the salvation of man.

In the last verses of Genesis chapter 22, Abraham’s relatives are also mentioned to show that though Abraham saw his own family highly dignified with peculiar covenant privileges and blessed with a great promise, yet he did not look down on his relations, but was glad to hear of the increase and prosperity of their families. Later in the history of the patriarchs this part of the extended family, will provide wives for two of Abraham’s offspring, Rebekah for Isaac and Leah and Rachael for Jacob. Nahor and Milkah produced Bethuel who was the father of Rebekah and grandfather of Leah and Rachael.

Here are the words of one of my favorite hymns:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies But His smile quickly drives it away

Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear Can abide while we trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet Or we'll walk by His side in the way

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go Never fear, only trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there's no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

Abraham has provided a good example for us of trusting and obeying.