Abraham’s Hope
Genesis 22:15-19
June 15, 2014
Well, last time we met we studied one of the most penetrating passages in Scripture on worship that you will ever find.
Indeed, it is the first time worship is ever mentioned in Scripture,
And what a picture it was.
• God asked Abraham to sacrifice what was most important to him.
• God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved.
And hopefully you remember the story.
We saw the promptness of Abraham to immediately jump up and gladly give God all that He asked for.
There was no complaint, there was no argument, there was no grumbling.
Abraham was glad to give God exactly what God wanted.
We saw the poise of Abraham saying confidently, “God will provide”
Abraham knew that there was nothing which God would ask for in worship that God could not restore, redeem, or replace.
And that included his own son, whom Abraham figured God could raise from the dead.
And sure enough God did provide, staying Abraham’s hand and providing a ram caught in the thicket to be the sacrifice in the place of Isaac.
And we said then that it became obvious that even though God asked for Isaac, it was clear that Isaac is not who God wanted.
God wanted Abraham.
And after Abraham presented Isaac, God responded:
Genesis 22:12 “He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
• God didn’t say “Now I know that you trust Me”
• God didn’t say “Now I know that you love Me”
• God said, “Now I know that you fear [Me]”
That is that reverential awe – that true heart of worship.
Abraham had no heart idols.
His heart belonged only to God.
Nothing proves who your heart belongs to like worship.
When we present God what He desires, that worship proves the devotion of our heart.
And then we really just sort of rushed through these last 5 verses.
The point we made was how pleased God is with a true worshiper.
God was pleased with Abraham’s worship
And God’s favor prompted these 5 amazing verses.
What God does here is one of the most remarkable things
He could have possible done for Abraham.
Here God gives Abraham the gift of hope.
THAT IS AN AMAZING GIFT
• There is not a person in here who does not want hope.
• There is not a person in here who when the doctor comes in wants him to say, “Sorry, but there is nothing we can do”
We crave hope
And generally we want hope because it makes us feel so much better.
But hope is not just a sentimental gift from God.
Hope serves a very important purpose.
It is not just a good thing to have hope, it is a necessary thing.
And here is why:
HOPE IS THE POWER THAT FUELS YOUR FAITH
Now we have said it many times before, but how do we know if you have real saving faith?
There are two main fruit that indicate true saving faith.
Faith Obeys
Faith Endures
But here is the kicker.
If you don’t have hope you won’t obey or endure.
If I told you that there is no hope that you will go to heaven when you die, or that your circumstances will get better, are you going to continue to obey the commands of Jesus?
Without hope you’d just go into self-preservation mode
And focus only on what is immediately gratifying.
Hope is the power that fuels your faith.
• You keep believing…
• You keep obeying…
• You keep enduring…
Because you have hope that it will all be worth it.
Take away hope and you lose faith.
HOPE IS ESSENTIAL
And this morning that is precisely what God gives Abraham.
God gives him the gift of hope.
When Abraham worshiped, God gave him hope.
Now, one other distinction that must be made.
God did not here give Abraham security.
Abraham already had security.
Abraham was already secure – we’ve seen that time and time again.
Hope is not the presence of security.
Hope is the recognition and enjoyment of that security.
You can be secure and still have no hope.
Those people who are stuck in denominations
That teach you can lose your salvation are in this boat.
If they have fully trusted in Christ, then they are secure,
But their knuckleheaded preachers who tell them there is no security
Have refused to let them enjoy it.
God here gave Abraham the gift of hope.
God is about to let Abraham enjoy his security.
And again why would God this?
(Because if you have hope you are more apt to obey and keep obeying)
Those same knuckleheads who refuse to give security to their people,
Do so because they think fear is a great motivator.
They plan to keep their people obeying
By holding over their head the fear of losing their salvation.
What they don’t understand is that
Fear has never been as good a motivator as hope.
God wants you to have hope,
And that is what He gives here to Abraham and also to you.
And this morning I want to show you that hope,
And if you have trusted in Christ I want to give you that hope as well.
Now we are going to look a little deeper at those same verses we read last week, and then we are going to study a commentary on those two verses.
(Do you like reading commentaries?)
You’ll like reading these commentaries
Two points
#1 THE PERMANENCE OF THE BLESSING
Genesis 22:15-17
Now you recognize that this statement is an added bonus.
• God already provided a sacrifice
• God already spared Isaac
• Abraham is already worshiping God for His great provision.
And then God decides to go one step further.
“By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seek shall possess the gate of their enemies.”
Now at first we read that and think to ourselves,
Well that is certainly good, but it isn’t new information.
I mean hasn’t God already told that to Abraham?
Genesis 12:2-3 “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Genesis 13:14-17 “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. “I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. “Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.”
Genesis 14:18-20 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.”
Genesis 15:5 “And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
Genesis 17:1-5 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.” Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”
And that doesn’t even count the promises to Sarah
Or the fact that God had given Abraham Isaac just as He promised.
I mean, what makes this statement so special?
5 words set this statement apart.
“By Myself I have sworn…”
Every other time God spoke to Abraham, it was a promise, it was a plan.
But this time God takes an additional step and puts Himself under oath.
Well that is interesting, why would God do that?
Well, now it’s time to read the first commentary.
TURN TO: Hebrews 6
While you are turning I have to give you a quick backdrop to the chapter.
We have here the writer of Hebrews preaching to a group of Jews
Who have claimed to follow Christ,
But because of persecution, are debating abandoning Christ.
They recognized Christ, they confessed Christ,
But they aren’t sure if it is worth it to keep following Christ.
Now, let me ask you, what does a believer who is struggling with obedience and endurance need?
(You could say, “A swift kick in the pants” – and they’ll get that too)
But obedience and endurance are elements of faith, and what is the power that fuels our faith? – HOPE
These battered believers need hope that their struggle won’t be in vain.
Now before the hope comes the “swift kick in the pants”
(VERSES 1-8)
Without spending too much time here,
The preacher vents his frustration for their spiritual apathy and lethargy.
They are quitting, they are stopping, and the preacher pulls no punches
In telling them that this would be a mistake of the largest proportion.
You don’t confess Christ and then turn away from Him.
That is the sin of apostasy and it is impossible
To renew that person to repentance.
A person who fully understands the gospel
And chooses to reject it anyway cannot be saved.
That is a sobering warning. (“A swift kick in the pants”)
But notice the preacher soften the blow a little because after all what he really wants them to have is what? HOPE
(VERSE 9)
He just told them of the grim reality for those who fall away, but then says, “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things which accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.”
• We don’t really think you are the quitting kind.
• We don’t really think you are going to turn away from Christ.
• We think you really are saved and that you really do have faith.
I’m kicking you in the tail here, but understand
I don’t think you are that kind of phony.
I don’t think you are worthless ground that needs to be burned.
WHY DOES HE NOT THINK THAT?
(VERSE 10)
He thinks they are really saved
Because of the fruit he has seen from them in the past.
He saw their love and ministry for the saints.
And he is convinced that they really are saved.
So he thinks they are saved, but they are also afraid and discouraged.
WHAT DO THEY NEED? HOPE
(VERSE 11-12)
Remember how diligent you were to minister to the saints?
Well, show that same diligence in trying to understand your hope.
Why does he want them to have hope?
“so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
He thought they were true believers, but they were “sluggish” believers.
WHY WERE THEY SLUGGISH?
They had no hope
Incidentally, if you are a sluggish believer without obedience and endurance
Then one of true things is true.
Either you’re not a believer or you’re a believer who has lost sight of hope
And to give these sluggish believers hope,
Guess what passage he chooses to teach them?
Yep, Genesis 22:15-17
These next verses are the commentary on Genesis 22:15-17.
I’d preach them to you, but we are better served
To let the writer of Hebrews teach them to you.
And you will notice that the main thing the writer of Hebrews seizes upon
Is that God made an oath to Abraham.
(VERSES 13-15)
There it is.
God made an oath.
Now, God swore by Himself why?
Because He could swear by no one greater.
• People today say, “I swear to God”
• Well, God had no one greater He could swear by, so He swore by Himself.
And He swore, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you” (Genesis 22:17)
And the writer of Hebrews wants to expound on that a little bit for you.
(16) “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.”
The writer is explaining why men take oaths upon themselves.
Oaths are mean to settle disputes.
“dispute” translates ANTILOGIA
“to speak against”
• In some places the word is translated “hostility”
• In other places it is translated “rebellion”
• In other places it is translated “contradicting”
The point is that men are in disagreement, and they don’t believe each other.
There is distrust regarding what is being said or promised.
And in order to get someone who doesn’t believe you to believe you,
You say, “I swear”
That is the purpose of the oath, to cause doubters to believe
That what you are saying is in fact true.
(17) “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,”
So there we read that just like men, God “interposed with an oath”
NOW THAT SEEMS STRANGE.
Is God prone to lying? No (in a minute you’ll see He can’t lie)
Does God need to swear? No
So why would God take an oath when His word is 100% credible?
(17) “desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose…”
The only reason God took an oath
Is because He wanted the heirs of the promise to know
Beyond the shadow of a doubt that He would not change His mind.
He knew He wouldn’t change His mind
He wanted Abraham to know He wouldn’t change His mind
(18) “so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
What a great encouragement!
“two unchangeable things”
1) God can’t lie
2) God took an oath
By those two things God was strongly encouraging us to go ahead and “take hold of the hope set before us.”
In other words don’t hesitate to have hope.
Its setting right there in front of you, grab it.
To make sure you have hope, God took an oath
PLEASE – PLEASE – PLEASE have hope!
That is what the writer of Hebrews wants these sluggish believers to have
• They need hope to face the persecution
• They need hope to face the hardship
• They need to know that their suffering is not in vain
• They need to know that God will do for them what He promised
Please – Please – Please have hope!
(19-20) “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
And there he tells them the importance of their hope:
It is “an anchor of the soul”
He tells them the RELIABILITY of their hope:
“both sure and steadfast”
He tells them then the POWER of their hope:
“one which enters within the veil”
I want you to have this hope because it will anchor your soul
What is this hope?
Well, for Abraham and his descendants
• It was the hope of the land,
• The hope of God’s favor,
• The hope of multiplied descendants.
In short, it was the hope of an inheritance.
AND IT IS THE SAME FOR US.
Look at what Scripture says our hope is:
Galatians 5:5 “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”
Colossians 1:27 “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Colossians 1:5 “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel”
1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Titus 1:2 “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,”
Titus 3:7 “so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Our hope is nothing less than eternal life and the guarantee of it.
And the security of our hope is that
Jesus has entered the veil and protects that hope for us.
And the writer of Hebrews wanted them to know this.
GOD HAS SWORN YOUR HOPE IS SECURE!
And to carry out the application, that means:
• You don’t have to fear the consequences of obedience.
• You don’t have to fear the consequences of endurance.
GOD HAS SWORN HE WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND
ABOUT GIVING YOU YOUR INHERITANCE!
Have hope! You are secure!
Abraham, you are a worshiper of Me, and I want you to now have hope, because I swear that I will not change My mind about what I promised you!
That is the permanence of the blessing.
#2 THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE BLESSING
Genesis 22:18-19
Now, this is important.
Don’t miss this.
• We read a passage in Genesis about God making a promise to Abraham (the father of the Jews)
• And then we read a passage in Hebrews (written to Jews) about the guaranteed promise.
The obvious question is:
WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH A BUNCH OF GENTILES?
I’m not a Jew
I’m not a direct descendant of Abraham
This is where you need to step up and pay attention.
Verse 18 indicates that the blessing isn’t just for Jews alone.
(18) “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
As a Gentile I can share the blessing.
As a Gentile I can be blessed with an inheritance as well.
So what do I need to do?
• Do I become Jewish?
• Do I become a Jewish activist?
• Do I start defending Israel?
Well, again let’s read a commentary on the passage.
TURN TO: Galatians 3
Now we won’t spend as much time here as we did in Hebrews.
Partly because those of you coming on Sunday nights have recently studied this passage since Galatians is our Sunday night study.
In the book of Galatians we have a group of Gentiles
Trying to answer the very question I just asked you.
As a Gentile, how do I partake in the blessing that God made to Abraham?
Well, you should know that some Jews came along
And told them that they had to become Jewish.
They told them to get circumcised and get under the Law.
But Paul is wholeheartedly refuting that and clarifying that
You do not partake of the blessing to Abraham by becoming Jewish.
Then how do you partake of it?
Look at verse 16.
“Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”
WOW!
That is great commentary on the Old Testament passage.
That means if in Genesis 22:18 it is translated “In your descendants”
Then you need to mark out that “s” on the end of “descendants”,
Because the translators got it wrong.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT?
Because Paul here clearly says that God DID NOT make that promise
To Abraham and all of his descendants.
God only made that promise to Abraham and 1 of His descendants.
And that descendant was who? – Christ
You say, well now you’re losing me preacher.
If that promise is only for those two then how do I get it?
Well, you certainly don’t get it by becoming Jewish
(the promise wasn’t for them)
You only get it through Christ.
I become a partaker of the promise when I am “in Him”
Look down in Galatians 3 to verse 29.
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
I become and heir of that promise
When I die to myself and am raised to life in Christ.
• The hope of glory…
• The hope of righteousness…
• The hope of salvation…
• The hope of eternal life…
That’s not hope you get by becoming Jewish.
That’s hope you get when you die to self and give your life to Christ.
How does the song go?
“My hope is built on nothing less than _____________________and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on _______________”
“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
“His oath, HIS COVENANT, His blood, support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”
“When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then ________________, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”
“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
DO YOU SEE IT?
• There is a promise…
• There is a blessing…
• There is an inheritance…
God gives it to everyone who is in Christ.
And when you are in Christ, God promises, God swears, God takes an oath, that He will not change His mind about giving it to you.
No matter what you face, not matter what you endure,
Stay strong, the inheritance is yours!
HAVE HOPE!
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
• We know that through Jesus we have peace with God
• We know that through Jesus we stand in grace
• We know that through Jesus we will receive the glory of God
And because of that “we exult in hope”
And as Paul said – HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!
• Can I tell you to have hope this morning?
• Can I beg you to take hold of the hope set before you?
• Can I plead with you to take hold of Jesus?
Can I promise you that no matter what you face,
If you are in Christ, God will not change His mind?
God says, because you are in My Son, the inheritance is yours,
I will give it to you, I promise, I swear!
Friends, no matter what this life holds for me,
• I know I’m going to heaven when I die.
• I will not lose my salvation.
• I cannot lose my salvation.
• God won’t let me lose my salvation.
See, my soul has an anchor.
• It is an anchor that is “sure and steadfast”
• It is an anchor that is hooked gripping behind the veil
• MY ANCHOR IS JESUS AND HE WILL NOT LET ME GO
And if you are in Christ, He won’t let you go either.
Now, don’t be sluggish
Don’t be lazy
Don’t be a doubter
But instead rise up, have faith, be obedient, and persevere!
Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
