The Sacrificial Worship of Abraham (Genesis 22:1-19)
The Sacrificial Worship of Abraham
Genesis 22:1-19
June 8, 2014
Well, as we study through the book of Genesis,
This morning we come to the one of the most familiar stories.
When asked to name the major stories of Genesis, many would name creation, the fall, the flood, and then this story.
It is memorable to us because it is in many ways shocking to us.
For without a doubt we see a level of faith here
That can tend to blow the mind.
God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac back to him, and Abraham obeys.
It is no small sacrifice and indeed it is no small amount of faith.
And after reading a story like this we would rightly say that
Abraham is called “The Father of Faith”
And this morning that faith is put on display in such a magnificent way as we see a very fitting step taken by Abraham.
And that step is WORSHIP
I have told you repeatedly that Abraham’s life is a picture of salvation.
• We saw God’s grace in his life
• We saw Abraham respond with faith
• We saw God grant righteousness to Abraham
• We saw Abraham obey in the covenant through circumcision
• And we’ve seen God pruning and working on Abraham to grow his faith
And all of those things are so vitally important to the Christian life.
However, one thing has yet to be seen in its finest form
And that is worship.
Now, I’m not saying that Abraham has yet to worship…
When he finally arrived in Canaan and God told him he was home:
Genesis 12:7 “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.”
When Abraham was rescued out of Egypt, the first place he went to was that altar.
Genesis 13:3-4 “He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”
After Abraham separated from Lot and God reiterated the promise to him:
Genesis 13:18 “Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.”
Later after Abraham rescued Lot with the help of the Lord, Abraham was met by God’s priest and:
Genesis 14:20a “He gave him a tenth of all.”
Even last week after Isaac was born and Abraham settled down in the land, Scripture says:
Genesis 21:33 “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.”
So I’m not saying that Abraham has yet to worship.
What I am saying is that, until now,
Moses has not chosen to focus on that aspect of Abraham’s life.
Moses has highlighted grace
Moses has highlighted faith
Moses has highlighted justification
Moses has highlighted growth
THIS MORNING MOSES HIGHLIGHTS WORSHIP
This chapter is all about worship.
In fact, this chapter contains the first use of the word “worship”.
NOW, JUST BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION,
I hope you understand the absolute necessity of worship.
It is not exaggeration to say that we were created to worship God.
God created man that they might worship Him,
And yet as a result of sin and the fall,
Mankind failed to give God the glory He deserves.
Romans 1:21-23 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
Failing to worship God is a grievous sin.
We are saved, we are redeemed, that we might worship Him.
In fact, you may not realize it,
But worship is where this whole thing is headed.
1 Corinthians 15:28 “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”
After Christ conquers every enemy (the last of which is death)
Everything is then subjected to God “so that God may be all in all”
When Revelation gives us a glimpse of heaven,
What is it we continually find the saints of heaven doing? WORSHIPING
Worship is where it is all headed.
The point being that if you call yourself a believer,
But your life is void of worship, then you are either not a believer,
Or your life is so off course that you are in need of revival.
WORSHIP IS THAT IMPORTANT AND THAT REVEALING.
We live in a day when people attribute church attendance as worship.
We live in a day when people attribute singing in church to worship.
And those certainly aren’t bad things.
But do not assume that involvement in religion equals a life of worship.
This morning Moses is going to show Israel what true worship looks like.
For when Moses wanted to display worship in Abraham’s life,
• He did not highlight the altars Abraham built,
• He did not highlight the tithes Abraham paid,
• He did not highlight the songs Abraham sang.
When Moses wanted to put the worship of Abraham on display,
He included this one phenomenal story in which Abraham worshiped God.
How did Abraham worship?
He gave the one thing that mattered most to him.
Let’s work our way through this story this morning
And see if we can’t discover what worship is, and how we can give it.
There are 6 things I want you to see
#1 THE PREPARATION OF THE WORSHIPER
Genesis 22:1a
“Now it came about after these things…”
I realize that this is a transitional statement, but I can’t think of a single time in Scripture were a transitional statement needed to be analyzed like this one.
No doubt when you read in a moment that God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, it causes a great deal of shock to you.
I mean, after all:
• Isn’t killing your children wrong?
• Would God actually ask you to commit a sin such as this?
• How could God ask something so costly of Abraham?
• Why would God ask something like this of Abraham?
• Would God ever ask something like this of me?
I mean really the story can be quite troubling.
And if you start of the story without these 7 words
Your theology is about to go into a tailspin.
You cannot start reading Genesis in this chapter
And understand this story.
God did not introduce Himself to Abraham
And immediately ask him to sacrifice his son.
This story occurs at least 27 years after God revealed Himself to Abraham.
Now what exactly are “these things” that this request occurred “after”?
• Well, God spoke to Abraham and led him out of Ur into Canaan
• God protected Abraham when he left Canaan for Egypt
• God removed Lot reminding Abraham that he would have a son
• God promised Abraham that Sarah would have a son
• Even when Abraham just asked for God to bless Ishmael, God said, “no”
• God gave Abraham that promised son
• God told Abraham to send Ishmael away to make room for Isaac
For the past 27 years God has relentlessly driven
This one fact into Abraham’s brain.
You will have a son through Sarah named Isaac
And through Isaac I am going to make you the father of a multitude.
If God has told him that once, He’s told him that a million times.
God has said it, resaid it, promised it and promised it again.
God has reiterated it over and over and God has refused to let anything mess it up.
At every turn God has said, “It’s Isaac, It’s Isaac, It’s Isaac, It’s Isaac”
And finally in chapter 21 Abraham said, “Oh, now I get it, it’s Isaac”
And Abraham sent Ishmael away.
So now it is time to find out if Abraham really believes that or not.
Were it not for the previous 27 years we would have every reason in the world
To wonder why Abraham would consent to such a request.
But God had spent 27 years preparing Abraham for this.
God had prepared Abraham for this moment repeatedly.
The Preparation of…
#2 THE PROPOSITION TO THE WORSHIPER
Genesis 22:1-2
Wow, there it is.
God approaches Abraham and requests that Abraham give Him his son.
Now first let me remind you that worship
Is not about you giving God what you want to give Him,
But rather you giving God what He wants from you.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Did you notice that “acceptable to God” phrase?
In Scripture there are two kinds of worship
Acceptable Worship & Unacceptable Worship
Acceptable Worship
Worshiping the true God in the right way.
Unacceptable worship
Idolatry – worshiping the wrong God
Hypocrisy – worshiping the true God in the wrong way
That is when we come and pretend to worship God,
But do so in a manner that He does not desire.
Isaiah 1:11-17 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”
Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. “But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”
The point is that Israel’s history was not only littered with idolatry
(worship to the wrong god)
But Israel’s history was also littered with hypocrisy
(false worship to the true God)
It matters that when you come to worship God
That you worship Him in the manner which He has prescribed.
You don’t approach Him giving Him what you want,
You approach Him giving Him what He wants.
And Moses would drive this in to the minds of the children of Israel.
Have you ever read Leviticus?
Have you ever noticed the specific nature of that book?
Every feast, every sacrifice, every offering came with specific instructions.
• How you present it
• How you kill it
• How you eat it
• What you do with it
• What you wear when you do it
• VERY SPECIFIC
The point is that God is very specific as to what He wanted, and if it is your desire to worship Him, then you give precisely what He desires.
Well here, God wants Abraham’s son.
And please notice that God realizes that this is a big request.
“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
God wants what is most important to Abraham.
This is always true of God.
• He asked James and John to leave their father…
• He asked the Rich Young Ruler to leave his wealth…
• He asked the woman caught in adultery to leave her sin…
• He asked Paul to leave his reputation…
• He asked Matthew to leave his job…
And here he wants Abraham to give the son that he loves.
The Preparation of the Worshiper, The Proposition to…
#3 THE PROMPTNESS OF THE WORSHIPER
Genesis 22:3-6
This really is quite amazing.
There isn’t one shred of argument coming from Abraham here.
Not only did he go, but he “rose early”.
There is no arguing – There is no grumbling – There is no complaining
Philippians 2:14 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing;”
Abraham was happy to give God what God requested.
It was a three day journey to Moriah, and when God showed Abraham the place where the deed was to be done, you must love Abraham’s statement.
(5-6) “Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 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 the two of them walked on together.”
“we will worship and return to you”
Abraham knew immediately what this request was all about.
• The God who had called him
• The God who had saved him
• The God who had protected him
• The God who had blessed him
NOW WANTED WORSHIP FROM HIM
And Abraham did not hesitate to give it.
IN FACT, THIS TYPE OF WORSHIP WAS ABRAHAM’S DUTY.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
My version calls this act, “your spiritual service of worship”
If you read that same verse in the King James it says,
“which is your reasonable service”
We read God’s request and instantly we think it was over the top.
We tend to think God asked for too much here.
DID GOD ASK FOR TOO MUCH?
Was it too great a thing for God to ask for the son that He had given?
• Abraham wouldn’t be in this land if it weren’t for God
• Abraham wouldn’t still have Sarah if it weren’t for God
• Abraham wouldn’t have this son if it weren’t for God
If you want to know the truth, this request was not too high.
I’m not saying it would be easy, but it is not out of line.
Might I remind you that God asks no less from every one of us?
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”
Abraham isn’t the only believer who was ever asked to lose a child.
• I could read you stories about martyrs who watched their children killed
• We could talk to parents who had to surrender their children to live on the mission field
• We could even talk to some who lost their children to accident and God requested that they love Him anyway.
Abraham was not the first, nor the last to receive such a request,
And it is important for you to understand
That God was not out of line in asking for it.
GOD DESERVED THIS.
In fact, there is nothing you could give God that He does not deserve.
Abraham is here giving God
What God requested and what God deserves.
Are you beginning to understand a little bit about worship?
If you think it is nothing more than the songs you sing on Sunday
Or the dollar you put in the plate, you are greatly missing the point.
Worship is when you give God what matters most to you.
In reality it is when you give God full right to your heart.
You are telling God, “I have no other idols.”
There is nothing in my heart more important than You.
It is to say with Asaph:
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
Asaph said I don’t value anything as much as I value God.
And if God wants anything in my life, He can have it.
A parent…A child…A job…A reputation…A city
God requested worship of Abraham,
And Abraham is prompt to give it because God certainly deserves it.
#4 THE POISE OF THE WORSHIPER
Genesis 22:7-8
Here is the “heart string” portion of the story.
At this point Isaac catches on that something is wrong.
“My father…Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
And you absolutely have to love Abraham’s answer.
(8) “Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.”
What an awesome answer!
If Abraham had learned anything up to this point,
It was that God is the provider.
Where would Abraham be without God?
What would Abraham have without God?
27 years of living in tents as an alien in the land of promise
Had no doubt taught Abraham that God can provide.
Furthermore Abraham knew that God was not cheap.
At no point in the life of Abraham have we ever seen God
Approaching Abraham to get something from him.
When God sent Abraham into Canaan
It wasn’t one of those tricky “time share” seminars.
God has been nothing but the giver in this story.
Abraham didn’t know what was going to happen, but he had walked with God long enough to know that God had it covered.
I like the insight from Hebrews.
Hebrews 11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”
“He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead…”
He didn’t know how God would do it, but he knew God would.
God had promised that it was through Isaac and God had never failed yet,
So even if God had to raise Isaac from the dead, Abraham knew He would.
And listen, think about worship for a second.
THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS GOD COULD ASK YOU TO PRESENT TO HIM.
• Is there anything God could ask for that He hasn’t first given you?
• Is there anything God could ask for that He couldn’t give back to you?
• Is there anything God could ask for that He couldn’t compensate?
Want some examples?
Listen to the disciples as they watched the Rich Young Ruler walk away
Matthew 19:27-29 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
Remember Hannah?
1 Samuel 1:23-28 “Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the LORD confirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli. She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD. “For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him. “So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.”
1 Samuel 2:21 “The LORD visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.”
Even Job willingly chose to worship God after he lost his children
And we read at the end of the book:
Job 42:16-17 “After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. And Job died, an old man and full of days.”
We’re not saying that losing things isn’t tough.
But we are saying that there is nothing you can surrender to God
That He can’t give back or reimburse.
And in the Bible I read, God always does.
Abraham knows that and he isn’t worried.
God is a provider, and he may not know where the lamb will come from,
But he is confident it will come from somewhere.
Don’t get stingy when it comes time to worship God.
The Preparation, The Proposition, The Promptness, The Poise
#5 THE PROVISION FOR THE WORSHIPER
Genesis 22:9-14
God provided just as Abraham expected.
Abraham was about to kill his son, and God sent an angel
To stop Abraham from carrying out the deal.
(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.”
“for now I know that you fear God”
That fear is the reverential awe we often talk about.
It is another term for “worship”
After this moment is there any doubt that Abraham loves God?
Is there any doubt that Abraham desires to worship God?
Is there any question as to whether Abraham has idols in his heart?
No, Abraham is indeed a true worshiper.
And incidentally you must notice that
God never intended for Abraham to kill Isaac.
God didn’t want Isaac, God wanted Abraham.
And just as Abraham suspected, God provided the sacrifice.
(13-14) “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
The whole time Abraham was climbing that mountain
This ram was going up the other side.
God was providing.
And Scripture says “Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide”
Do you know what “that place” was? (Mt. Moriah)
2 Chronicles 3:1 “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”
“that place” is where the temple would be built.
“that place” is where Israel would sacrifice.
And it was just outside of “that place” where our Lord was crucified.
God wasn’t after Isaac, God was after Abraham.
And all God wanted was his heart – God provided everything else.
And friends, that is the point of worship.
God doesn’t want your kids, or your land, or your money
(He gave all those things)
GOD JUST WANTS YOUR HEART
And He wants to know if you love Him for Him
Or if you just love the things He gives you.
And one final point
#6 THE PREFERENCE FOR THE WORSHIPER
Genesis 22:15-19
God is pleased with a man who worships Him.
John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
• To worship “in spirit” indicates that you have a desire to do it.
• To worship “in truth” indicates that you do it the way God prescribed.
Abraham obviously did both.
And here we learn that “such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers”
God is pleased with worshipers like that.
Have you ever considered David’s life?
With all the mistakes David made in life, why was God so enamored with David?
Because David loved to worship God as God required.
That is also true for Abraham and as you read these verses
You can feel the delight that God has in him.
God can’t seem to bless Abraham enough.
GOD LOVES TO BE WORSHIPED!
The irony of the story is that God asked for Abraham’s son
And yet never allowed Abraham to give him.
And yet, it was in fact God who did give His only Son,
Whom He loved as an act of love toward us.
We think we are being robbed when God asks worship from us,
When the reality is that we will never be able to give more
Than He has already given.
Shame on us when hold idols in our hearts.
This story proves the great faith and the pure heart of Abraham.
In fact, I can confidently say that the depth of your faith
Is directly proportional to the height of your worship.
If your worship is shallow, so is your faith
And God deserves more
He deserves all that He might ask for
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Well, this morning we come to the table of the Lord
To remind ourselves again just how much worship God deserves.
He asked Abraham for his son,
And yet in the end it was not Abraham,
But God who sacrificed His own Son.
It was God who provided
• Isaac should have been the sacrifice, but he wasn’t.
• Instead there was a Lamb, wearing thorns, who took Isaac’s place.
And the reasons God deserves worship just continue to be revealed.
This morning we come to the Lord’s Supper
To remember why God deserves everything you could ever give Him.
We come to remember why God deserves your whole heart.
We come to remember why God deserves all your worship.
We are going to have a time of preparation, and then we’ll partake.
