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You may turn in your Bibles this 
morning to Genesis chapter 22. Genesis chapter 22, we'll be 
looking at Abraham's faith in God's promise. Genesis chapter 
22, probably a familiar portion of scripture to each of us. We'll 
look at the teaching of the text and then notice specifically 
some of the lessons and the typology. Typology refers to those figures 
or symbols that are lightened in the Old Testament that point 
to realities in the New Testament. And certainly, the bare reading 
of Genesis chapter 22 does suggest many of those to our minds as 
we consider the cross of our Lord Jesus. I'll just pick up 
reading in Genesis 22 at verse 1. It came to pass after these 
things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, And 
he said, Here I am. Then he said, Take now 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. So Abraham rose early in the 
morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men 
with him and Isaac his son. And he split the wood for the 
burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God 
had told him. Then on the third day, Abraham 
lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to 
his young men, stay here with the donkey. The lad and I will 
go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you. So Abraham 
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. 
And he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and the two of them 
went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham, his 
father, and said, my father. And he said, here I am, my son. Then he said, look, the fire 
and the wood. Where is the lamb for a burnt 
offering? And Abraham said, my son, God will provide for himself 
the lamb for a burnt offering. So the two of them went together. 
Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham 
built an altar there and placed the wood in order. And he bound 
Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And 
Abraham stretched out his son and took the knife his son. The angel of the Lord called 
to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. So he said, 
Here I am. And he said, Do not lay your 
hand on the lad or do anything to him. For now I know that you 
fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only 
son, from me. Then Abraham lifted his eyes 
and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket 
by its horns. So Abraham went and took the 
ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 
And Abraham called the name of the place the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day, in 
the mount of the Lord it shall be provided. Then the angel of 
the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said, 
By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done 
this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son. blessing 
I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants 
as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess 
the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations 
of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. 
So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together 
to Beersheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Amen. We often think we have 
problems, and then we read about a man like Abraham, and I hope 
it puts it all into perspective for us. We need to make sure 
that we don't divorce this passage from the rest of the life of 
Abraham. In Genesis chapter 12, the initial 
call of Abram was for him to get out of his country, to leave 
his family, to leave his father's house, and to go to a land that 
God would show him. We see Abraham's immediate obedience, 
so Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went 
with him. We remember that Abraham had 
a son by the bondwoman named Ishmael. And back in chapter 
21, or just in chapter 21, prior to chapter 22, Sarah said that 
the bondwoman and the son had to leave. Well, Abraham had love 
for his son Ishmael. says, and the matter was very 
displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son. He had to 
leave everything that he knew, everything that he loved, and 
obey God. And then when he has a son called 
Ishmael, that son is cast out. And of course he is displeased 
and saddened by this. God, however, says, don't be 
displeased. Don't let it be distressing to 
you. It will be. fact that the promise 
will be ratified and confirmed in Isaac. But nevertheless, there's 
a human element there where there was pain in Abraham's life. And 
certainly that pain came to a pinnacle here at Mount Moriah. And there are in this section, 
it breaks down to the three main parts. The first is the presentation 
of the test in verses one and two. Secondly, the obedience 
of Abraham in verses three to ten. and then the approval by 
God in verses 11 to 19. Let's notice, first of all, the 
presentation of the test in verses 1 and 2. Moses, I believe, wrote 
the book of Genesis under the inspiration of the Spirit, announces 
to us, the reader, in verse 1, that this was, in fact, a test. He is not telling us that God 
now demands child sacrifice. Verse 1 makes it very clear what's 
in view here. This test is designed to prove 
the quality of Abraham's faith. We are not to conclude at this 
point that God has become like Moloch, that God has become like 
the gods of the pagans, that he now desires child sacrifice. That is not what is in view here. But we do need to remember that 
Abraham didn't know it was a test. We read it. We're in tune with 
what's going on. But as far as Abraham knew, he 
was to take his son to Mount Moriah and to cut his throat 
and offer him up as a sacrifice before the Lord God Most High. We have seen Abraham called to 
leave his land, his country, his family, his father's house. 
We see his grief over having lost Ishmael. And as one commentator 
says that this scene, chapter 22, presents the radical nature 
of true faith. Tremendous demands and incredible 
blessings. He is told to go to the land 
of Moriah, which later revelation tells us is the place where Aaronah, 
the Jebusite, had a threshing floor, and David built an altar 
there to worship God. It would be, according to 2 Chronicles 
3 and verse 1, the site of Solomon's temple. So, this Mount Moriah 
would fare later in biblical revelation as a place of much 
sacrifice. And then notice specifically 
the object of sacrifice, verse 2. Take now your son, your only 
son Isaac, whom you love. It's interesting that Isaac was 
the son of promise. Isaac was Abraham's only son, 
not alone, but only in terms of the preeminent one, the favored 
one, just like Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God, 
the Father Most High. Only Son is repeated in the narrative 
three times. Son is repeated about ten times. And I think Walt, he's right. 
The emphasis is inescapable. Abraham faces a monumental task. It is set before the reader constantly 
that this is one of the most intimate of human relationships, 
a father and his son and their love for one another. We don't 
know how old Isaac was in this particular event or in this account. 
Some speculate he was around 13. Others speculate that he 
was about 20. I would guess that he was in 
his later teens. He was strong enough to bear 
up wood on his body and to take it up the hill to Moriah. So probably in his teenage years, 
certainly the bond between Abraham and Isaac was very strong. Now, let us look secondly at 
the obedience of Abraham, where we'll spend a bit more time. 
The first thing to notice is the preparation. The preparation 
involved. You've got to realize Moses writes 
here to get us into it. I mentioned last Sunday, we're 
not supposed to just read our Bibles and not think. We're not 
supposed to just kick off our day timer that we read today, 
or that we tell our parents, yeah, I read today, or we tell 
our husband or wife, yeah, I read today. The text, the narrative 
is laced with meaning and with power. It is to affect us as 
we read. There is to be anguish. There 
is to be identification. There is to be a bit of holy 
imagination. What did they consider on that 
three-day journey to Moriah? I mean, these things are in here 
for us to consider. But the first thing, with reference 
to the preparation, is there is a lack of discussion. We see 
in verse 3, So Abraham rose early in the morning. Remember back 
in the time of Ishmael, God had said, this is not the son of 
promise in Genesis 17. And Moses says, oh, that it could 
be Ishmael. And I'm sorry, Abraham said, 
oh, that it could be Ishmael. God says, no, there will be another 
son, the son of promise. So Abraham, as it were, dialogued 
with God. Remember when God comes to destroy 
Sodom and Gomorrah, what does Abraham do? He dialogues with 
God. He finds righteous men in the 
city. Will you spare the city? There's no dialogue here. Perhaps 
this is Moses' indicator that Abraham's faith has come to that 
place where he doesn't even ask questions anymore. He just early 
in the morning departs and does what he is told. Notice the specific 
preparation. This is interesting. Abraham 
rose early in the morning, verse 3, saddled his donkey, took two 
of his young men with him and Isaac, his son. And he split 
the wood for the burnt offering and rose and went to the place 
of which God had told him. That's interesting. He saddled 
his donkey, got the servants, got Isaac, and then went and 
split the wood. This would be the equivalent 
of us turning on our cars and then going into the garage to 
gather up the supplies that we were going to get. We wouldn't 
do that, would we? Why? Because gas is 85 cents 
a liter. We're too cheap to part with 
any gas. But logistically, we usually 
gather up our supplies, put it in the car, start the car, and 
then go. It's kind of a backwards order 
here. He saddles up the donkey, gets the people ready, and then 
he goes to split the wood? Why does he do the splitting 
of the wood at the end? I think there's two suggestions. One is that distress causes confusion. Distress causes confusion. The general rule, if you're thinking 
about plunging a knife into the throat or the heart of your son, 
You're not thinking orderly. A second suggestion might be 
that he put off to the end the grim reminder of the task that 
was ahead of him. That's the last thing he wanted 
to take was the wood, because he knew what that wood meant. 
It meant the burnt offering. It meant the binding of Isaac. 
It meant the driving of the knife into his son. Notice the journey. And the Bible highlights the 
divine direction of God. This is not something that Abraham 
does in an attempt to appease God. We see that he arose and 
went to the place of which God had told him. God is in divine 
control of this whole scenario. Notice that it is a three-day 
journey, verse 4. Then on the third day, Abraham 
lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. John Calvin is perceptive. He writes, for God does not require 
him to put his son immediately to death, but compels him to 
revolve this execution in his mind during three whole days. That in preparing himself to 
sacrifice his son, he may still more severely torture all his 
own senses. It's a three-day journey. Remember, 
they're not going camping. They're not going to a sporting 
event. They're not driving to the Super Bowl. They're not going 
on holiday. They're going to Moriah, where 
Abraham is tasked with killing his son. I think Calvin's absolutely 
right. That three day journey was a 
time of great torment for this godly man, Abraham. Notice the 
instruction to the servants that Abraham gives in verses five, 
And following, Abraham said to his young men, stay here with 
the donkey. Interesting, huh? He brings his 
servants to stay here. He brings his servants simply 
to stay there. The servants are brought along 
to be left behind. This is their function, a very 
strange one in any narrative. Characters who are introduced 
solely in order to take no part in it. It compounds our sense 
of Abraham's isolation. He's not taking his servants 
up Moriah. Abraham must leave everything behind. His lonely 
journey up that mountain symbolizes the lonely, lonely psychological 
journey of faith to the place of sacrifice. And notice how 
he refers to Isaac here. It's not my son, it's the lad. What's Abraham doing? He's probably 
trying to detach himself a little bit. He knows what's going to 
happen. He's not calling him my son in 
this instance. He says the lad. There's a bit 
of a distance now between the two of them. But notice his assertion 
of great faith. He says the lad and I will return. 
We are going to worship. We will return to you. Notice, 
he says that at the end of verse five. We will come back to you. This is true faith, brothers 
and sisters. The book of Hebrews displays 
this activity of Abraham as a model of faith for the believer. Hebrews 
11, 19 tells us, by faith, Abraham did this, concluding that God 
was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he 
also received him in a figurative sense. So Abraham is convinced 
that he goes to Moriah, he will return with Isaac, even if it 
means the Lord God will raise Isaac from the dead after he 
has acted in faith to sacrifice him. And then notice the sacrifice 
itself in verses six to ten. The preparation. Abraham took 
the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. Isaac wasn't a five-year-old. 
He was able to bear up under the weight of wood, enough for 
sacrifice. Abraham took the fire and the 
knife to carry out the sacrifice. What's going on in his mind here? It's got to be one of the most 
distressing times in the life of one of God's people. So we 
often look at Abraham as the model of faith, but we don't 
look at the events and the instances and the record that puts him 
in that category. I'm here to tell you, brothers 
and sisters, you will never increase in faith when everything goes 
well. It's just not going to happen. 
The only way you will increase in faith is by God turning up 
the heat. We want to just sail into heaven 
without any, any problem whatsoever. We want to say, oh, yea and amen 
for men like Abraham. But should God ever come to test 
us, why me, Lord? No hint of that whatsoever in 
the account of Abraham. Not one bit of complaint. Not 
one word of challenge. Why are you doing this to me? 
He doesn't. He's pressed. It's through many 
tribulations we'll enter the kingdom of God. I realize we 
don't like that. I understand that doesn't feel 
good. I understand. I'm right there 
at the top of the list. I want everything to go well. 
I'd be lying to you if I said I want problems, I want distress, 
I want difficulties. I really love it. I have sort 
of a sick fascination when everything just goes miserably. That's not the Christian life. I think 21st century North Americans 
need to get back to the Bible. We've had it way too good for 
way too long, and at the very smallest suggestion that there 
may be a rumble in the road, oh my, we just agree. I can't even begin to enter in 
to laying wood on my son's back. taking a knife and taking fire 
so that I can ascend to Moriah and put a knife in him. I can't get there. I mean, I'd 
like to have some meditation and some thought on all this. 
I'd like to roll it around in my head, wonder what went on, 
what was going on in the minds, but to identify with Abraham? 
I can't do it. Notice the question. Why is he 
spoke to Abram and his father and said, my father. And he said, 
here I am, my son. Father and son again to remind 
us of the gravity of the situation. Isaac's a perceptive young man, 
isn't he? We've got the wood, father. We've 
got the fire. We've got the knife. We have everything for the sacrifice, 
father. But where's the lamb? And this is time for theology. You wouldn't think, on the way 
up Moriah, Abraham would be interested in teaching theology, but that's 
what he's doing. See, Abraham likes theology. 
All the people in the Bible like theology. All the good people. 
The sinners don't like theology. Sinners, they hate. And when 
I say sinner, I mean the unredeemed sinner. They hate theology. But 
notice what Abraham does in verse 8. Abraham said, My son, God 
will provide for himself. It's the only way it would ever 
happen. God will provide for himself. Man can't provide. Man can't undertake. If there 
is peace between heaven and earth, it's because God provides. Because 
God is the God of initiative. God is the God of sovereignty. 
God is the God of power. Don't miss the emphasis of the 
text. My son, God will provide for 
himself the land for a burnt offering. So the two of them 
went together. Abraham's response from Isaac's 
perspective. What's Isaac do with this answer? Commentator says to Isaac, it 
must have sounded like evasion, but he said nothing and went 
up, went on up the mountain. The two of them went together. 
We are forced to conclude that he was naive and totally trusted 
his father, or that he now realized what was planned, yet he continued 
on up the mountain with his father. Either way, he was a perfect, 
blameless, sacrificial victim. Either he just, whatever you 
say, father, I'm sure there'll be a lamb or a ram up in the 
thicket, or he knew what was going on. And the text seems 
to hint that he knew what was going on. If he was big enough 
and strong enough to bear the wood for sacrifice on his back 
up Mount Moriah, certainly he could have withstood his aged 
father when he comes at him with the ropes to bind him. Isaac 
understands what's going on. And as the commentator says, 
either way, he presents himself as that blemish-free sacrifice 
that the Lord God requires. What about Abraham's response? 
Verse 8, My son, God, will provide for himself the land for a burnt 
offering from Abraham's perspective. Commentator Sailhammer answers, 
and I just read these guys because they hit it right on the head. 
He says, Abraham's words cast a new light on his silence. Amid 
the anguish that the reader has read into Abraham's silence, 
there is now also a silent confidence in the Lord who will provide. 
Abraham's words should not be understood as merely an attempt 
to calm the curious Isaac, but in light of the fact that they 
anticipate the actual outcome of the narrative, they are to 
be read as a confident expression of his trust in God. We come 
to verse 8 and we see that model of faith saying, I know that 
God will provide. God will undertake. Remember 
the whole context of the Abraham story in the Bible. The very 
calling of Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 is God's divine solution 
to the mess of Genesis 1 to 11. We see God make man upright, 
pristine, beautiful, given dominion over the creatures. And he plunges 
himself and his posterity into the depths of depravity. You 
see, in Genesis chapter 4, the very first family committing 
murder, brother against brother. You see, Genesis 5, the divine 
comment on God's promise that in the day you eat, you shall 
surely die. Genesis 5 is punctuated with 
those words, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he 
died. Genesis 6, God looks upon the 
earth and it looks similar to what it does today. It is exceedingly 
corrupt and filled with violence. There is nothing new under the 
sun. God sends a flood to destroy 
the earth except for Noah and his family. The post-Diluvian 
peoples want to build a tower. They want to build a place. They 
want to reach into heaven itself. to make a name for themselves. 
So God confounds their speech. What do we see? Genesis 3 to 
11. We see the depravity of man. 
Genesis 12 is marked by God's solution. The call of Abraham. Abraham knew theology. Abraham 
taught Isaac theology on the way up Mount Moriah. And then 
the act itself, verses 9 and 10. Then they came to the place 
of which God had told them. And Abraham built an altar there 
and placed the wood in order. And he bound Isaac, his son, 
and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Abraham's not a machine, 
brethren. Abraham's not just doing this 
without any recourse, without any thought whatsoever. Especially 
if Isaac is in the know and he's going along with it. It must 
have been filled with tears. This is what our God calls us 
to. This is what the judge of all the earth deems is right. We will submit. We will obey. We will give him his due. And 
notice, Abraham built an altar there. He binds his son, puts 
him on the altar. Abraham stretches out his hand, 
takes the knife to slay his son. He is going to carry out this 
sacrifice. He is going to drive the knife 
into the son, his only son, the son whom he loves. And then we come to the response, 
or the approval rather, of God. The angel of the Lord announces 
in verses 11 and 12, calls to him from heaven and says, Abraham, 
Abraham. So he said, here I am. It's the 
only thing Abraham says in this entire narrative twice to God, 
here I am. He says it when God initially 
comes in verse 1, to call him to go to Moriah, here I am. Now 
God or the angel of the Lord comes and addresses him and he 
says, here I am. Abraham sets a good precedence 
for godly men to follow. This is Samuel's response, here 
I am. This is Isaiah's response, here 
I am. This is the Lord Jesus' response, 
here I am. This is Paul's response. Here I am. This is the response 
of godly men when it comes to the Lord Most High. Here I am. 
Obedience. Service. Submission. Subordination. Not take someone 
else. Not are you sure. Here I am is 
the response that this godly man offers up. And then he responds. Now I know. He says, Do not lay 
your hand on the lad or do anything to him, for now I know that you 
fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only 
son, from me. James 2, 21 to 24, in James's 
argument there, he is highlighting that whether you're a patriarch 
or you're a prostitute, genuine biblical faith will be demonstrable. James tells us it was not this 
act which earned Abraham's salvation. Abraham believed God according 
to Genesis 15, and it was declared unto him as righteousness. It is Genesis 22 that demonstrates, 
that actualizes, that gives breath to the reality that he had in 
fact believed God and had been accounted as righteous. For now 
I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, 
your only son from me." Verse 13, the sacrifice is provided. Abraham's theology lesson in 
verse 8 comes true in verse 13. Abraham lifted his eyes and looked 
and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its thorns. 
So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt 
offering instead of his son. So the sacrifice is provided 
and the place is named Yahweh Yireh. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord 
will provide. Verse 14, Abraham called the 
name of the place. The Lord will provide, as it 
is said to this day in the mouth of the Lord, it shall be provided. Again, we just read that Abraham, 
you know, solemnly says the Lord will provide. Abraham was probably 
doing a jig. He was back flipping. He was 
dancing. He was singing. This is the place 
where the Lord will provide. He was going to bury a knife 
in his son, and the angel of the Lord says, don't. You don't 
respond by going, OK, the Lord will provide. You say, yes, the 
Lord will provide. The Lord has provided. The Lord 
is good. The Lord is merciful. The Lord 
is kind and gracious. And if sinners are ever to be 
saved, it must be by the Lord Himself. Yahweh Yireh is a statement, 
a testimony to the true and the living God that He does provide. And then the promise that God 
had given to Abraham in chapters 12 and 13 and 15 and 17 and 18 
is reconfirmed here. Essentially, that promise was 
threefold. Abraham would inherit a land. 
Abraham would inherit a seed. And Abraham would inherit blessing. 
It would be through Abraham that both circumcised and uncircumcised 
would be blessed in Jesus Christ. And that promise is reconfirmed 
here. by the Lord God most high to 
his servant Abraham. And we can say the promise is 
fulfilled precisely because God would provide himself the lamb 
of his own choosing. And that brings us to consider 
a couple of concluding thoughts. First, the faith of Abraham. This is the kind of faith that 
we need. This is the type of faith the 
church desperately needs. This is the kind of faith that 
Paul wrote of in Romans chapter 4. He says, Therefore it is of 
faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise 
might be sure to all the seed, and not only to those who are 
of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, 
who is the father of us all. As it is written, I have made 
you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom he 
believes. who gives life to the dead and calls those things which 
do not exist as though they did. One of my favorite statements 
in all the scriptures, Romans 4, 18, as it describes Abraham, 
who, contrary to hope, in hope believes. That's faith. It's easy to hope. It's easy 
to believe when everything's going right. You have a good job. You're a 
nice wife. Great kids, great house, great 
car. Gas is 75 cents a liter. No threat 
of economic disaster on the horizon. No threat of government encroachment 
in our lives. See, it's easier to have faith 
then. It's easier to have hope then. That's why it's been so important 
to study the mind of prophets in our Sunday evening services. 
Let's have an eye at what it's like to have hope. Contrary We'll 
ask Habakkuk what it's like to have hope, contrary to hope. See, this is a man of faith. 
True, contrary to hope, in hope he lives. Paul doesn't stop. Contrary to hope, in hope believes 
so that he became the father of many nations according to 
what was spoken, so shall your descendants be. and not being 
weak in faith, he did not consider his own body already dead, since 
he was about 100 years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 
He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but 
was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. Abraham was not 
perfect. You read the Genesis account, 
and you will see times where you go, come on, Abraham, you 
shouldn't do that. But the totality of his life is such that he is 
a model of biblical faith. Because in hope, or contrary 
to hope, in hope he believed. He believed God. He didn't waver 
at the promise of God through unbelief. I was in my own study 
in preparation for Zephaniah tonight. One of the commentators 
that I'm reading, he says, we'll trust God in matters of salvation. We will trust God in the matter 
of the forgiveness of sin. We trust God when it comes to 
Acts 16, 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. But when we're in a boat and 
the waves are knocking it and battering it and the tempest 
has come, we're crying out, Lord, will you help us? We'll trust 
him for eternal security. We're not in a temple life. Especially when his son has said, 
look at the birds, look at the flowers. Aren't you more valuable 
than they? Don't you merit on the scale 
a little more than a sparrow, PETA notwithstanding? Don't you 
merit more than those lilies in the field? Jesus didn't come 
to die for lilies and sparrows. He came to die for image bearers. He came to die for us. Why are 
you anxious? Why are you worried? What's the 
matter with you? Paul's whole argument, which 
we'll see in just a moment in Romans 8, where he likens God 
to Abraham in a sense, says if He has done the greater, delivering 
Him up for us all, how will He not with Him also freely give 
us all things? believed God. Secondly, the promise 
of God reconfirmed in this passage. I mentioned Genesis 12, 13, 15, 
17, 18. You know what you get as a refrain, as a pattern, as 
an anthem? I will bless. I will bless. I 
will bless. I will bless. I will bless. That's 
our God. I will bless. Abraham, through 
you, I'm going to bless all the nations. Abraham, through your 
seed, which later is identified specifically as Jesus, through 
your seed, I will bless all the families of the earth. Now remember, Abraham's a hunter. 
He already had a son, and he said, God, may it be Ishmael. 
God says, no, not Ishmael. It's going to be Isaac, the son 
you don't have yet. Lord, the equipment doesn't work 
like it used to. Lord, you're expecting things out of us that 
physiologically are impossible. Believe God. We talk about being Calvinists 
and reformed and theology and predestination and decree of 
God, and yet we carry on like the most feminized, Arminian, 
liberal-minded Christians that have no God. God has confirmed, according 
to Hebrews 6, 17, an oath to bless. See, when Jesus said, 
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it, He's not just throwing out something for consideration. 
If you want to believe it, believe it. He is speaking in a theological 
context of a promising God. Hebrews 6, 13, for when God made 
a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no one greater, 
he swore by himself. That's who God swears by. Saying, surely blessing I will 
bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you. And so after he 
had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear 
by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them, and 
end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show 
more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability or 
unchangeability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath that 
by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, 
we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay 
hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor 
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence 
behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, 
having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. We are to read Genesis 22. We 
are to sympathize and empathize and enter in with Abraham and 
the testing of his faith, such that we'll probably never have 
to go through. But what we are to come out on 
the other side with is a praising God for the fact that he will 
provide. And we on this side of Calvary ought to praise God 
that Yahweh, Yireh, is fulfilled at Calvary. The event itself 
pointed to the exodus. This is the typology. The event 
itself pointed to the exodus. Remember, Israel was to travel 
three days and worship God upon a mountain. The event pointed 
to the sacrificial system. When they left Egypt, they were 
to engage in tabernacle worship. They were to begin cutting up 
animals. They were to begin burning them 
in sacrifice and in offering to God. So this event in Genesis 
22 is a type of the exodus and the sacrificial system that would 
follow, which, of course, are fulfilled in hell. Abraham typifies 
God the Father. Both Abraham and God the Father 
are willing to part with their only son, son of their love. But this typification breaks 
down. It only goes so far. Abraham is going to bury his 
wife, but he doesn't have to. God the Father buries the wife. 
This is the thrust of Isaiah 53. Sometimes our delicate sensitivities 
cannot handle it, but it was easy for the Lord to crush the 
Son. That's what the text says. It 
pleased the Lord to bruise Him, putting Him to grief. Why? For 
us. For you and I. God carried through with the 
sacrifice. As I mentioned before, Romans 
8.32, he who did not spare his own son. Abraham didn't spare 
Isaac, but he was stopped in the act of sacrifice. God delivered 
him up for us all. How shall he not with him also 
freely give us all things? Isaac typifies God the Son, doesn't 
he? Can't miss it. Isaac is told 
to carry the wood up Mount Moriah to the place of sacrifice. Christ 
bears the cross to Golgotha, the place of sacrifice. Jesus Christ, however, is different 
than Isaac. Jesus was actually sacrificed. 
You see, on that day at Calvary, there was no angel of the Lord 
who came and said, stop. On that day of Calvary, divine 
justice was satisfied. On that day at Calvary, the sword 
did pierce through the Son of God. So much so that he cried 
out, Why hast thou forsaken me? There was no angelic interference. 
There was no help from the audience. There was simply the carrying 
out of divine vengeance on sin. God made him who knew no sin. to be sin for us. And when He 
is sin for us, God executes Him. God fulfills the vengeance of 
the covenant in the Son of His love. And then His Son rises 
from the dead and His righteousness is given to us. We don't earn 
it. We don't work for it. It's not 
because it's been infused and we do better. It is a legal transaction. God takes perfect righteousness 
gives it to us by grace. And interestingly enough, the 
ram, that oft-unnoticed character of verse 13, typifies Jesus Christ. That ram caught in the thicket 
that was behind Abraham. In verse 8, Abraham states that 
God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering. How could anybody neglect the 
Old Testament? I'm here to tell you, if you 
neglect the Old Testament, you're neglecting Jesus. You don't read 
your Old Testament, you're not reading about Jesus. You're getting 
half the story. Sit at the feet of Abraham to 
learn Christology, please. Sit at the feet of Abraham to 
learn about your Savior. In verse 13, Abraham lifted his 
eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket 
by its thorns. So Abraham went and took the 
ram and offered it up for a burnt offering. Note the language instead 
of. Don't we love substitutionary 
atonement in this church? Isn't this one of the things 
that make us happy? Substitutionary atonement. The substitute taking 
our place. Genesis 22, 13 teaches substitutionary 
atonement. The ram and the thicket is taken 
by Abraham. It is sacrificed instead of his 
son. This is the rich backdrop for 
that blessed day when John the Baptist cast a longing look upon 
Jesus and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins 
of the world. That Lamb has been provided. That lamb is the one whom we 
remember. That lamb at Mount Moriah typified 
Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Genesis 22 in Moriah itself is 
rich with biblical theology, rich with what it teaches and 
instructs us concerning Jesus Christ, concerning his love for 
his people, concerning his obedience to his Father, and concerning 
his Father's love. infection of sinners, because 
it was through the death of Christ, through his substitutionary atonement, 
he died instead of his people. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you so much for this account in Genesis 22. We thank 
you so much for the willingness of the Father and the Son to 
engage in this glorious covenant of redemption for sinners. We 
thank you for the spirit of the living God who takes these realities 
and applies them to our hearts, who gives us the graces of faith 
and repentance, causes us to see the beauty of Jesus Christ. 
And our Father, we just pray that you would increase our faith. 
Help us to live more like Abraham. Forgive us, Lord God Almighty, 
that though we have these rich promises, though we have the 
abundance of Abraham's story and all of the rest of the Bible, 
Just so often we live as hopeless men and women. God, I pray that 
you would increase our faith. Give us that unwavering confidence 
in the God who has promised. We ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen.