The Supreme Test

Someone has said that Genesis chapter 22 with its account of Abraham's Supreme Test contains, I quote, "one of the best-told stories in world literature." But tonight, as in all our studies on the life of Abraham, our goal is not to look at these texts as fascinating literature. Rather we want to see what they teach us about the life of faith. That certainly is how the New Testament approached chapter 22. Listen to Hebrews 11.17-19:

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

By way of introduction notice two things. First, note those opening words of chapter 22 verse 1:

Some time later God tested Abraham.

So there is God's purpose in what you are now going to be told. There is no intention, from God's point of view, of a real sacrifice of a human being. This is just a "test" of Abraham. However, from Abraham's point of view, it is totally different. He only hears the command - verse 2:

God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.

This is horrific. But this is what Abraham takes to be his duty.

Secondly, note that we are not told anything about the context of this event. Some people say this incident was used by God to underline the wickedness of child sacrifice. This was a terrible practice among the indigenous people of Palestine and a reason for their eventual expulsion. Deuteronomy 18 makes that clear. It says:

10Let no-one be found among you [the people of Israel] who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire... 12…because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you (Deut 18.10 & 12).

This indeed was the context. But the account here does not make this the primary reason for God's testing of Abraham - to teach the world that child sacrifice was abhorrent. It certainly did that in a secondary way. The Bible is so clear about the wrongness of that wicked practice - something the 20th century needs to relearn with abortion on demand, with some doctors practising infanticide or virtual infanticide and with some justifying the practice. But the primary reason for God's testing Abraham is to test whether Abraham feared God or not, as we shall see. So tonight I just want us to look at chapter 22 in a simple way and stick to its obvious meanings. And you will see that my headings are, first, THE FACT OF THE TEST; secondly, THE NATURE OF THE TEST; and, thirdly, the LESSON OF THE TEST.

First, THE FACT OF THE TEST;

So look again at verse 1:

Some time later [or more literally, as the English Standard Version translates it, 'after these things' ...] God tested Abraham.

What were "these things"? If this was "later", what had gone before? Answer - other testings. So, there is no retirement from God's testing. That is the first thing I want you to notice about this test. Abraham had been tested many times before. He was tested when asked to leave his country, his people and his father's household. He was then tested when he had to leave Canaan (the land God had led him to) and go down to Egypt because of a famine. He was tested when he had to risk life and limb rescuing Lot from some local warlords. And there were a number of other tests. We've been considering them in our previous studies. Of course, God was blessing Abraham all this time. He promised him a son, although his wife Sarah was infertile. And from that son would come a line of descendants who would number millions upon millions. And, amazingly, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age.

But there were more testing times for Abraham even after that. For example, at the end of the preceding chapter, chapter 21, you read of a conflict over water rights that Abraham had to settle with Abimelech. So Abraham, now a very old man, probably thought that he had earned a rest and could enjoy a peaceful old age, watching Isaac grow up. Did that happen? No! Not a bit of it. There was now a supreme test. There is no such thing as spiritual retirement. "We must", taught Paul and Barnabas as a main plank in their follow-up teaching for new Christians, "[we must] go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14.22).

Isn't that your experience? You have gone through a difficult patch. It might be the loss of a loved one. Or you don't do as well as you wanted in your exams. Or your parents have had difficulties and that worries you a great deal; or your children have had difficulties and that worries you even more. Or your business has suffered or whatever. So you now believe you deserve a quiet life for a bit. And then, bang! There is the next thing. That certainly was true for Abraham.

Secondly, notice, the testings can get even tougher. This was true for Abraham. It was as though God knew he could bear this new testing. His faith, like steel, had been toughened through his experiences. So he could now cope with a greater degree of testing. Have you discovered that principle of God's working? If so, remember as a comfort Paul's words in 1 Corinthians:

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Cor 10.13).

And thirdly, testing is a sign of God's love. It is a sign of privilege. It may seem that the world is collapsing around you. But the Bible says:

the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in (Prov 3.12).

And Hebrews quotes that verse but adds:

God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness (Heb 12.10).

To be loved by God in a special way, as he loves believers, is a great honour. It is a reminder that God does care for you. Naturally you wonder, sometimes, if you matter to God because he allows you to go through such difficult times. But that he allows those difficult times is a sign that you do matter. He wants to strengthen your faith and make you more fit both for service now and for heaven one day. That is why the apostle James says:

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (Jas 1.2-4).

Let's move on.

Secondly, THE NATURE OF THE TEST

What was going on when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Answer: God was testing Abraham as to whether he feared God. Look at verse 12 and the words of God to Abraham just as he was about to kill Isaac:

Do not lay a hand on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.

So this was a test of Abraham's "fear of God". But what is involved in the fear of God? At least four things are involved.

First, there is awe, the consciousness that God is God - the judge of all. So as the Bible puts it, "it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10.31).

Secondly, there has to be faith or trust, as well as awe. But that faith or trust has to be proved by obedience. It can't be just a matter of talk. At the Last Supper Peter "... insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with you [ie Jesus], I will never disown you'" (Mark 14.31)." But he denied him three times that evening. Are you all talk and will you crumble at the first sound of gun-fire? When your friends or work colleagues are doing something totally immoral or totally dishonest that contradicts the clear teaching of the Bible, will you join in, or will you resist? And will you take positive creative action for Christ that goes against the tide? Well, Abraham certainly was positively obedient. James says in the New Testament:

20…do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (Jas 2.20-21)

You are not saved by what you do, but by simple faith - by admitting that God is right and you are wrong, and you need saving through the work of Christ on the Cross and then through the gift of his Holy Spirit. But if that is genuine faith and not just talk, you need to prove it by what you subsequently do. So the fear of God involves awe and obedient faith.

, it involves the love of God. And this was going to be a real test for Abraham. Was God going to come first in his life, or was Isaac? This can be one of the hardest of all tests for a believer. Jesus says:

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matt 10.37).

Putting Christ before your family may be relevant to someone here tonight. God is calling you to do something, but you are afraid of what your parents will think, or your brother or sister, or, if you are older, your children. And who you love first is why a believer must only marry another believer. You then both can be united in your primary loyalty to Christ. So when decisions have to be taken, you both agree that it is Christ's will, not your own will, that needs to be followed. That is so relevant as to jobs, houses, money, bringing up children and a hundred and one other things. Well, the test of love was a challenge to Abraham. And he passed the test. He loved God more than he loved Isaac. Of course, he loved Isaac. He'd waited so long for him. This is why it was a terrible position for him to be in. But his love for God meant that Isaac had to come second.

Fourthly, the fear of God means you trust and obey him even when you can't fully understand what is going on. This was the case with Abraham. He was fully assured of God's command. So he obeyed. But he must have known that most primitive of commandments in Genesis 9.6:

Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

This is part of the natural law or God's general revelation that all have some understanding of, however much they try to suppress it. You read about that in Romans 1 and 2. But Abraham had this clear command. Yet, he knew that God could not contradict himself. So what did the do? Answer - he simply trusted God and acted. And why did he do that? Answer - and this is so important - he trusted that God was good. He knew he was the great life giver and not the life taker - he was the creator not the destroyer. So he believed all would be well in the end. Abraham believed that in some way Isaac would return alive after the sacrifice. Look at what Abraham said to the servants - verse 5 of chapter 22:

We will worship and then we [plural] will come back to you.

Look at verses 6-8:

6…As the two of them went on together, 7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

Abraham was sure that God would not go back on his promise - that through Isaac (as their father) he was going to have descendants. Also he believed in God's power to give life. He had already proved that in the birth of Isaac. So Paul writes of Abraham:

he believed [in] the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were (Rom 4.17).

So Hebrews, as we have seen, says:

Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death (Heb 11.19).

And we know what happened. At the last minute God provided a ram, verse 13, "caught by its horns in a thicket." So do you fear God? Are you in awe of God; do you trust him; love him and obey him even when you don't fully understand why he wants you to do something, - but you know that he is good, and a life-giver? Well, Abraham feared God in all those ways.

Thirdly, and finally, the LESSON OF THE TEST.

The great lesson is that God is the great "provider". That why it is so foolish not to trust and obey him. Look at verse 14 and the name that Abraham gave to the place where all this took place:

Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.

God sees all we need and he will supply those needs. He sees our circumstances and he will order those circumstances for our good - if we trust and obey him. This is the message of the Bible from cover to cover. This was the great truth rediscovered at the time of the 16th century Reformation. It is the truth that the God of the Bible, the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the divine Trinity, is sovereign over all. He orders all things and he provides all things for our good. So Jesus says:

seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt 6.33).

And Paul says:

we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom 8.28)

and

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8.32).

And notice this. The provision that Abraham witnessed was the provision of a "substitute" for his son, Isaac - the ram caught in a thicket. It was this principle - the "substitute" principle - that in time means the greatest provision of all - Jesus Christ. That is because the greatest need of all is not for material goods but for spiritual goods and salvation. That is what this Communion service reminds us of, that Christ died in your place and mine - like the ram died in the place of Isaac. But these two substitutes - the ram and Christ - were universes away from each other. For Christ was able to bear the punishment for the world's sin. No ram could possible do that, but only the perfect Son of God himself. Our Gospel reading reminded us - John 3.16:

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Have you accepted that provision of eternal life? If not, why not trust Christ tonight - "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I must conclude. I do so by noting that Abraham's obedience brought real assurance and confidence in God. Are you wondering how you can get assurance, which is more than theoretical? Well, assurance of God's truth and God's promises comes from obedience. You experience first hand God's provision and protection as you obey him and come out the other side of suffering. You then cannot but believe all the more. Jesus spelt out this principle of assurance when he said:

if anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7.17).

And this is what Abraham experienced. Immediately after this terrible but wonderful experience, God confirmed his great promise (verses 16-18).

16…I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I 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, 18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.