23-0409a Transcript

(7:08) Thank you, Roger, and thank you, Mike. (7:11) I really appreciate it. (7:13) They do a great job. (7:17) As Christians, we need to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture.

(7:23) And one thing you’ll find as I present you the word of God, (7:28) we go through the word of God. (7:32) The more of God’s word and the less of mine, the more truth is told. (7:39) I do add a little bit of opinion and commentary in there.

(7:43) But this morning I’d like to talk to you about an ancient land, (7:49) and I know my daughter is giggling because for some reason I say ancient (7:53) as if it had an S-H in there, ancient land, a land of old. (8:01) And it’s a land where some of the greatest, no, let me rephrase that, (8:07) the greatest events in mankind’s history unfolded, quite an impact on the human race. (8:19) And the place I’m talking about is Moriah, (8:22) and it’s an old term for a particular region that is little known.

(8:31) But Moriah is a region around Jerusalem in the Holy Land, (8:35) and it consists of several mountains in that area, (8:41) not mountains like out in Colorado, huge granite mountains. (8:47) These are more like West Virginia type mountains. (8:51) They’re mountains, but they’re like really big hills.

(8:56) It’s a higher elevation. (8:58) And any time you read Scripture and they’re referring to Jerusalem, (9:02) they say let’s go up to Jerusalem, even if geographically they’re above it. (9:10) And the reason is is because they go up to Jerusalem.

(9:14) It’s a higher elevation. (9:17) So Moriah is known to many of us because it’s also the place where God took his vengeance (9:23) out on the people of Israel by sending a plague on them. (9:31) And the reason the plague came upon the people was King David, against God’s law, (9:41) conducted an illegal census of the people.

(9:45) And so God sent the destroying angel, also known as the angel of the Lord, (9:54) to inflict God’s judgment of a plague on the country. (9:59) And King David, seeing this sight, he happened to be there, (10:06) prayed to God and asked God to spare the people who were innocent because of his sin. (10:14) God heard David’s prayer and appeared to him there and had mercy on them (10:19) and stopped the plague that destroyed many people.

(10:23) And David regarded the spot as such holy place. (10:28) He bought the land from the farmer who owned it, a guy named Ornan, (10:33) and he built an altar there to God. (10:40) And David’s son, his successor, King Solomon, built the temple on that very spot.

(10:49) And that was on the mount called Moriah, in the region of Moriah. (10:57) So I’m going to read from the Old Testament about a man that God chose (11:03) out of all the people of the world to create a special people from. (11:09) This precedes David.

(11:12) From them would come the Christ, who would end up being a blessing to the whole world. (11:19) And the man is Abraham. (11:22) He’s the 10th generation from Noah, from the flood.

(11:30) His great-great-great-grandfather was Shem. (11:35) So that’s the line where we get Hebrews. (11:40) Heber is where the name Hebrew comes from.

(11:43) And it’s from Shem, from Noah. (11:48) So the story starts in Genesis 12. (11:52) We’ll look at verses 1 through 3. (11:56) The Lord said to Abram, (11:58) Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.

(12:04) I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. (12:07) I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (12:11) I will bless those who bless you.

(12:14) And whoever curses you, I will curse. (12:17) And all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. (12:23) Abram headed west as he was directed to the land of Canaan.

(12:29) And in Genesis 12.7 it says, (12:31) The Lord appeared to Abram and said, (12:34) To your offspring I will give this land. (12:36) And that’s the land of Canaan. (12:38) And then God reaffirms his three promises to Abram by an oath.

(12:43) In chapter 15. (12:47) In these verses God swore to Abram first that he would have a child from his own body. (12:55) Though he and Sarah were beyond childbearing years.

(12:59) And that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars of the sky. (13:05) And she would end up having Isaac who was a child of promise. (13:10) And the second promise is the land promise.

(13:14) They would possess the land of Canaan. (13:17) And third he reaffirmed that through his seed all the families of the earth will be blessed. (13:24) So by oath and by promise these great blessings were upon Abram.

(13:32) And now the general body of our attention is in Genesis 22. (13:38) And it’s probably one of the most important chapters in all of the Old Testament. (13:46) Because it so much pertains to us.

(13:50) To the whole world. (13:52) To this third promise. (13:56) And we’re not going to read it through.

(14:00) I’m just going to go verse by verse. (14:02) And give commentary on that. (14:06) And something I want you to notice is it’s sort of like a deeper teaching of the Lord.

(14:19) It’s types and anti-types. (14:22) And that means foreshadows and the actual event. (14:28) Something that happened in the past that became fulfilled in a future time.

(14:36) And it’s like when Jesus was questioned. (14:41) He said I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law and the prophets. (14:48) And that includes all of these types and anti-types.

(14:52) So all of these preceding events are types. (14:58) And the things that actually happened during the gospel time. (15:04) That Christ fulfilled are the anti-types or the archetypes.

(15:10) So let’s look at verse one. (15:12) Now it came about after these things that God tested Abram. (15:16) And said to him, Abram.

(15:19) And he said here I am. (15:21) And so God here is going to put Abram through the ringer. (15:28) He’s going to test him more than any man has been tested.

(15:36) And the Hebrew word for test is tenta. (15:40) Which is to prove, try, or test. (15:42) And God was going to determine his love and devotion to him.

(15:49) He was going to try his faith. (15:57) And verse two says. (16:02) And he said take now your son, your only son whom you love, Isaac.

(16:08) And go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering. (16:14) On one of the mountains which I will tell you. (16:17) So God lays out the test to Abram.

(16:20) Sacrifice your son as a burnt offering. (16:25) And if you know about burnt offerings. (16:29) The throat had to be slit and drained of blood.

(16:33) And then the body is quartered and arranged on a bed of wood. (16:41) And then the blaze turned into ash. (16:45) That’s what a burnt offering is.

(16:48) So a lot was on Abram’s mind. (16:56) And God laid out that test. (16:59) And here comes the text.

(17:01) God makes sure that Abram understands the preciousness of his son. (17:08) So let’s compare that. (17:10) Isaac had a miraculous birth.

(17:14) God made Sarah who was actually doubly barren. (17:22) She never was able to have children while she was of fertility age. (17:30) And at 90 years old, well beyond childbearing age, she’s like twice as barren so to speak.

(17:38) So it’s impossible for Sarah to have a child on their own. (17:46) And yet she’s going to have a son according to God. (17:53) And so Sarah and her son are both types.

(17:58) And God too had a son of miraculous birth. (18:03) Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary. (18:06) And of course, virgins just don’t spontaneously become pregnant unless they’re impregnated.

(18:15) And she was by Holy Spirit. (18:19) And so both she and Sarah conceived. (18:25) And so Sarah is the type of what would be fulfilled in the New Testament through Mary.

(18:33) Both unable to have children. (18:35) Both having children. (18:37) And both of those sons were miracle babies.

(18:42) And the sons were both only sons. (18:46) And both greatly loved. (18:49) Isaac was an only son because he was Sarah’s only son.

(18:54) And she was the free woman. (18:56) The woman that Abraham was legally married to. (18:59) Of course, Abraham and Hagar had a child, Ishmael.

(19:05) But God told Abraham, these blessings are not coming through Ishmael. (19:10) They will come through your own body. (19:13) Through Isaac.

(19:15) And so both sons were only sons. (19:17) And both greatly loved. (19:19) So also is the sacrifice Father Abraham made a type.

(19:24) God the Father sacrificed his son. (19:27) That’s the archetype. (19:28) He was the model and architect of the Father-Son sacrifice.

(19:33) So both fathers, Abraham and God, had to sacrifice their sons. (19:42) Verse 3. (19:43) So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son. (19:52) And he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

(19:59) So here Abraham’s demonstrating his obedient faith. (20:04) And promptly responds to God’s command and gets ready with everything that he would need. (20:11) And sets out with Isaac.

(20:13) And he took with him two young lads. (20:15) And yet it says, and he took his son. (20:17) So there’s a distinction made there.

(20:20) Two of his helpers were probably two of his servants or slaves as they were known sometimes. (20:27) And those guys were young. (20:28) But Isaac is not young even though the Lord will call him lad.

(20:34) That just refers to him being Abraham’s son. (20:38) Okay. (20:40) So verse 4. (20:41) On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from the distance.

(20:49) So Abraham had three days in which to agonize in his mind about what was going to happen. (20:58) God too had three days agonizing at the separation and death of his son Jesus. (21:05) So three days there is a tight antitype.

(21:09) And they started out in Beersheba. (21:12) Which is about 40 miles from Jerusalem. (21:16) And that’s a three days journey by donkey.

(21:20) Abraham may have recognized the place God wanted him to go. (21:24) Either by seeing perhaps God’s Shekinah. (21:28) Which is the glorious smoking cloud full of lightning and trumpet blasts that God appears in.

(21:35) Or he might have seen a dominant mountain. (21:40) Which would have been Mount Gihon. (21:42) Or perhaps being a prophet the spirit told him which mountain.

(21:48) Or there could have been a feature on that mountain that he recognized as the place to go. (21:55) Or it could be a combination of any of those. (21:58) Verse 5. (21:58) And Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey.

(22:02) And I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship and return to you. (22:08) This shows Abraham’s total faith in God. (22:12) He felt he would return with his son intact.

(22:17) And we’re not told in this passage how Abraham reasoned God would do this. (22:22) But we are told in the New Testament by the Hebrew writer. (22:27) And in Hebrews 11, 17-19 it says, (22:31) By faith Abraham when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.

(22:37) He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son. (22:44) Even though God said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. (22:50) Abraham reasoned that God could raise him from the dead.

(22:54) And figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. (23:02) So Abraham believed God could bring Isaac back from the dead. (23:07) Verse 6. (23:09) And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac.

(23:15) And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. (23:18) So the two of them walked on together. (23:22) They probably had to leave the donkeys because of the terrain of the mountain.

(23:27) So they set off by foot and they left the young men there with the donkeys. (23:32) And Abraham had the fire for the burnt offering and the knife to slay his son. (23:39) And there’s Isaac with a large load of wood tied to his back.

(23:45) Enough to sacrifice an adult human. (23:49) So that’s a lot of wood. (23:53) So that kind of tells us that Isaac was full grown here.

(23:58) And here’s another type. (24:01) Isaac had to carry his wood to his sacrifice. (24:05) As Christ, the anti-type, carried his cross, which was made out of wood.

(24:13) Verse 7. (24:14) And Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, my father. (24:19) And he said, here I am, my son. (24:21) And he said, behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? (24:27) So up to this point, Abraham hadn’t told Isaac the full details of the sacrifice.

(24:33) And it was probably then that Isaac may have entertained the thought that he could be the sacrifice. (24:39) Hence the exclamation in his voice, my father. (24:42) But still notice the affection between father and son.

(24:46) Isaac is not a little child here. (24:49) And a lot of Bible scholars estimated him to be anywhere from 25 to 36 years old. (24:57) My guess is, since God is such a magnificent timekeeper, (25:03) he may have been the same age as Christ at the time of the sacrifice, (25:09) which would have been around 33 years old.

(25:15) And I believe with all the deliberate anti-types, and God had this thoroughly thought out, (25:24) nothing is coincidental. (25:26) Everything is with purpose, with God. (25:31) So verse 8. (25:32) And Abraham said, God will provide himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

(25:38) So the two of them walked on together. (25:41) And this was more than Abraham being faithful and obedient. (25:46) This was Abraham being prophetic.

(25:49) Because God would provide the lamb. (25:52) But Abraham didn’t know it at that time. (25:55) But in the fullness of time, by his offering his son Jesus as a sacrificial lamb also, (26:01) to take the world’s sin away 2,000 years later, (26:04) God would provide that lamb.

(26:07) And he provided one for Abraham as well. (26:11) In verse 9. (26:13) Then they came to the place of which God had told them. (26:17) And Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, (26:21) and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

(26:28) And this speaks volumes of the faith of Isaac. (26:33) He was willing to offer himself to his father. (26:38) He didn’t fight.

(26:40) Remember, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. (26:46) So add 30-ish years on top of that, Abraham’s 130. (26:53) Who could contend with a man in his prime if he didn’t want to lay down on that pile of wood? (27:01) A 30-year-old versus a 130-year-old.

(27:05) There’s no match. (27:08) This shows the willingness of Isaac to be the sacrifice. (27:16) And think about it.

(27:17) Jesus also submitted to God’s plan to redeem mankind. (27:23) Submitted to God’s authority and the cross. (27:27) And there, Jesus said, it is finished.

(27:30) Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. (27:35) That’s trust. (27:38) Isaac too must have reasoned that he, being Abraham’s son, would somehow live again.

(27:43) Because of God’s divine promise that through him, Isaac, the world would be blessed. (27:52) The similarities between Isaac and Jesus are they trusted their fathers. (27:57) They both willingly offered themselves.

(28:00) Gave no resistance, no violence. (28:03) And both were bound on their sacrificial wood. (28:08) Verse 10.

(28:10) And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (28:17) And God, who knows the intent of men’s hearts, saw that Abraham was truly going to go through with this sacrifice. (28:27) Verse 11.

(28:32) But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. (28:39) And he said, here I am. (28:41) So the angel of the Lord is Jesus himself.

(28:46) The second person of the Godhead. (28:50) And he’s calling from heaven, knowing Abraham’s heart. (28:56) And seeing his intent was to go through with it.

(29:01) And Jesus hit the brakes hard for Abraham. (29:08) God never intended to be worshipped with human sacrifice. (29:13) He tested Abraham and witnessed firsthand that the very man in whom he was making into his special people that would pass his seed along was willing to give up his son for God.

(29:34) And that’s what made Abraham God’s friend. (29:41) Verse 12. (29:43) And he said, do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing to him.

(29:48) For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. (29:57) Abraham and Isaac both passed this test with flying colors, with fear, with faith, with submission, with conviction, and with obedience. (30:09) In God’s eyes, the sacrifice happened.

(30:14) Abraham experienced God’s grace and the salvation of God. (30:19) And Jesus speaks of this in the Gospel of John. (30:25) In John 8, 56, Jesus said, your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day.

(30:33) He saw it and was glad. (30:38) Abraham saw this angel of the Lord being the Lamb of God. (30:49) He was a prophet, don’t forget.

(30:51) Verse 13. (30:53) Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram was caught in the thicket by his horns. (31:00) And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up as a burnt offering in place of his son.

(31:07) Could you imagine the relief and joy both Abraham and Isaac were feeling? (31:15) Scripture says it was like he received Isaac back from the dead. (31:21) The Lord took care of the immediate need for Abraham, sparing him the actual agony of slaying his own son, (31:30) and put a ram in the thicket for him. (31:32) God supplied the lamb.

(31:36) And 2,000 years later, God would supply the lamb again. (31:43) In Abraham’s life, God called on Abraham to make five sacrifices. (31:48) Faithfully and without complaining, Abraham did all that Yahweh asked of him, and God blessed him for it.

(31:57) One, God asked him to leave his country of Haran, (32:00) and God blessed him with the promise of a new country, which he delivered on. (32:05) Two, God told him to leave his family, (32:09) and God blessed him with the promise of having more children than could be counted. (32:14) God did that too.

(32:16) Three, Abraham separates from his nephew Lot and gave him the choice land. (32:22) And the Lord blessed Abraham with the promise of having all of Canaan for his posterity. (32:28) And the Lord conquered Canaan for them, and delivered it to the children of Israel.

(32:36) Four, Abraham separates from his son Ishmael, (32:40) and God blessed Abraham and Ishmael, saying that many kings would come from him, (32:46) and all of the Arabic people are children of Abraham too. (32:53) Five, and of course Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac, (32:57) and the angel of the Lord who called out to Abraham not to harm Isaac, (33:02) became the true Lamb of God that saved all of mankind from sin. (33:09) And that was the third promise fulfilled.

(33:14) So the promise giver became the promise keeper, and to sacrifice himself. (33:22) Let’s look at verse 14 of Genesis 22. (33:26) And Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide, as it is to this day.

(33:34) And the mount of the Lord it will be provided. (33:37) And this is another pseudonym for the great I Am, Yahweh. (33:41) Jerob, Yahweh will provide.

(33:45) With the stipulation on Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided. (33:50) And to me, the mountain Abraham was on couldn’t be Mount Moriah that so many scholars think that it was. (34:03) Remember, God’s command to Abraham was to go to the land of Moriah, (34:08) and I will show you the mountain to go on.

(34:10) He didn’t say go to Mount Moriah. (34:13) Mount Moriah is where the temple existed during the time of Christ. (34:18) He wasn’t slain and hung on the cross on temple grounds.

(34:27) The location that best fits is a small little mountain called Calvary, (34:34) which we know and sing about. (34:37) It’s a small outcrop of a bigger mountain known as Mount Gihon. (34:45) And because on that hill 2,000 years in the future from Abraham, (34:49) the Lord himself would be the sacrifice of mankind.

(34:54) It’s also known as Golgotha, which is the side of Calvary that’s in the shape of a skull. (35:04) It’s visible for all to see, and it’s eerie. (35:10) I even went online and looked it up, and it still looks like a skull to this day.

(35:16) So perhaps that’s what God told Abraham to look for, to go and sacrifice his son there. (35:28) Interesting. (35:30) So that was most likely how Abraham identified it, too.

(35:34) So there is God’s perfect sacrificial lamb, Jesus, a lamb without defect, (35:39) was offered up on the cross, bearing its shame and disgrace for the benefit of all mankind. (35:47) Jesus, the Son of God, was sinless and innocent, willingly died for sinful mankind, (35:54) and there’s no greater love than that. (35:58) And on that cross, when Jesus said, It is finished, (36:02) he satisfied all the law and the prophets about himself, (36:08) and all the types and anti-types, he being the archetype.

(36:13) So Isaac was figuratively raised from the dead, (36:18) when the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from going through with the sacrifice. (36:25) God raised Jesus from the dead after three days in the grave, by the power of the resurrection. (36:33) And Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection, (36:37) making it possible that we, who are born of God, who have died in the likeness of Jesus, (36:45) through baptism, will one day rise from our graves as well.

(36:51) And it could be that in our own lifetime, (36:56) given what Scott said and what I alluded to concerning the 2,000 years, (37:04) it could happen in our lifetime, and we may not taste death, (37:09) but meet the Lord in the air, changed in the twinkling of an eye, (37:17) from our flesh into our new mansion, our glorious body that we’ll inherit in heaven, (37:27) our eternal bodies, which is spirit. (37:29) So the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians said, (37:35) Death is swallowed up in victory. (37:37) O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? (37:42) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

(37:46) But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (37:52) So if you need to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and have your sins forgiven, (37:58) or if you need the prayers of the church, we offer you the opportunity (38:03) to have an obedient faith like Abraham, by confessing Christ as the Messiah, (38:09) the Son of the Living God. (38:11) Call on his name.

Come if you need.