sermonette: One God and One God Only

Abraham's Example of Putting God First
Mike Ford
Given 23-Sep-02; Sermon #FT02-05s; 22 minutes

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And good morning to you, brethren. I just gave my notes to Irwin a minute ago and so he said, no jokes. Got to go with the script. Let's start in Deuteronomy 5 and verse 7 this morning. We see a listing of the 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, and in verse 7, God tells us to have no other gods. Before me There was a time in my life when I thought that this meant simply that I was to make sure God was my first priority, that God was first, and then family and then job. I've come to see That God is a jealous God. And you see that in verse 9. And what God means, in my opinion. Is that nothing Absolutely nothing can be worshiped in our lives except him. He will not abide us placing family or work or possessions. In competition with him. The amplified Bible words verse 7, you shall have no other gods before or besides me. But I like the Moffat translation the best. You shall have no other gods but me. No other gods but me. Can it be any more clear? None, not a zip, zilch, no other gods. One God and one God only. Anything that we put ahead of God is another God. Anything that competes with God for our time, the time that belongs to Him. is another go. And it is imperative that we examine our lives and that we rid ourselves of any other gods. I do not mean that we leave our families and renounce all material possessions. What I mean is we determine if anything competes in our life. For God in our mind and in our heart, and we strive to bring things back into the balance that should be. Now God has a plan for each and every one of us. But for that plan to come to fruition in our lives, he has to be first. Now his overall plan is going to be completed with or without us. But our continued participation in that plan. Our lives coming to fruition in that plan. Depend on his mercy and His grace, but also, also our yielded and humble obedience. Now, in the remainder of the time that I have, we are going to go through Genesis 22. And the example of Abraham and Isaac. And I want to show here. How God made sure he was first in both of their lives. And what came as a result of that? Now as we go through this episode, keep in mind three things that God has a plan. That God will provide. And that our participation in that plan and our receipt of his blessings is contingent upon where he is in our lives. Genesis 22 in verse 1. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am. After what things had passed, Everything that had gone before. It's the most interesting story in itself that we do not have time to go into now, but it's been said that Abraham, more than any other man in the Bible, gave up the most to follow God. Now here he is at age 133, approximately. And he's looking back on a lifetime of trials. He's perhaps thinking that after 133 years and all that has gone on, he has proven himself. Perhaps could relax a bit and enjoy his old age. But God has yet the biggest test for him. God doesn't tempt us. We know that from James 1:13, but he does test us. Now notice how eagerly Abraham responded when God called his name. He said, Here I am. Very, very humble attitude. Verse 2, 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. He says your only son. The only legitimate son whom you love. Not that Abraham did not love Ishmael, but Isaac was the son of promise. The son of his old age, he was a very special person. And note God's tenderness in his phrasing. Your only son whom you love. This thing that he's commanded Abraham to do foreshadows Christ's own sacrifice that would come later, has very special meaning to God here. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong in Abraham loving Isaac deeply as long as that love. Didn't become worship as long as that love did not displace God. I've often said in my life of those that I love, I say I adore them. I looked up the definition of a door. Do you know what it means? To worship with divine honor. Now the second meaning is to love deeply, which is what I meant. But it's important that we understand the distinction. He says, go to the land of Moriah. God says He'll tell him exactly which peak he should use. Mariah refers to an area which A piece of land that contains several mountains or really small peaks. It is what is now known as Jerusalem. Abraham at the time lived in Beersheba, 40, 45 miles away. Can you imagine the thoughts? That raced through his mind. How can the promises be fulfilled if Isaac is dead? Wouldn't this be human sacrifice like the heathen nations around him practice? Wouldn't it be murder? How's it going to look to Sarah? To his servants, to the Egyptians, to the nations around him. But his obedience was unquestioning. Verse 3. 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. No hesitation In obeying God's order. He did not try to stall. He rose early in the morning. This boggles my mind. The willingness to obey God. I think more than any other man that I can that comes to my mind, he understood his position relative to God. Abraham was a great man, but he was just a man. And he fully appreciated who and what God is. God is God. Abraham was a man. He then splits the wood by himself for the sacrifice. And again, think of what's going through his mind as he's splitting this wood on which he's going to sacrifice his son. Can't even begin to imagine his state of mind. Verse 4. Then on the 3rd day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 3 days they have been traveling. For those 3 days, Isaac is dead. In Abraham's mind. Did you ever think of it that way? For 3 days in his mind, Isaac is dead. So for 40 some odd miles they walk, each lost in their own thoughts. Verse 5, 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. Now the word lad here means a boy, or better yet, a young man. So how old was Isaac at this time? Now the word translated young men. is the same, although it's plural, is the same word as translated lad. The Jewish historian Josephus gives Isaac's age at this time as 25. Rabbinical tradition has it at 36, and then I read several other commentators who put it at 33. Personally, I feel he was 33 at this time. He was not a little boy. His life and every step of this episode parallels that of Christ, so I, I do believe 33, was his age. And Abraham says, we will come back to you. We. We'll come back to the young men waiting there by the donkey. Was he lying to these these young men? Abraham was the Father of the faithful. I do not think he was lying to them. He'd thought this thing through. It says of Abraham and Hebrews 11:19 that he had added up the evidence, and he knew that the promises required Isaac. He did not know for sure that God was going to resurrect him. But he, he had the faith, he thought it through. If you put yourself in this position, I do not, I do not care if you do know with ironclad certainty that God is going to resurrect your son. Abraham still had to kill his son. How many of us would have that kind of faith? Verse 6 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. Now the wood had been previously carried by the donkey. Now it's going to be carried up the mountain by Isaac. Obviously not a young boy, obviously a young man. 33 may not be a young man to us, but if you're 133, he was a young man. It's also a mirror image of Christ carrying his instrument of death up the mountain. Verse 7. When Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father and said, My father, and he said, Here I am, my son, and he said, Look, the fire in the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering. Can't help but notice the affection that I see here in this interplay. My father, my son. Does Isaac suspect anything? At this time Have they begun to discuss what's going to happen? We do not know. Isaac is no dummy. He might have figured things out. This questionnaire may have been seeking confirmation. No doubt he could not help but notice his father acting a little strangely, gets up early in the morning, chops wood. They travel for 3 days to make a sacrifice, but there is no animal. Abraham is a type of God. Isaac a type of Christ. And as such, Isaac has complete faith in his father. Just as Christ would have rather not gone through the pain of crucifixion, he did so, trusting his father completely. I think Isaac was the same way. Verse 8. Abraham said My Son, God will provide for Himself, the Lamb, for a burnt offering. And the two of them went together. Abraham speaking here of the Lamb means Isaac. Whether Isaac has figured this out or not, I do not know. God will provide, it says. Abraham knows that however all of this comes down, however it all transpires and works out, God will take care of things. And of course, later he does provide an animal for the offering, and later still. Provides Christ as the Lamb. Verse 9 is the pivotal verse of this episode. 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. On the wood Abraham built the altar, it says. Again, what's going through his mind as he I've never built an altar, but I'm assuming you, you pile some rocks, put a little dirt, lay the wood across. What's going through his mind? Knowing that he's going to sacrifice his very own son on this altar. I think by now Isaac has the picture. He knows that he is the sacrifice. And his actions at this point impressed me a great deal. I would think he probably even helped at this point build the altar on which he was to die. Abraham was 133 years old. He hiked 40 miles in 3 days. We read that Abraham bound his son and laid him on the altar. How does a 133-year old man bind up a 33-year-old in order to kill him unless the 33-year-old is willing. Unless he is submissive and humble to his father. I get the impression that Isaac went willingly. To the slaughter, not that he was eager. But he submitted to God's will. He had complete confidence in Abraham. And in their relationship with God. And we also see clearly in this verse the template of prophecy yet to be fulfilled at that point. OK, verse 10, Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife. To slay his son. He's poised He's ready to kill his son. He's going to kill his son. The pinnacle of obedience, of humility, of faith. Very clearly he is showing that God is first in his life. Abraham has no other gods. Verse 11, but the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. This is Christ calling out to him, and you see the exclamation point where he says, Abraham, Abraham, this was not a soft little Abraham. Abraham's about to come down with a knife. He says, Abraham. He says, Here I am. No. He proved his loyalty. He did not need to go any further. What is Christ thinking here as he calls out to Abraham, as he watches this whole scene. Which pictures His own sacrifice yet to come. Verse 12, and he, Christ 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. God is assured that He has first place. In the heart of his servant Abraham and in Isaac's heart as well. And again, the tenderness and the words do not lay your hand on the lad. Don't do anything to him. Your only son, your son, your only son. No doubt Christ's thinking of, of the own relationship that he would later form with God the Father. Verse 13. Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. So the ram, a type of Christ, was behind Abraham. He had not seen it previously. And it was offered for Isaac as Christ was offered for us. Verse 14, 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. The Hebrew here means literally the Lord will see. Adam Clark says in his commentary, quoting here, God will take care that everything shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in Him. End quote God will provide to those who obey, who have yielded to him completely. And yielding and trusting in God are simply different ways of saying put God first. And notice that it says, In the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. It Is the final offering for sin. It is the sacrifice of Christ. Verses 15 to 18. 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. In blessing, I will bless you, and in 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 the physical promise becomes unconditional here. Because Abraham obeyed God, because Abraham put God first. The fact that we are here today. Meeting And peace and prosperity in the most blessed land of man's 6000 year history. is due to God's fulfillment of his promise. And because Abraham proved to God that he had no other gods. Because of that, these promises were guaranteed. Because of that, we sit here. In peace and prosperity and able to listen to the messages and obey God's commandment to keep His holy days. What an incredible story. I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon at 3 things to keep in mind. God has a plan. God will provide. And for those first two to happen, God must be our only God. As well as any example I can think of in the Bible, these few verses in Genesis 22 prove these points. God's plan is being carried out right now in this room for those on the hookup. As we sit here and observe the Feast of Tabernacles. But without the sacrifice of Christ, This wouldn't be possible. We could have no relationship with God the Father. There had to be some sacrifices along the way for God's plan to work. If Isaac had been killed on that altar. Then we could not be here today. If Christ had not been killed. On that altar The spiritual side could not have taken place. For both of these to happen, the physical and the spiritual, Abraham and Isaac could have only one God. I think each of us has sacrificed in our own way to be here today, just in talking with various ones I've never heard of so many difficulties people have had in getting here this year. But the fact that you're here. Shows that God is first in your life. Each day when you pray and study and when you serve others here at the feast, you're showing that God is first in your life. Now, while we are here at the feast, we are away from our daily routine, and it would be very easy to allow the food, the fun, the fellowship. To intrude on your relationship with God. We can't let that happen. You can't let it here or later ever. Come between You and God Abraham and Isaac had power and prestige. And wealth Far beyond what you and I are going to have in this physical life, unless some of you are hiding out on me. We're never going to have what they had. But despite all that they owned, Their example teaches us a very, very important lesson that there is room. In our lives for only one God.