THE KING’S BUSINESS
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The International Sunday School Lessons By J. H. S. LESSON XI. March 16. The Test o f Abraham’s Faith— Gen. 22:1-19. Golden Text— I desire goodness and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.— Hos. 6 :6. I. Isaac. (G en . 2 1 :1 -8 .) 1. His birth. G o d is faithful
fa re r w ith th e H o ly O n e (Col. 2 :1 1 ; Rom . 4 :1 1 , 12; Gen. 17 :1 ) . F irst justification, th en sanctification (G en . 1 5 :6 ; 1 7 :2 4 ). II. Ishmael. 1. His mockery. “Saw th e son o f H a g a r th e E g yp tian . . . m o ck ing (v e rse 9 ) . T h e big b o y b u l lied th e little one. But Ishm ael’s sin w as m o re th a n this. H e doub tless d e rid e d an d rid icu led Isaac’s b irth right, n o t w ith o u t a sense o f its sp ir itual im po rt. A b ra h am w ou ld n o t h av e le ft him ig n o ran t o f th a t (G en . 1 8 :1 9 ). H is sin w as E sau’s (G en . 2 5 :2 4 ) in a n o th e r form . P au l says, th a t th en a n d now th e flesh p e rse cutes th e Spirit (G a l. 4 :2 9 ) . T h e in cid en t is a living allego ry (G al. 4 :2 4 ) . 2. His ejection. “C a st o u t” (v e rse 1 0 ). P rincipals an d p rin ciples so an tagon istic c an n o t dw ell tog eth er. H a g a r an d h e r son stan d fo r th e law a n d its ineligibility to inherit. T h e re c an b e no jo in t h e ir ship o f flesh ’ w ith “sp irit,” law w ith liberty, w o rk s w ith g race (R om . 4 :4 , 5, 13-1 6 ) . G o d s love can save from G o d s law only th em w ho a re “b o rn o f th e sp irit” (G a l. 4 :3 0 - Jo h n 3 :5 ) . 3- His rescue. T ho u g h “cast out, h e w as n o t cast off. G o d ’s co v e n an t m ercies w ere fo r Isaac a n d th e seed o f prom ise. But his p ro v id e n tial m ercies a re fo r all m en. T h e sto ry is as b eau tifu l as it is p ath etic. ( 1 ) T h e hom eless w anderers, m o th e r a n d c h ild ; (2 ) th e exh au sted sup p ly ; ( 3 ) th e fainting la d ; ( 4 ) th e d esp airing H ag a r, a n d h e r a v e rte d
(H e b . 1 1 :1 1 ). “A t th e se t tim e ,” “as H e sa id ,” so H e d id (G a l. 4 :4 ) ; th e re fo re “T hou g h it ta rry , w a it fo r it. (H a b . 2 :3 .) But w hy d e lay ? ( 1 ) T o p ro v e faith (Jam e s 2 : 2 2 ) ; ( 2 ) to give it o p p o rtu n ity (2 Tim . 4 :7 , 8 ) ; ( 3 ) to m ak e c le a r G o d ’s “p a tie n t w aiting fo r C hrist ” (2 h a n d (Isa. 4 1 :2 .1 -2 3 ); ( 4 ) to typ ify Thess. 3 :5 ; H eb . 1 0 :3 7 ). ( 2. His name. “ Isaac” m eans “ lau g h te r” (v e rse 6 ) . Sarah, H a n nah, E lisabeth, M ary, laughed . W e laugh w ith S a ra h ; fo r Isaac is a ty p e o f Christ. ( 1) B orn “ ou t o f a d ry g ro u n d ” (b a rre n Israel, Isa. 5 3 : 2 ) ; ( 2 ) b o rn in us (Col. 1 :2 7 ) ; a n d ( 3 ) o f re -b o rn Israel (R om . 1 1 :1 5 ), a t th e e n d ” ; of which th e seer sang (P sa. 126 :1 , 2 ) , “T h en w as ou r m ou th filled w ith lau g h te r.” T h e n c reation shall laugh (R om . 8 :1 2 ) , a n d th e trees o f th e w ood clap th e ir h a n d s” (Isa. 5 5 :1 2 ) . S arah h a d laughed incredulously (G en . 1 8 :1 2 -1 4 ), b u t re p e n te d (H e b . 1 1 :1 1 ). She now laughed ex u ltan tly an d gratefully. T h e re is a p re v a le n t lau g h te r th a t coun ts th e prom ise an a b su rd ity (L u k e 8 :5 2 , 5 3 ; A c ts 17 7 :3 2 ). This is th e foo l’s lau g h te r (Ecc. 7 :6 ) . It is soon, an d forever, over. But faith laughs tw ice: W h en it counts w h a t is n o t a s if it were'? an d w h en it sees w h a t w as n o t and , lo, it is (G en . 17 :17 - 2 1 :3 ; Rom . 4:1 7 ). 3. His circumcision. C ircumcision figures sanctification : ( 1) / \ s heir w ith se p a ra te d A b ra h am ; ( 2 ) as a
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