T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
101
Outline: (1) Probing and Proving, 22:1-5. (2) Practising and Pleasing, vs. 6-11. (3) Preventing and Providing, vs. 11-14. Introduction:
the Lord more than he did his own life. It would have been far easier for Abraham to have given ;his own life than to sacrifice Isaac. “And Abraham rose up early.” When you have a diffi cult thing to do—do it now! When you have a hard, un pleasant, distressing, distasteful thing to do, do it at once! If we are compelled to walk in the dark for a season, there awaits us the joy of emerging into the light. God does not honor every soul with a supreme test. God’s chosen children are often called to pass through the crushing crises of life. Lot had no such testings. He was tempted by his own lust. He was carried away by the world’s seductive influence until he was swallowed up in its vortext. Abraham tarried at Haran, but there is no tarrying now, no hesitancy, no consulting of the flesh, no counsel with fears lest he fail to fulfill God’s purposes (Isa. 6:8) “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for usi Then said, I, Here am I; send me.” What was the picture before him? An altar, a nation, his son,—a conflict within, but a victorious battle. View the corresponding picture of Christ on His three years’ journey to the cross,—with a vision of the cross and Himself on the cross ever before Him. Abraham fought the fight and died to Isaac. He will follow God to the death. God did not intend that Abraham should slay his son, but He did intend that Abraham should know by rich experience his own heart relation to God. (Heb. 11:17) “By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only he- gotten son.” He was justified by faith before God, and justified by works before men. (3) PREVENTING AND PROVIDING, vs. 11-14 “Lay not thine hand upon the lad.” Here is a marvellous picture,—the altar, the wood, the fire, the victim bound without a protest, and the father— knife in hand above the bared breast of his son,—the son who had been born out of due time, the seed in whom God had promised to bless the world! What a wonderful type we have, in this servant, of the Holy Spirit who seeks a bride for Christ: Sent by the Father, He is the executive of the Godhead. Eliezer’s name is not mentioned (he is called simply “the eldest servant”), and he never speaks of himself, but of his master. He is occupied with his call, the command, the committment, the consequences. He has the courage of conviction for he possesses the necessary credentials to establish his credit. He seeks no glory for himself. He prays. He tarries at the well (the type of the Word), the meeting place. So the Spirit in tercedes with the Father to reveal whom He has chosen. The gifts are bestowed; the mission is proclaimed; the bride is betrothed before she realizes it,—just as believers are gathered, in the purpose of God, before the fulness of the truth is known by them. Room is provided in the house for the servant,^-a type of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the bodies of be lievers. The servant extols the graces of the bridegroom. Rer bekah believes the report as did the Queen of Sheba con cerning Solomon. Rebekah’s heart was won before she saw Isaac, and her birthplace and her home were blessed because of her. Rebekah was veiled before Isaac came to her in the field. When the cry “Behold, he cometh” was raised, and
In the 21st chapter we have the account of the birth of Isaac (21:2) in which God fulfilled the promise made to Abraham in 18:14. God had also promised Hagar that her son (Ishmael) should be the father of a great nation (21: Chapter 22. T. C. Horton (1) PROBING AND PROVING, vs. 1-5, “Take now thy son, thine only son, * * * and offer him for a burnt offering,” v. 2. Abraham had been subject to many trials and testings, and through these his faith in God had been tested and de veloped. We must not shirk or shrink when we are in God’s hands for He has always a great and good purpose (Isa. 26:3, 4) r ‘"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trnsteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” (Rom. 5:8; 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:7) Character, like armor, must be tested and proven. Satan tests and seeks to overthrow. God tests in order to strengthen. Satan uses a sieve. God uses a fan. Charac ter is made, not inherited. Abraham is to be the head of a great nation and must grow into the place of power and authority through a series of tests and trials in which is developed his confidence in God and in God’s purpose for him. His head'must be well balanced. His heart must be firmly fixed. This lesson is full of dramatic incidents and is a master piece of exquisite simplicity of expression. Isaac is now 25 years old. There has grown a fellowship between father and son which has become a bond binding heart to heart. The unexpected command of God came like lightning from a clear sky. “Take now thy son.” With what suddenness and severity do some of the trials of faith come. Yet when they come from the tender heart of a loving God, and are directed by His merciful hand, they are precious (1 Pet. 1:7). (2) PRACTICING AND PLEASING, vs. 6-11, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where Is the lamb?” v. 7. Perhaps every step of the way to Mount Moriah was at tended by a voice which said “I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect.” (17:1). The road may be rough but the Almighty One is with him. To obey is better than sacrifice. God’s eye is resting with pleasure upon Abraham. If Abraham is saying, “I delight to do thy will” God is saying to him “My beloved” (Matt. 3:17; Isa. 53:6). Here is a wonderful picture; paint it! Father, son, fire, wood, knife (1 Pet. 2:24) “Who his own self bare onr sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteous ness; by whose stripes ye were healed.? Isaac is the type of perfect obedience and loyalty to the will of his father. What were his thoughts, think you, when his father said, “God will provide himself a lamb.” (Matt. 19:26) “But Jesus beheld them, and said nnto them. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” (John 1:29-36) Abraham had been tested and found true when Sodom was in question. Now he is tested and found that he loved 18). Our lesson today is confirmed chiefly to the offering of Isaac as recorded in EXPOSITION
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