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The Life of Abraham: Sacrifice

CCEA School of Discipleship

May 4, 2025

In Class

Take three minutes, get in groups of three or four, and share one thing you got out of reading Swindoll’s: Chapter 16: When God Says, “Let Go!”

Scheduling Heads Up:

We will have one more “week off” next week due to Mother’s Day. Class will resume on May 18 with our final class.

The Upcoming Final

By now you all should have received a copy of the final by email. I hope you’ve printed it out.

You can start now on it if you want.

Each time you have one of the verses memorized, find someone outside of the class, and recite it to them. You can tell them it doesn’t have to be perfect. Then have them put their name on the line below that verse on the final.

Do this with all four verses, reciting them one at a time to a friend. You can do one verse a week if you want. This will give you a total of 40 points on your final.

If you want the full fifty points that are available, then recite all four verses to your friend, one after the other in a single sitting. Be sure they put their name on that last line on the final.

Then turn it in to me on our last day of class, or take a picture of it and email it to me.

So for practice’ sake, Let’s recite Hebrews 11:6 together:

(Hebrews 11:6 NKJV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now Hebrews 11:8,9,10 together:

(Hebrews 11:8 NKJV) By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

(Hebrews 11:9 NKJV) By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

(Hebrews 11:10 NKJV) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Sacrifice

Genesis 22-23

Today I want to focus on one passage, Genesis 22:1-19

I will have a fuller study covering Genesis 22-23 in the notes I’ll email you this week.

Introduction

We saw in our last study that the elderly couple Abraham and Sarah had finally given birth to a promised son, Isaac.

And now they’ve been living in the desert community of Beersheba as they are raising their son Isaac.

The story we’re going to be looking at is one of the most amazing and wonderful portraits of Jesus you’ll see in the Old Testament. Keep your eyes open …

22:1-19 Abraham sacrificing Isaac

:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

:1 God tested Abraham

tested – nasa – test, try, put to the proof.

The old King James says “that God did tempt Abraham”, but this is not a tempting to do wrong, this is a test. Just a test.

God wants to see what Abraham’s faith is made of.

I wonder if it also isn’t about showing Abraham that his faith is real.

Quiz Alert! (#1/5)

Lesson

This is a test

Are you familiar with this sound???

Play EAS Test video

That was a test. That was just a test.

Illustration

A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police. “What are these matches and lighter fluid doing in your car?” asks the cop. “I’m a juggler and I juggle flaming torches in my act.” “Oh yeah?” says the doubtful cop. “Lets see you do it.” The juggler gets out and starts juggling the blazing torches masterfully. A couple driving by slows down to watch. “Wow,” says the driver to his wife. “I’m glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they’re giving now!

Illustration

It seems the US Federal Aviation Administration has a unique device for testing the strength of windshields on airplanes. The device is a gun that launches a dead chicken at a plane’s windshield at approximately the speed the plane flies. The theory is that if the windshield doesn’t crack from the carcass impact, it’ll survive a real collision with a bird during flight. It seems the British were very interested in this and wanted to test a windshield on a brand new, speedy locomotive they’re developing. They borrowed the FAA’s chicken launcher, loaded the chicken and fired. The ballistic chicken shattered the windshield, went through the engineer’s chair, broke an instrument panel and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done correctly. The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation: “Use a thawed chicken.”

There are times when God tests His people.

He tested Israel with the manna, to see if they would do things the way He said and collect just one days’ worth of manna each day (Ex. 16:4)

(Exodus 16:4 NKJV) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.

During the time of the Judges, God no longer drove out the pagan nations as a test for Israel to see if they would continue to follow Him. (Judg. 2:22)

(Judges 2:22 NKJV) so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.”

God tested Hezekiah when he showed the ambassadors from Babylon all his treasures.

(2 Chronicles 32:31 NKJV) However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

What do you do when you want a good grade on the upcoming test?

Perhaps you study a little harder.

Paul wrote to Timothy:

(2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The Old King James says “Study to show thyself approved…”

The word “approved” (dokimos) speaks of something being tested and approved. Passing the test.

That same word (dokimos) is used in:

(James 1:12 NKJV) Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Passing the test requires that we pay attention, work hard, and endure.

Are you ready for the “tests” ahead of you?

I wonder if we might have a different perspective on some of the difficulties we face in life if we were to find out that God is just testing us.

What could be the questions on that test? Is it cheating if I give you hints?

Do you trust Me?

Do you love Me?

Will you wait for Me?

Will you follow Me?

I’m not sure He doesn’t know who we are or what’s in our heart.

I do wonder if He might be trying to show us what kind of people we are.

It’s possible that He might be trying to show those around us that we are the real, genuine article – a real Christian.

Paul wrote,

(2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV) Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

:2 Then 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."

:2 your son, your only son Isaac

What about Ishmael? Abraham has another son, doesn’t he? God doesn’t recognize Ishmael.

Pastor Chuck wrote, “We’re going to be surprised when we stand before God and our works are then tried by fire; because, so many of them will be burned. The works of the flesh will all burn. I’ve tried for years, in my flesh, to do the work of God and to build the church of Jesus Christ, but it was all for nothing. I spent a lot of years laboring in vain. God doesn’t recognize the work of your flesh, He wants the work of the Spirit in your life.”

(Psalm 127:1 NKJV) Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.

:2 whom you love

There is a principle in Bible Study called the principle of “First Mention”. You can learn some very interesting things by study the first time something occurs in the Bible. Since the book of Genesis is the book of “beginnings”, we’ve seen lots of “first mentions”.

This is the first occurrence of the word “love” (Heb. ahab). Pay close attention to the lesson of love that is taught here.

There used to be a bumper sticker that read, “If you truly love someone, then you will set them free”

Then there was a bumper sticker that said something like, “If you truly love someone, you will set them free, then hunt them down”

Is that what this verse is teaching us? Abraham loves his son … and it looks like he’s going to kill him?

The lesson is this: If you truly love someone, you will trust them into God’s hands.

It is interesting to note that the first mention of “love” is of a father for his son.

When you look in the New Testament, the first occurrence of “love” (agapao) is found in:

(Matthew 3:17 NKJV) And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The first occurrence in Mark and Luke are also of God the Father speaking of His beloved Son.

The first mention of “love” in the gospel of John is:

(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

There’s a shift from the beloved Son to the world that God loves so much that He gives His beloved son as a sacrifice …

There is a scripture in Hebrews that says:

(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”

The whole Bible is filled with Jesus. As you’re going to see, Jesus is woven so much into Genesis 22, you have to be blind not to see Him.

:2 go to the land of Moriah

Moriah – Mowriyah – “chosen by Yahweh”.

(see map)

Abraham is living in Beersheba.

Verse 4 tells us it was a three days’ journey to Moriah. A typical day’s journey was between 10-20 miles.

That puts us right near Jerusalem, about 50 miles from Beersheba.

Later, in Solomon’s day, one hilltop in particular is referred to as “Mount Moriah”,

(2 Chronicles 3:1 NKJV) Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Let’s take a little tour of the area…

Around A.D. 690 the Muslims built a structure over a rock, actual bedrock, which they claim was the place where Abraham offered his son (though they claim it was Ishmael, not Isaac).

There is a Jewish tradition that this is the spot where Abraham offered Isaac. In Jewish tradition, it is also the place from which the world was created and where Adam was created.

The building is called the “Dome of the Rock”, after that piece of “bedrock” it covers – the building with the big golden dome that sits on the Temple Mount.

On top of or near this same spot was where Solomon would build the Temple, 1700 years before that “dome”.

Just a side note for you Bible nerds. Some think the actual “rock” was at a place called the “Dome of the Spirits”, just off to the right of the big dome. It too has exposed bedrock and could be a candidate for the site of a future Temple.

If you were looking at the Dome of the Rock from the Mount of Olives, down and to the left, about a quarter of a mile away, is the part of Jerusalem known as “The City of David”, the oldest part of Jerusalem dating not only back to the time of David, but back to the earliest inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Canaanite tribe known as the Jebusites.

This would have also been the location of the city where Abraham’s friend Melchizedek was king over.

Behind the Dome of the Rock, a little to the left you’ll see the gray domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional place where Jesus was crucified and buried.

:2 offer him there as a burnt offering

Quiz Alert! (#2/5)

Lesson

Giving up my treasure

With so many fascinating ideas in this verse, don’t miss the lesson that Abraham is learning. Do you have treasure?

Illustration

A pirate captain was out to retrieve his buried treasure. After months of hard sailing his ship caught site of land, the land to which his treasure map had been leading. He and his first mate disembarked on the island to search out the buried treasure, which was supposed to lay hidden deep within a swamp at the center of the island. Sure enough, at the center of the island was a swamp, and the Captain and his first mate bravely entered the swamp. Soon the swamp began to get deeper, and the pirate’s feet, then ankles, and finally entire leg below the knees was covered in swamp. It was at that time that the Captain banged his shin against something hard. He reached down, searched around, and pulled up a treasure chest. Prying the lock open, the chest revealed gold and jewels beyond imagination. The Captain turned to his first mate and said, “Arrrr, matey, that just goes to show ye, that booty is only shin deep!”

Would you give up your treasure if God asked you to?

What’s more important to you – your “stuff” or your God?

When Jesus met the fellow we call “The Rich Young Ruler”,

(Matthew 19:21 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Jesus wasn’t saying that you have to give all your money away in order to get to heaven. He was putting His finger on this one particular man’s problem. His “stuff” was his problem. His “stuff” was his “god”.

The man went away sad because he didn’t want to let go of his stuff.

King Amaziah was facing a threat from the Edomites. So he raised up an army from his kingdom of Judah, but also spent 7,500 pounds of silver to hire an army from his enemy, the northern kingdom of Israel. He was met by a prophet who told him he would lose his battles if he stayed allied with the northern kingdom.

(2 Chronicles 25:9 NLT) Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this!”

That’s a good lesson for us. We can worry about “giving up” our treasures, but God has so much more, so much better things for us if we just choose to listen and follow Him.

For Abraham, Isaac was his greatest treasure. And even when such a great treasure is something that we clearly see God has given us, we need to be careful that our treasure doesn’t become our “god”.

:3 So 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.

Not only is Abraham traveling about 50 miles from Beersheba to Jerusalem, but he’s also climbing from 800 feet (Beersheba) to 2500 feet (Jerusalem)

:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.

The journey was three days. In a way, after Abraham decided to go, Isaac was “dead” to his father. And after this journey of three days, Isaac will be alive again.

:5 And 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."

:5 the lad and I will go yonder and worship

worship – hawa – to prostrate oneself, to worship

Bible students, this is the first occurrence of the word “worship”. We think of “worship” as singing pretty songs. Abraham thought of “worship” as offering up his son on an altar.

:5 we will come back to you

Don’t think that Abraham is just telling a story to the young men.

Abraham believes that even though God has asked him to sacrifice his son, that they will return.

He knows that God has promised that Isaac would be the son through whom God would keep His promises to Abraham:

(Genesis 17:19 NKJV) Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

Abraham has been learning to trust God. He has learned that God keeps His promises. Isaac himself is a fulfilled promise from God to Abraham.

The writer to the Hebrews tells us:

(Hebrews 11:17–19 NKJV) —17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Abraham had concluded that even if he ended up killing his son, God would do something, even raising him from the dead if need be.

There is a picture of sacrifice and resurrection lurking in this story.

:6 So 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.

:6 wood … laid it on Isaac

How old was Isaac at this time?

When you compare Gen. 21:8 (weaned) and 23:1 (mom dies), Isaac has to be somewhere between 3 and 37 years old.

(Genesis 21:8 NKJV) So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.

(Genesis 23:1 NKJV) Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

Remember she was ninety when Isaac was born.

He’s also got to be old enough to carry a load of wood up the hill. Don’t think of him as a toddler.

Note: The Hebrew word translated “lad” for Isaac in verse 5 is the same word used to describe the “young men”, perhaps they are all about the same age.

lad – na’ar – boy, lad, youth, servant, attendant

Some suggest Isaac might be a teenager, others suggest a man in his twenties, others have suggested he might have been 33 years old, like Jesus was when He died.

It reminds us of that other Son …

(John 19:17 NKJV) And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha,

:7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

Isaac notices that something is missing with this sacrifice.

:8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.

:8 God will provide for Himself the lamb

I know that as a translator, they are really both saying the same thing, but I love the way the Old King James puts this verse:

(Genesis 22:8 KJV) And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

However you look at it, God will provide.

:9 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, upon the wood.

:9 laid him on the altar

I find it interesting that Isaac trusts his father enough to let him do this.

We often look at this story from Abraham’s perspective – being willing to give up the most important thing in his life.

But think of it from Isaac’s perspective – trusting your Father and being willing to lay down your life.

Jesus prayed in the garden:

(Luke 22:42 NKJV) …“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

:10 took the knife to slay his son

Quiz Alert! (#3/5)

Lesson

Painting a picture

There are several times in the Old Testament where some pretty unusual events take place. And from the light of the New Testament we get the idea that God was actually painting pictures of events yet to come.

Moses in the wilderness gives us some of these paintings.

Paul wrote,

(1 Corinthians 10:1–4 NKJV) —1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

There wasn’t an actual “baptism”, but going through the Red Sea was a “picture” of baptism.

Paul tells us that the Rock in the wilderness that gave the people water was Christ.

The first time Moses encounters the Rock, the people are in need of water. Moses is told to “strike” the Rock and water would come out.

(Exodus 17:6 NKJV) Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

The next time Moses encounters the Rock, he is told to “speak” to the Rock and water would come out.

(Numbers 20:8 NKJV) “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water…

What a beautiful picture of our Savior – He was struck, smitten for our sins. And now all we need to do is speak, to trust in Him, and we receive the water of life.

Except…

…the problem is that Moses blew the picture. The second time he encountered the Rock, he was upset with the people. Instead of speaking to the Rock, he strikes the Rock a second time out of anger, and messes up the picture. And God pulls Moses aside and tells him that because he didn’t speak to the Rock, he wouldn’t enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:12).

(Numbers 20:12 NKJV) Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

It might be that God was concerned that Moses wasn’t obeying God exactly. I wonder if the issue was something deeper.

Moses had messed up the picture.

Sometimes we don’t do a great job at painting …

Like this woman a few years back (2012) who decided to do a restoration of a picture of Jesus Christ that was on the wall of her church…

It didn’t turn out too well. The original painting was called “Behold the Man”, but afterwards people started calling it “Behold the Monkey”

Or this…

Illustration

A man was hired to paint a church and came out to do the job. He had finished painting everything but the steeple when he realized he was running out of paint. Instead of going out to get more paint he thinned it out and kept on going. Well, that night there was a big storm. The next morning the painter came and found that all of the paint on the steeple had been washed off. While he was looking up the clouds parted and a voice from heaven said “REPAINT AND THIN NO MORE!”

God is concerned that we too would paint the correct pictures for those around us.

What picture would God like us to paint? Here’s one picture…

(John 13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In fact, it’s kind of ironic that Moses doesn’t make it into the Promised Land. It’s Joshua that leads the people into the Promised Land.

Following the Law of Moses won’t get you into heaven, but Joshua will. Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua.

Now here in the land of Moriah, Abraham is painting a picture for God.

He paints the picture of a loving Father willingly giving up His Beloved Son as a sacrifice … in the land of Moriah, the land “chosen by Yahweh”.

And this is just about as much as God wants Abraham to paint, so…

:11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."

:12 And He 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."

:11 the Angel of the LORD called to him

We’ve already seen this specific Old Testament person back in Genesis 16 with Hagar.

The Lord Jesus is appearing to Abraham.

I am blown away thinking of who it is that’s going to stop Abraham from going through with the sacrifice.

It’s the One who Himself would one day be the Son who was sacrificed.

:12 now I know that you fear God

Quiz Alert! (#4/5)

Lesson

Passing the Test

Remember, Abraham was being “tested” by God (vs. 1)

It’s one thing to realize that what we are going through is “just a test”, but it’s best if we learn to “pass the test”.

Abraham has “passed the test”.

Illustration

Art Linkletter used to say, “Kids say the darndest things”.

Like the answers to these test questions:

1. What are the inhabitants of Moscow called?

Mosquitoes

2. Define H2O and CO2

H20 is hot water and Co2 is cold water

3. The people who followed the Lord were called…

The 12 opossums

4. What are the four seasons?

Salt, pepper, mustard, and vinegar

5. What is syntax?

All the money collected at the church from sinners.

When it comes to “tests”, talk is cheap.

It’s easy to say that you believe in God, but if there is not evidence in your life, maybe your faith isn’t worth anything.

Earlier in Abraham’s life, when God promised Abraham a son, we read,

(Genesis 15:6 NKJV) And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

But now Abraham’s faith in God has turned a corner. He doesn’t just have a faith that consists of words. He’s demonstrated by his actions that He has complete trust in God.

(James 2:20–24 NKJV) —20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

James is not saying that a man is made right before God because of works, but that a man’s faith is shown to be right by his works.

Our works prove the reality of our faith. Abraham’s actions proved to everyone that he had a complete trust in God.

We can sometimes justify our choices in life by saying to ourselves that it doesn’t really matter how we live our lives as long as we believe in Jesus.

It matters to the people around us who are watching us.

It matters to God.

He wants those around us to see what real faith is all about.

This is from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs:

Paul, the apostle, who before was called Saul, after his great travail and unspeakable labors in promoting the Gospel of Christ, suffered also in this first persecution under Nero. Abdias, declareth that under his execution Nero sent two of his esquires, Ferega and Parthemius, to bring him word of his death. They, coming to Paul instructing the people, desired him to pray for them, that they might believe; who told them that shortly after they should believe and be baptized at His sepulcher. This done, the soldiers came and led him out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword.^{^[1]}

Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna, hearing that persons were seeking for him, escaped, but was discovered by a child. After feasting the guards who apprehended him, he desired an hour in prayer, which being allowed, he prayed with such fervency, that his guards repented that they had been instrumental in taking him. He was, however, carried before the proconsul, condemned, and burnt in the market place.

The proconsul then urged him, saying, “Swear, and I will release thee;—reproach Christ.”

Polycarp answered, “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath saved me?”^{^[2]}

:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

:13 a burnt offering instead of his son

Quiz Alert! (#5/5)

Lesson

He died in my place

This is a picture of substitutionary sacrifice.

The ram would die in place of the son.

This is what’s behind the picture of the first Passover.

Each family would slay a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts of their house.

This was a sign to God that a lamb had died to take the place of the “firstborn” of that house. When the Angel of Death came by, he would “pass over” that house because a lamb had already paid the price.

John the Baptist had that picture in mind when he first saw Jesus…

(John 1:29 NKJV) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This is what’s behind the sacrifices in the Law of Moses.

The wages of sin is death. When you sin, someone must die.

You can pay for your sin yourself and die, but God gives you another option.

You come to the priest and confess your sins over the animal.

The priest then kills the animal and it dies in your place.

This is what Jesus came to do when He chose to leave the glory of heaven, take on human flesh, and die.

God was providing a sacrifice.

(2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Some of you might think that’s not fair. It’s not.

He paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.

This is how God can be both a God of justice, yet also a God of mercy.

He can show mercy to us because justice, the price for our sin, has been paid.

A word for Unbelievers

We will all one day face the judgment of God.

(Hebrews 9:27 NKJV) And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

You simply can’t avoid it.

Do you really want to pay for your own sins?

So how can we find eternal life when we’ve done things deserving of judgment?

We admit we need God’s help and ask God to forgive us because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.

Ask Him into your life. Do it today.

A word for Believers

We’ve found forgiveness by believing in Jesus Christ.

Yet we still need this principle of substitutionary sacrifice.

Keith Green wrote a song around 1980 called Romans VII.

It’s a song about admitting what a struggle it is to be a Christian. We still have a sin nature, and we do the things we don’t want to do. In one of the lines he says…

The question still prevails, please take away the veil, about how You forgive, and still you live inside me when I fail…

We can wonder the same thing if we’re not careful.

We wonder if God might be finished with us because once again … we have failed.

We can fall into the trap of thinking that we are always going to do all the things we should. But to be honest, we are incapable of obeying fully until we see Jesus face to face.

We still need to depend on the grace of God.

Jesus laid down an eternal life to pay for an infinite amount of sins.

Including the ones I’ll commit tomorrow.

That’s not an excuse to sin. But it’s reason you can still be forgiven and be used by God.

And that’s amazing. That’s grace.

: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."

:14 The-LORD-Will-Provide

The Hebrew is “Yahweh Yireh”.

It’s the same word Abraham used in verse 8 when he told Isaac that God would provide.

:14 In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided

Remember that Moses is the one who is writing this all down.

Perhaps from earlier records recorded by Abraham and others.

This phrase (in the Mount of the Lord…) is something that “was being said” in Moses’ day as a result of what had happened to Abraham.

Abraham’s sacrifice was provided for him in the land of Moriah.

1000 years after Abraham, Solomon would build the Temple on Mount of Moriah.

2,000 years after Abraham, Jesus would be crucified in the land of Moriah.

The message of the Gospel is this: God has provided a sacrifice for you.

:15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,

:16 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;

:17 "blessing I will bless you, and 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.

:17 multiplying I will multiply

God reiterates His earlier (Gen. 15:5) promise to give Abraham many descendants. And the irony is that the promise of many descendants comes after Abraham is willing to give up the one he treasures.

:17 possess the gate of their enemies

A hint that Israel will one day conquer the land of Canaan. Maybe even more…

:18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

:19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

:18 all the nations of the earth shall be blessed

The whole world would be blessed because of Abraham’s obedience.

How was the “whole world” blessed because of Abraham?

Through Jesus

Abraham was faithful to paint a gospel picture.

He was painting a picture of a Father who would not withhold His Son, His only Son.

Abraham passed his “test”.

We’re going to stop our study here, but I’ve got the rest of the chapter as well as all of Genesis 23 in my notes (which I’ll email to you)

22:20-24 Nahor’s family

One last reminder: We have one more week “off”. Next week is Mother’s Day. Our last class will be on May 18

:20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:

:20 it was told Abraham

Abraham is going to hear some news from his family, specifically about his brother Nahor.

It seems the last we know Abraham has heard of Nahor was when Abraham had left with his father from Ur where they apparently left Nahor behind.

But I have this sneaking suspicion that Nahor eventually left and perhaps even started his own city called Nahor. (Gen. 24:10)

(Genesis 24:10 NKJV) Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

It could be that this “city” was the city of Haran where Abram and his father Terah stayed for a few years. Years later Nahor’s grandson Laban is living in Haran. (Gen. 27:43)

(Genesis 27:43 NKJV) Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran.

It tells us that there was some sort of communication being carried back and forth from Abraham’s family to him.

Because names carried meaning in these ancient days, it’s interesting to see the flavor of the names being used.

Milcah – Milkah – “queen”

Nahor – Nachowr – “snorting”

:21-24 Nahor’s Family

We get a long list of Nahor’s children, including his granddaughter Rebekah (vs. 23)

Rebekah will one day become the bride of Abraham’s son Isaac.

To give you a taste of Nahor’s family …

Buz – Buwz – “contempt”

Rebekah – Ribqah – “ensnarer”

Tebah – Tebach – “a slaughter”

Maachah – Ma‘akah – “oppression”

Nahor had a lot of kids. Big family. I wonder if that was a bit of a bitter pill for Abraham (“exalted father”) to swallow. Would you trade the blessings that God has given you for the treasures the world has to offer?

Is it worth it to turn from the world and follow after God?

23:1-20 Sarah’s Death and Burial

Introduction

Illustration

A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida for a long weekend to thaw out during one particularly icy winter. Because both had jobs, they had difficulty coordinating their travel schedules. It was decided that the husband would fly to Florida on a Thursday, and his wife would follow him the next day. Upon arriving as planned, the husband checked into the hotel. There he decided to open his laptop and send his wife an e-mail back in Minneapolis. However, he accidentally left off one letter in her address, and sent the e-mail without realizing his error. In Houston, a widow had just returned from her husband’s funeral. He was a minister of many years who had been ‘called home to glory’ following a heart attack. The widow checked her e-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends. Upon reading the first message, she fainted and fell to the floor. The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen, which read:

To: My Loving Wife

From: Your Departed Husband

Subject: I’ve Arrived!

I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I’ve seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is hot down here!

We’ve come quite a long way in our journey with this man of faith, Abraham. We’ve seen him perform great feats of heroism. We’ve seen him act like a coward. We’ve seen him trust God. We’ve seen him act out in the flesh.

Today we’re going to see him dealing with something that is common to all men, the death of a loved one.

:1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.

Abraham would be 137 years old. Isaac would be 37 years old.

We are often told how long men lived in the Bible. This is the only place where we know how old a woman was – I guess it has something to do with asking a woman her age…

:2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

Kirjath Arba – “city of Arba”

Hebron – “fellowship”

This is one of the places where Abraham has lived. When Lot chose to live in the Jordan valley, this was the first place Abraham spent some time at (Gen. 13:8). This was where Abraham was living when he heard about Lot being captured by the Eastern kings (Gen. 14:13). This is where the Lord visited Abraham and Sarah to tell them about the upcoming birth of their son Isaac (Gen. 18).

Lesson

Mourning

mourn – caphad – to wail, lament, mourn

This is the first time the word “mourn” is found in the Bible, and it is used for a godly man mourning and weeping over the death of his beloved wife.

Jesus said,

(Matthew 5:4 NKJV) Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He took the righteous believers with Him to heaven. But prior to the resurrection, the place where the righteous believers went at death was called “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). It was seen as a place where the righteous dead were comforted.

(2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NKJV) —3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I find it fascinating that Abraham mourned. Abraham was comforted. Abraham’s bosom was known as a place of comfort.

God understands grief.

When Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, Jesus went to visit Lazarus’ sisters Martha and Mary.

(John 11:32–36 NKJV) —32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

I know that some of us preachers will say that Jesus was weeping over the unbelief of the people and that may be. But the Scripture doesn’t specifically say that. And even though the Jews may have been wrong about Jesus’ reason for weeping, I’m not sure I read where John corrected their view.

I think Jesus understands what it is to lose a loved one.

God understands and pays attention to your loss.

(Psalm 56:8 NKJV) You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?

God wants to bring you comfort. God wants to use you to bring others comfort as well.

:3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

:3 spoke to the sons of Heth

These are the people known as the “Hittites”.

The Hittites would become a great empire in about six hundred years.

The Hittite empire of ancient times was centered in the area of modern Turkey and did not extend this far, but apparently there are a few pockets of Hittites that settled in the south.

Esau would marry two Hittite girls (Gen. 26:34).

The Hittites were a part of the inhabitants of Canaan that Joshua conquered (Josh. 9:1).

David had some Hittites among his men, including a man named Uriah who was married to a gal named Bathsheba (2Sam. 11:3).

:4 "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you.

Even though we see Abraham as a wealthy man because of the size of his flocks and the number of servants, up to this point, Abraham does not own any property in the land of Canaan.

Lesson

Just passing through

(Hebrews 11:9–10 NKJV) —9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

(do those verses sound familiar??)

This isn’t all there is. There is a city we will one day go to that will be our real home.

Illustration

When you go on a trip to a foreign country, some countries are more foreign than others.

When you’re in Russia or in Israel, one of the first things you notice is that you can’t read the signs. Both Russian and Hebrew alphabets are unlike anything we’re used to. It’s “foreign” to us.

There is a sense beloved that we ought to feel a little “foreign” in this world we live in. When we start feeling too comfortable and too familiar with this world I think we’re headed for trouble.

When someone tells a dirty joke a work, it ought to sound like a foreign language to us. When people talk about how to take advantage of a customer, it ought to feel out of place.

Peter writes,

(1 Peter 2:11–12 NKJV) —11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

The “day of visitation” could be the day a person meets God.

As we mentioned in the last study, it might be a reference to Gen. 21:1, where God “visited” Sarah and she gave birth to Isaac – in other words the “day of visitation” might be about the world seeing God keeping His promises to US.

Hopefully there will be more than a few people who will give thanks to God for the things we said and the things we did that caused them to turn their lives over to the Lord.

But it won’t happen if we are too much “at home” in the world. Only if we’re “strangers”.

:4 Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

This is the first mention of burial in the Bible. When death comes to a body, after 24 hours the body begins to decay. Eventually it will attract wild animals. Burial was practiced quickly.

Lesson

Death and Burial

Burial customs have changed through the years.

Some people have customs about the funeral procession …

Illustration

A woman was leaving the corner convenience store with her morning coffee when she noticed a most unusual funeral procession approaching the nearby cemetery. A long, black hearse was followed by a second long, black hearse about 50 feet behind. Behind the second hearse was a solitary woman walking a pit bull on a leash. Behind her were 200 women walking single file. The woman couldn’t stand the curiosity. She respectfully approached the woman walking the dog and said, “I am so sorry for your loss, and I know now is a bad time to disturb you, but I’ve never seen a funeral like this. Whose funeral is it? “The woman replied, “Well, that first hearse is for my husband.” “What happened to him?” The woman replied, “My dog attacked and killed him.” She inquired further, “Well, who is in the second hearse?” The woman answered, “My mother-in-law. She was trying to help my husband when the dog turned on her.” A poignant and thoughtful moment of silence passed between the two women. “Could I borrow that dog?” “Get in line.”

Some people have customs about the words said at a funeral…

Illustration

Ol’ Fred had been a faithful Christian and was in the hospital, near death. The family called their pastor to stand with them. As the pastor stood next to the bed, Ol’ Fred’s condition appeared to deteriorate and he motioned frantically for something to write on. The pastor lovingly handed him a pen and a piece of paper, and Ol’Fred used his last bit of energy to scribble a note, then he died. The pastor thought it best not to look at the note at that time, so he placed it in his jacket pocket. At the funeral, as he was finishing the message, he realized that he was wearing the same jacket that he was wearing when Ol’ Fred died. He said, “You know, ol’ Fred handed me a note just before he died. I haven’t looked at it, but knowing Fred, I’m sure there’s a word of inspiration there for us all.” He opened the note, and read, “Please move, you’re standing on my oxygen tube!”

In the ancient times, a typical burial consisted of a body wrapped in clothes and placed on a carved out shelf in the wall of a cave. When the body was decomposed, the bones would be collected into a common pit.

By the time of Jesus, the Greek culture had affected much of the world. The Greeks were very self-centered. They were concerned about the appearance of their bodies. They didn’t want their bones being mingled with other people. So, for the very rich, a body was placed in a limestone sarcophagus, a stone coffin the size of the body. You had a space all to yourself.

For those who couldn’t afford this, they would “borrow” a sarcophagus for 11 months, which is how long it would take for the limestone to decompose the body until all that was left was bones. Then the bones would be taken and placed in a separate, much smaller “bone box” called an “ossuary”.

Back in the time of Abraham, they followed the tradition of allowing the body to decompose and then putting the bones in a common pit.

Some see this as part of what it means when the Scripture says …

(Judges 2:10 NKJV) When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers …

Sarah would not be the only one to be buried here. This is also where Abraham would be buried (Gen. 25:9).

Eventually, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob would all be buried in this same place. There is also a Jewish tradition that this is where Adam and Eve are buried, though this is not found in the Bible. There is a mosque there today that covers a system of caves.

Lesson

A Proper Burial

I am not aware of any Scripture that indicates how a person should be buried.

Some folks are curious about cremation – is it okay to cremate a body? What takes years inside a coffin takes 30 minutes inside a crematorium. I don’t see any problem with speeding up the process.

On the other hand, if you choose to honor your loved ones with an expensive coffin, gravesite, and gravestone – that’s wonderful too.

Lesson

What happens at death?

Here’s what we do know will happen:

When a believer dies, their spirit goes immediately to be with the Lord in heaven.

Paul says that to be “absent from the body” is the same thing as being “present with the Lord” (2Cor. 5:8)

Paul talks about his own death and describes it as

(Philippians 1:23 NKJV) …having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

God does not intend for dead believers to simply be disembodied spirits in heaven, but there will also be a day when we our spirit will be reunited with a physical, resurrected body.

In Paul’s day, they were expecting Jesus to come back at any moment. And some folks were worried about those who had died before Jesus came back. Would they miss out on the resurrection?

(1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV) —13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

The proof that our physical bodies will one day be raised from the dead is based on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. When Jesus returns in the rapture, a resurrection will take place.

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Paul is describing this event we call “The Rapture”. At the time of the rapture, there will be some of us still alive in our old bodies on this earth. And we won’t be getting our new bodies before those folks who have already died and are in heaven.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

There will be a trumpet blown, and those who have already died before us will receive their new bodies.

17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

After the dead have received their new bodies, then we too will receive our new bodies without having to experience this thing called death. Paul says it will happen in the “twinkling of an eye” (1Cor. 15:52). One moment we will be looking at things as normal, and the next moment we will find ourselves “in the air” and in the Lord’s presence.

:5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,

:6 "Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead."

:6 You are a mighty prince among us

The Hebrew text reads “a prince with God”. Maybe they heard the stories of Abimelech finding out that Abraham was a prophet. They themselves had witnessed how Abraham had taken on the Eastern Kings to rescue Lot and the people of Sodom (Gen. 14).

Abraham had a good testimony among these people.

When we lose our loved ones, we have an opportunity to impact those around us who don’t know the Lord.

A funeral is an amazing opportunity to share the gospel. The reality of death makes our faith so much more real. We have real hope that there is life after this one. We believe this because Jesus rose from the dead.

:7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

:8 And he spoke with them, saying, "If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me,

:9 "that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you."

:9 give me the cave of Machpelah

Machpelah – Makpelah – “double” or “portion”

It seems that Abraham only wants to buy the cave, not the entire field. Ephron will want to sell the field as well.

Apparently Hittite law required Ephron to be responsible for taxes on the entire property if he sold Abraham only the cave, but not if he sold him the entire parcel.

:10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying,

The gate of a city was where legal transactions took place.

:11 "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!"

Ephron is not really offering to give the cave away. This is middle eastern haggling, simply a nice way of saying that he’s willing to sell it.

:12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land;

:13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there."

:14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

:15 "My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead."

:16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.

Apparently this is a pretty high price for a field in those days. This is supposed to be the beginning of the haggling process. Ephron starts at a high number and is supposed to haggle with Abraham until they get to the real price. But Abraham doesn’t want to haggle, and he will pay the high price.

:17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded

:18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

:19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

:20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

:20 were deeded to Abraham

The Palestinians like to say that Israel has no claim on the land. Yet here we see that Abraham purchased a piece of property in Hebron.

There is a sense in which Abraham has declared that Canaan is his home.

The custom was to be buried in your native land.

You will see this when Jacob dies in Egypt and Joseph has his father’s body taken back and buried in Canaan, in this very cave.

By purchasing this property, Abraham is saying that even though he was a “pilgrim” just passing through, that his mail still got delivered to Canaan.

God had told Abraham (Gen. 15:13-16) that though his descendants would spend 400 years in Egypt, they would come back and live in this land.

I wonder if this chapter isn’t a hint at the hope of things to come.

We can look at it and focus on the death of Sarah and the loss to Abraham.

But Abraham’s actions speak of the future. His actions hint at his trusting God’s promise that one day this land would belong to him and his ancestors.

For us, when we’ve lost a loved one who knew the Lord, we too have hope.

(1 Thessalonians 4:13 NKJV) …lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

When we’ve lost a loved one, we will have sorrow because we miss them.

But we have more than sorrow. We have hope. We have hope in the resurrection. We have hope that we will see them again. We know we haven’t “lost” a loved one because they’re not “lost” – we know exactly where they are.