Coachlight
Bible
Study
“God Preaches
The Gospel To Abraham”
Galatians
3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians
3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham.
Coachlight
Bible Study – Genesis Lesson 32 – Genesis Chapter 22
God Preaches The Gospel To Abraham
I. God gave Abraham many promises concerning his son
A. God had promised his son would become the father of many nations.
B. Through his son the whole world would be blessed.
C. God promised that his offspring would be as
1. The sand of the sea for multitude.
2. And the stars of the heavens in number.
D. In due time, God kept His promise. When
Abraham was 100 years old Isaac was born.
1. He grew up in his father’s house.
2. Some years later the Lord made a very unusual demand of Abraham.
a. He ordered him to take his promised son and offer him for a
sacrifice upon
b. Abraham was asked to put to death the son whom God had miraculously
given him.
c. Remember, Isaac as yet had no seed; in fact, he wasn’t even married.
E. How could Isaac become the father of many nations if Isaac were to
die before he had a child? This was a big test for Abraham
Genesis 22:1 And
it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt[05254]
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Genesis 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest[0157], and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
05254 hon nacah naw-saw’ - a primitive
root; TWOT-1373; v
Prove 20, tempt 12, assay 2, adventure 1, try
1; 36
1) to
test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test
1a) (Piel) 1a1) to test,
try 1a2) to attempt, assay, try 1a3) to test, try, prove, tempt
0157 bha ‘ahab aw-hab’ or bha ‘aheb aw-habe’ - a primitive root;
TWOT-29; v
love 169, lover(s) 19, friend(s) 12, beloved
5, liketh 1, lovely 1, loving 1; 208
1) to love - 1a) (Qal) - 1a1) human love for another, includes family, and sexual
1a2) human appetite for
objects such as food, drink, sleep, wisdom - 1a3) human love for or to God - 1a4)
act of being a friend - 1a4a) lover (participle) - 1a4b) friend
(participle)
1a5) God’s love toward man -
1a5a) to individual men
- 1a5b) to people
F. God was trying Abraham –
Perhaps Abraham & Sarah were in danger of esteeming the blessing more than
God Himself
G. Remember the teaching of
James:
James 1:13 Let no man say when
he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil,
neither tempteth he any man: {evil: or, evils}
Hebrews 11:13
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them
afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. {in
faith: Gr. according to faith}
Hebrews
Hebrews 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from
whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Hebrews 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for
them a city.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and
he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Hebrews 11:18 Of
whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Hebrews 11:19
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence
also he received him in a figure.
A. Genesis 22:2 is the first occurrence of “love” in the Bible
1. The first occurrence of a word in the Bible usually sets the meaning
throughout the Bible
2. It is interesting - the 1st occurrence of love is the
love between father and son and the sacrificial offering of that son.
a. A Father that deeply loves his only son
b. But is willing to slay his son
3. The love of the Father for the second part of the Trinity is from
before Creation:
John 17:24
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am;
that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
4. What is the first occurrence of love in the New Testament?
Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.
5. What is the first occurrence of love in Mark?
Mark 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
6. What is the first occurrence of love in Luke?
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove
upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in
thee I am well pleased.
7. How about John?
John 3:16 For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
B.
1. We saw Him faintly in the garden, in the protevangelium.
2. We saw Him in the lamb, slain to provide the coats of skins.
3. We saw Him in the ark of Noah.
4. We saw Him in the supernatural conception in the birth of Isaac.
5.
C.
Look how Isaac is described in this request of God. He says:
Genesis 22:2 “Take now thy son, thine
only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…”
1. Immediately, it points us to Abraham’s Greater Son, whom Isaac is to be the figure.
– Remember the well known verse John
3:16.
2. Like Isaac, Jesus was the “only begotten” of the father.
3. Then God says, “whom thou lovest.”
a. All of Abraham’s love was centered upon Isaac
b. All his hopes were concentrated in him.
4. Jesus too, was the well- beloved of the father, and Luke tells us that at the baptism of Jesus.
Luke
D. Notice the place that Abraham was to go as
the exact place for the sacrifice of his son. The Lord said:
Genesis 22:2 “…get
thee to the
1. The
II Chronicles 3:1 “Then Solomon began to build the house of the
Lord at
2. In this region is
located
E. Another remarkable figure of the
Lord Jesus
1. A prophecy of His burial and sojourn for the three days and three
nights in physical death, in the tomb.
2. Evidently, the place from which Abraham was to take his son,
A. The order to sacrifice and put to death his
son was given to Abraham three days before the act was to take place.
1. Abraham believed God meant business.
2. From the day the command came until he reached
a. Abraham took wood for the sacrifice
b. Fire for the offering
c. A knife for the slaying of his son.
B. It is clear that Abraham intended to obey God. For three days
therefore, Abraham considered his son as good as dead. We read:
Genesis 22: 4
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the
place afar off.
C. We will see later that he was restored in a
figure of the resurrection. Very likely, Paul was thinking of this:
I Corinthians 15:3-4 “…that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; and that he was
buried and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures.
IV. We will go into this more later, but now notice this entire transaction was solely between father and son.
A. No other man had any part in it.
B. When Abraham reached the mount, he said to a young man who had accompanied them:
Genesis 22:5“…abide ye here with the ass; and
I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”
C. In exactly the the same way, the crowd would follow Jesus from the
garden to the judgment hall and from there to the
1. What happened between Abraham and Isaac we may never know.
2. What happened between Father God and Son Jesus during the agonizing
last three hours of Jesus’ life, we will never be able to comprehend.
E. No human eyes were to behold the scene. We read:
Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth
hour.”
F. What happened between Father and Son, we may never know.
1. When the final crisis came and the final sacrifice was made,
2. God closed the door, and drew a black curtain across the windows of the sky,
3. until finally, the conclusion came in with agony:
Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?
Verse 6 reads:
Genesis 22:6 “And Abraham took the wood of the burnt
offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and
a knife; and they went both of them
together.”
Abraham laid the wood for the burnt offering upon Isaac. We don’t need to say more than quote from John 19:
John
By carrying the wood upon which he was to be sacrificed - Isaac foreshadowed the One who carried His own cross upon which He was to die.
A. Was it just a blind act of obedience?
B. Did Abraham understand the meaning of it
all?
C. I believe that Abraham understood all that this pointed to.
D. Remember the words of Paul in Galatians, that
the Gospel was preached before, to Abraham.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
E. The amazing part of the whole thing is that there is no questioning
on the part of Abraham - no resistance at all on the part of his son.
F. There was perfect agreement; and when Abraham explained the typical
meaning of it all, there was a perfect understanding and complete submission on
the part of his son.
G. Look what Isaac asked:
Genesis 22:7
“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father: and he
(Abraham) said, here I am, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb
for a burnt offering?”
H. Look at Abraham’s answer:
Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, my son, God will
provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: So they both went together.
I. Notice after Abraham explained, “So
they went, both of them together.” The answer Abraham gave fully satisfied
the son. Let’s look at that answer again:
Genesis 22:8 “…God will provide
himself a lamb…”
J. While it is true that the Lord provided a ram
in the bushes as a substitute for Isaac, I believe that the rest of the record
went way beyond the sacrifice of Isaac.
K. Abraham saw from afar the hill of Calvary, where God Himself in the person of the Son, would be the Lamb of God, sacrificed for us. What else could Paul mean in Hebrews?
Hebrews 11: 12-13 “Therefore sprang there
even of one (Abraham) , and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in
multitude… These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded
of them, and embraced them.”
A. We left Abraham and Isaac alone on
Genesis 22:9,10 “And they came to the place which God had
told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and
bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar of wood. And Abraham stretched
forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”
B. Everything was done deliberately and without rush.
C. Isaac gave no resistance at all.
D. He could easily have overpowered his aged father, but there was no
refusal.
E. It makes us look forward to
F. Just before going to the cross Jesus cried, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
G. The son lies upon the wood, the knife is raised,
H. Abraham had no doubts - he had to bring it down and stab it into the
heart of his son.
I. Just before the fatal knife falls, God stopped Abraham and we read:
Genesis
J. This took Abraham completely by surprise - he had not expected this at all.
1. He fully understood that God meant for him to actually slay his son,
2. Now God interrupted him.
VII. In The Stead Of His Son
A. Here
the typology changes and we have an example of a double type.
1. Isaac could be a type of the Lord Jesus only so far, and no further.
2. Isaac himself needed a substitute, who must be slain in his stead.
3. Now the figure changes from Isaac as a picture of Christ - to a ram
as a substitute for Isaac.
Genesis 22:13“And Abraham lifted
up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind
him a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took
the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.”
1. A picture pointing forward to Christ.
2. Just as a shadow falls short of revealing all the details - features
and colors of the body casting the shadow,
3. The types of The Old Testament fall short of
fully revealing the person of the Lord.
a. This is the reason we have double types.
b. Isaac could only be a type of Christ to a certain point - no
further.
1. Isaac himself needed a redeemer.
2. Isaac was a sinner and the perfect sacrifice has to be an
innocent substitute.
3. God had already provided this substitute.
4. Two separate types of the Lord
Jesus - Isaac and the ram.
5. Both in agreement with
previous figures.
1. The lesson of the innocent victim in the coats of skins.
2. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because he offered a substitute instead
of
the fruits of his own labor.
C. This principle can never be violated. We see
it in the Passover lamb, and fully revealed in Christ - as He became our
Substitute:
Isaiah 53:5,6 “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord
hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
1. This is substitution – one dying the place of another:
II Corinthians
2. Peter had the same testimony concerning innocent substitution:
I Peter
A. Abraham had bound Isaac on the altar.
B. He had lifted the knife, ready to plunge it into his son,
C. The angel of the Lord from heaven interrupted and revealed the substitutionary ram provided by God:
Genesis 22:13 “And Abraham lifted
up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram, caught in a thicket by
his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt
offering in the stead of his son.”
D. Here we have a type of the resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
1. Remember After Abraham had considered Isaac
dead for three days
2. he is suddenly restored unto him, and kept alive.
3. It was truly like a resurrection from the dead.
a. Now Abraham hadn’t expected it to happen that way at all.
b. He firmly believed he would be called upon to slay his son,
c. and that God would resurrect Isaac from the dead.
4. This was Abraham’s thought at this time, and it is plainly explained by the Holy Spirit in His own commentary:
Hebrews 11:17-18 “By faith
Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy
seed be called.”
E. Notice that God said, “offer up Isaac”, and “he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.”
F. Now we know
from Genesis that he did not actually, literally offer up Isaac on the altar,
1. for the angel of the Lord stayed his hand and
2. Provided the
revelation of the the substitutionary
ram in the thicket.
G. Is this a
contradiction? Of course not. The first two words tell
the story – By Faith
A. God accepted Abraham’s faith and motive for the actual sacrifice.
1. God reckoned it
to him as though he had actually slain his son.
2. If God hadn’t
intervened Abraham would have slain Isaac,
3. and so Isaac was potentially slain by Abraham.
1. What was the
content of the faith which would, without murmuring, give his son to die on the
altar?
2. In the 18th
verse the answer is hinted:
Genesis
C. God had promised Abraham a son 50 years earlier.
1. The fulfillment
was delayed by nearly 30 years,
2. Abraham and
Sarah had both long passed the age of having natural seed
3. God came to
Abraham and repeated the promise.
4. According to
nature - it was too late.
5. If the promise was to be fulfilled - it would take a miracle.
6. Abraham
believed God was going to perform a miracle - a supernatural conception. We
read:
Romans 4:3“…Abraham believed God, and it was counted
to him for righteousness.”
1. God asks Abraham
to slay the son of promise.
2. In order for
Isaac to be the father of a great nation - Abraham believed God would perform
another miracle.
3. This miracle,
Abraham believed, would be the resurrection of Isaac from the dead. 4. Abraham
had no idea that God would spare Isaac and provide a substitute.
A. Abraham offered
up his son by faith, and sacrificed the one
Hebrews
B. Look at the explanation of the whole thing:
Hebrews 11:19“Accounting that God was able to raise him
up, even from the dead;
from whence also he received him in a figure.”
C. To Abraham, the sparing of Isaac was a figure of resurrection.
XI. Abraham looked ahead
A. What Did He See?
1. He saw the picture of the Greater Son of Abraham
2. Virgin born
3. Substitutionarily offered
4. Supernaturally raised from the dead.
B. Back To Genesis 22
Genesis 22:14“And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD
it shall be seen.”
XII. Did Abraham understand the meaning of all of this?
A. Did he know that the Gospel was being
preached to him?
B. Yes, he did!
He did, because
1. he named the place “Jehovah-jireh,”
or “the Lord will provide.”
2. The word jireh
means “to see ahead.”
3. In order to
make provision for anything, one must plan ahead.
4.The word “provide” comes from two Latin words, pro
and vide or “to look ahead.”
C. Abraham called the place: “Jehovah will provide the true lamb, somewhere in the future, of which this experience is only a type.” Abraham looked forward. It is written:
Genesis
22:14“…in the mount of the Lord it shall
be seen.”
1. concerning the supernatural birth of a promised son,
2. His substitutionary sacrifice
3. His
resurrection
4. And
looking ahead saw all of it fulfilled in the coming One.
XIII. Do You
Still Have Doubt That Abraham Knew What God Was Preaching? - If you still have any doubt about Abraham’s understanding of these events:
John
Isaac a Type of Christ
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Isaac |
Christ |
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Isaac’s birth was miraculous – against nature – Genesis 18:11; Romans 4: 18-19; Hebrews 11:11 |
Christ was born of a virgin – against nature - Matthew |
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Isaac
was promised long before he was born – 25 years went by - Genesis 12:1-3 |
Jesus was promised many, many years before. – 4000 years went by Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14 |
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Isaac’s birth seemed delayed, but He was born at God’s appointed time. - Genesis 21:1&2 |
His birth seemed delayed, but He was born at God’s appointed time.- Galatians 4:4 |
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Isaac’s name was announced before he was born - Genesis 17:19 |
Jesus’name was announced before he was born - Matthew 1:20&21 |
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Abraham was confused when God promised him a son in his old age, his wife was passed the years of child bearing. - Genesis 17:15-17 |
When Joseph found Mary with child, he was equally confused, his wife not being with a man - Matthew 1:19-20 |
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Sarah, before her supernaturally conceived son was born, thought it to be impossible – Genesis 18:13 |
Mary, before her supernaturally conceived son was born, thought it to be impossible - Luke 1:34 |
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The Angel – (God) – announced to Sarah Genesis 18:14: “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” |
The angel announced to Mary Luke |
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The father’s
beloved son - Genesis 22:2 “Take now
thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…”(Hebrews
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The Father’s beloved Son Luke 3:22 “… ‘Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” (John 3:16) |
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God’s chosen place
was |
Moriah is in the same place as |
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For three days, in Abraham’s mind, Isaac was as good as dead, because it was a three day journey to Moriah. - Genesis 22: 4; Hebrews 11: 12-13 |
“…that he was buried and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. I Corinthians 15:3-4 |
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The entire transaction
was solely between father and son. – Only Abraham and Isaac went up the Mount
Genesis 22:5 |
The last three hours no human saw what happened between Father & Son - Matthew 27:45-46 |
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Isaac carried the wood
upon which he would be sacrificed - Genesis
22:6 |
Jesus carried the cross upon which He would be sacrificed - John 19:17 |
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The sacrificial lamb
was provided by God - Genesis 22:8 |
The Sacrificial Lamb was provided by God- John 1:29 |
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A figure of
substitution - double type – Isaac and the ram - Genesis 22:13 |
A true substitution - Isaiah 53:5,6; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24 |
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Isaac rose from the
altar a type of resurrection - Genesis 22:13;Hebrews11:19 |
“… he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. I Corinthians 15:3-4 |
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Genesis 22:14“And Abraham called the name of that place
Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” |
John |