I. Isaac was promised long before he was born. When Abraham left Haran the
Lord promised him a seed. (Genesis 12:3) Even though long delayed, God kept His
promise. It was once said, but He missed several chances to be early.”
A.
God made the promise of the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15.- 4,000 years
went by before it was fulfilled.
B.
Over 25 years went by between the promise of a seed and the birth of Isaac.
C.
Isaac’s birth was at the exact, appointed time.
Genesis 21:1&2 And the Lord visited
Sarah, as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old
age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
II. Isaac- A perfect type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A.
Jesus was promised many years before. His birth seemed delayed, but He was born
at God’s appointed time.
B. Jesus appeared in God’s perfect time.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
III. The striking parallel
A. Isaac’s birth was by supernatural conception and it
involved a miracle. - 4,000 years went by before it was fulfilled.
B. Isaac’s birth was foretold long before he was
born, and his name was announced before he was born.
Genesis
Jesus,
the antitype of Isaac, was also announced beforehand. We find Joseph, the
husband of Mary debating what to do with Mary, after he found that she was with
child:
Matthew
C.
Abraham was confused when God promised him a son in his old age, by his wife
who was passed the years of child bearing.
Genesis 17: 15
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy
wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. {Sarah: that is
Princess}
Genesis 17: 16
And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless
her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
{she…: Heb. she shall become nations}
Genesis 17:
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and
laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an
hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
D. When Joseph found Mary with child, he was equally confused, and
being just the man that he was, he sought to protect Mary from shame and to put
her away privately…
Matthew 1:19 Then Joseph
her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
Matthew 1:20 But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. {conceived: Gr.
begotten}
E. The same parallel exists between the reaction of Sarah and Mary before the supernaturally conceived children were born. When the Lord came to Abram and promised him a son by his 90 year old Sarah, it completely confused her and she considered it utterly impossible. The record is plain:
Genesis 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto
thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.
And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
Genesis
Genesis 18:12
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old
shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
1. She just couldn’t understand it, and it confused her, but the Lord came to her with the answer:
Genesis
18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham,
Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am
old?
Genesis
2. One cannot fail to see the very same reaction, and God’s answer to Mary when she was confused about her own unusual condition. An angel from heaven came to Mary just as the celestial had come to Abraham’s tent:
Luke 1: 30
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Luke 1: 31
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
3.
This left Mary in a state of confusion, and she asks almost the same question
that Sarah asked.
Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How
shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
4.
Notice the words spoken on the occasion of the announcement of the angel
concerning the birth of John the Baptist. Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary, was
barren. But God performed a miracle, a supernatural conception, and gave
her a son by the name of John. And the angel said:
Luke
5.
The last verse is identical in meaning with God’s words when announcing the
miraculous birth of Isaac when He says in Genesis
Genesis 18:14:
“Is any thing too hard for the Lord?”
1. The birth of Isaac was a wonderful miracle.
2. The birth of John the Baptist was also the result of a supernatural
act of God.
3. Isaac is one of the clearest
types of the Lord.
4. Isaac is usually seen as a
type on
5. The Gospel was preached to
Abraham Contained:
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.
a. Sacrificial death of the promised son.
b. Supernatural conception and virgin birth.
c. His resurrection.
d. His coming for His bride
1. The supernatural conception and miraculous birth of Isaac is an
outstanding type of Jesus - faith in the virgin birth is paramount to be saved.
a. No one can be saved who denies the virgin birth of Jesus Christ,
because without the virgin birth, Jesus was just a man and could not be the
Son of God.
b. If Jesus is not the Son of God, then He could not atone for the
infinite sin of mankind, or bear the eternal punishment of hell for
sinners.
c. The virgin birth is an
essential doctrine.
d. It’s just as essential as the substitutionary
death and bodily resurrection of Jesus.
2. We have already seen in a faint outline of the prophecy of His
virgin birth in the first promise of the Redeemer,
a. He is called, “the seed of the woman,” and not the seed of man – a faint picture
b. However, when it comes to the birth of Isaac, the portrait becomes crystal clear.
c. Of all the portraits of Jesus in the figures of The Old Testament,
none is more clearly and easily recognizable than the man, Isaac, with the
possible exception of Joseph, and the institution of the Passover in Exodus.
1. When Abraham was in his
prime, the Lord called him out of
2. Abraham dwelt there for an indefinite time, and God called him again
(Genesis 12:1-3) to migrate in the
land of Canaan.
3. When Abraham left Haran to go to Canaan,
he was almost 75 years old.
4. How old he was at the first call, we cannot tell because we do not
know how long he was at Haran.
5. God promised Abraham Canaan for a possession, and a seed in whom all
families of the earth would be blessed.
6. Finally, Abraham arrived in the Promised Land and became exceedingly
prosperous.
7. A quarrel erupted between Abraham and his nephew, Lot concerning
grazing lands,
8. It was then, after the
separation, that God once more repeated His promise of a seed to Abraham. The promise was
clear. God said:
Genesis 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Genesis 13:16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the
earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed
also be numbered.
9. But the years dragged wearily on and on, and still there was no sign of
the fulfillment of God’s promise that He would give a son to Abraham and Sarah.
10. Finally, they both became old. Abraham noticed this and complained
rather bitterly to the Lord for His apparent failure to keep His word.
a. Abraham was now 100 years old, Sarah was 90.
b. God came to them again with the promise of a son.
c. Now it was a matter of faith, and God put Abraham to the test.
d. Could God do the impossible?
11. We must remember that at this time, both Abraham and Sarah had
passed the age of childbearing. The Bible leaves no doubt in this matter:
Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an
handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained
me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain
children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
{obtain…: Heb. be built by her}
12. I mention this to show that although Abraham believed God and was
called the father of the faithful, he had times that he “jumped the gun” or
didn’t wait for God’s perfect timing.
a.. It was one of these times that resulted in the conception of Ishmael, the “son of doubt”
b. Ishmael was later born and troubled Abraham and his descendents ever
after.
18. When Ishmael was born
Abraham was about 87 years old.
c. Another 13 years passed by, and in this period of time Abraham
became an impotent old man.
d. Sarah was already barren, and now Abraham became impotent.
e. God’s promise was unfulfilled.
13. If He was to fulfill this promise it could only be by a miracle.
God would have to “rejuvenate” this old couple so that they could become
parents. The need of a supernatural miracle is emphasized over and over again.
We read:
Genesis
14. We can hardly blame Sarah for laughing at the promise in verse 10:
Genesis 18: 12
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old
shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
14. Yes, indeed, God was about to perform a great miracle, the first
step in the typical Gospel which was to be preached to Abraham. All of this is abundantly confirmed in the
New Testament. Here the apostle Paul is commenting on the doctrine of
justification by faith:
Romans 4:1 What shall we say
then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Romans 4:2 For if Abraham were
justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was
counted unto him for righteousness.
15. Abraham believed God! What did he believe?
a. It does not say he believed in
God, but he believed God.
b. He believed God’s Promise of a long-delayed, supernaturally
bon son,
c. This is the type of God’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
d. This is clear from Genesis 15, from which Paul quotes. After Abraham
had complained to God for His apparent failure to give him the son He had
promised, God repeated the
promise, and said concerning Eliezer, Abraham’s
servant:
Genesis 15: 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto
him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he
that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall
be thine heir.
Genesis 15: 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said,
Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and
he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
e. Now remember, this was when Abraham was 100 hundred years old, Sarah
was 90, and the record plainly says:
Genesis 18:11 Now Abraham and
Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after
the manner of women.
f. It would therefore take a miracle, a
supernatural act of God and Abraham accepted God’s promise and we read:
Genesis 15: 6 And he believed in
the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
g. This is the verse that Paul quotes in Romans 4:3 to illustrate justification by faith.
1. How was Abraham justified in the site of God?
2. By believing God’s promise concerning a long-delayed, supernaturally
conceived son.
3. God’s plan of salvation has not changed today.
4. Following Abraham’s example, we too can only be saved by believing
what God says concerning His supernaturally conceived, virgin-born Son, Jesus.
Commenting on this faith of Abraham, Paul says in Romans
Romans 4: 18
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of
many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Romans 4:19
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead,
when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s
womb:
5. This says that Abraham believed in hope
against hope;
6. Human reason gave to basis for hope.
7. According to nature, it was against hope.
8. Yet it says he believed in hope.
9. This hope was founded on the Word of
God--- not on reason or logic. Now the next verse could be:
And not being weak in faith, he gave no
consideration to the fact that he was physically impotent and Sarah’s womb was
dead. He realized it was contrary to nature, but he believed it because God
said it, and so:
Romans 4: 20 He staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to
God;
Romans
Romans
10. Abraham believed what God said about his son, just because God said
it, and for no other reason. He believed in the same way we believe in the
virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Sarah shared this victorious faith:
Hebrews 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received
strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age,
because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Hebrews 11: 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him
as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand
which is by the sea shore innumerable.
11. Isaac then, as a type of Christ, is first and foremost a figure,
Shadow, and a prophecy of the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s plan
of salvation has not changed. To the question, “How are we justified in God’s
sight?” After showing how Abraham was
justified by faith:
Romans 4: 23 Now it was not written, (the record of Abraham’s faith) , for his sake alone, that it was imputed to
him;
Romans 4: 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed,
if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Romans 4: 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification.
Isaac’s Birth a Type of The Birth of Christ
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Isaac’s Birth |
Christ’s Birth |
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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 1:20&21; Isaiah 7:14 |
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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 |