"And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Genesis 22:10-12

Abraham and Moses are my two favorite Bible characters. Jesus of course is the Son of God, our Savior, and He is the person of the whole Word of God. But to my own life, there is a number of things in the lives of these two men, Abraham and Moses, that bless me with Spiritual blessings. Reading about these two men in the Scriptures brings a revival of courage. As we study the Scriptures, we see that both, Abraham and Moses, are types of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Abraham gave his only son according to promise and Abraham went with his son up the mountain. Genesis 22:6 "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." Genesis 22:14

2. God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus. ( John 3:16) The Son of God went up Mount Calvary according to the will of the Heavenly Father. (Luke 23:33)

3. Moses is a type of Jesus and we see that as God uses him in the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The Lord came down. At the burning bush, God spoke to Moses. "And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;..." Exodus 3:8

4. The Lord Jesus Christ came down. In Matthew 1:18-25 there is the story of the birth of Christ and we read that His name is Emmanuel. "...And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God With Us." (Matthew 1:23) Jesus was fully man and fully God. He came down to set the captive free, to bring us out of bondage from the worldly society of Egypt. Just as Israel was brought out of bondage, sinners are brought out, set free from spiritual bondage. God came down then and spoke through Moses. God sent His Son and spoke through Him. Let us continue our series of messages on the general theme of Genesis 22, "Abraham and Isaac Climbing the Mountain."

"The Lord in His providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach him lessons of submission, patience, and faith - lessons that were to be placed on record for the benefit of all who should afterward be called to endure affliction. God leads His children by a way that they know not, but He does not forget or cast off those who put their trust in Him. He permitted affliction to come upon Job, but He did not forsake him. He allowed the beloved John to be exiled to lonely Patmos, but the Son of God met him there, and his vision was filled with scenes of immortal glory. God permits trials to assail His people, that by their constancy and obedience they themselves may be spiritually enriched, and that their example may be a source of strength to others. ‘I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.’ Jeremiah 29:11. The very trials that test our faith most severely and make it seem that God has forsaken us, are to lead us closer to Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at His feet and experience the peace which He will give us in exchange." Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 129, E. G. White

There are three things that I want us to see in the sermon for this month: 1) Time of Abraham’s Trial, 2) Nature of Abraham’s Trial, and 3) The Faith found in Abraham’s Trial.

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am." Genesis 22:1

It was after these things that God did try the faith of Abraham. It was after twenty-five years of waiting, after the promise of a seed had been frequently repeated, after hope had been raised to the highest. Yes, after it had been turned to a time of joy and Isaac had reached man’s common standing as being of age.

Now, after Isaac’s birth as the promised seed, as in the miracle birth of the son of a mother passed child bearing age. Perhaps Abraham thought his trials were all over, never to be tried again. If that be true, Abraham was greatly mistaken.

Trials, tribulation, and troubles just keep coming. In this life trials never end. Just when we get through one, another one comes. Trials make us stronger. They strengthened the faith of Abraham. We may not see it this side of the Kingdom, but trials, tribulations, and troubles all come for a purpose. See Romans 8:26-28

1. Abraham had left his country, his kindred and his friends at the age of seventy-five. "Now, the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee." Genesis 12:1

2. Abraham had lost his nephew, Lot, through strife and misunderstanding. "And Abraham said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pry thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen; for we be brethren." Genesis 13:7-8

3. Abraham had lost his son, Ishmael because of unbelief and lack of trust in God. "And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." Genesis 21:9-10

4. Now, fourthly, Abraham is called upon to give his son, Isaac as a sacrifice on an altar. This then can be seen as the supreme sacrifice that God is requesting - commanding Abraham to give his son.

"And he (God) said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Mariah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Genesis 22:2

"And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his on. And he (the angel of the Lord) said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou has not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Genesis 22:10, 12.

Abram’s confidence, his courage and faith were strong. He believed in the true God to the extent that should he slay Isaac, God would raise him from the dead.

All of heaven looked on. God, angels, and men have known the story through the centuries. One of the great wonders of earth and the Universe will always be Genesis Chapter 22: The nature of Abraham’s trial is a great example of several things.

1. The love of God for humankind.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son..." (John 3:16) The Lord was faithful and gracious in giving His Son. He was pleased to do so.

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Isaiah 53:10

2. Our duty calls for us to love God and be obedient to His Word, His will and His way. We must walk in the faithful steps of Abraham. God by His Word and Spirit calls us to come apart from the World and be with Christ. Friend, that was the life and very nature of Abraham.

God, according to His ordained will which is God calling us is the true voice of Heaven to give our Isaac (whatever the Lord ask us to give) and we must do it with a kind and sweet spirit. We see that spirit in I Samuel 3:15-18.

"And Samuel told him (Eli) every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good." I Samuel 3:18

The request presented to Abraham, by God was a staggering one. It was Abraham’s most severe trial. Nothing like that had ever come to the family of Abraham. How did Abraham meet the challenge, the trial of giving his only son as a sacrifice for a burn offering? He met it with strong faith, a faith that assured him that should he actually slay his son, God would raise him up.

There was no doubt or delay, and no reluctance or hesitation; instead he rose up early in the morning. Going up the mountain, Abraham expressed his faith to the son.

"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burn offering: so they went both of them together." Genesis 22:7

Lets look now to the third point of our sermon for this month.

Now, in prayer we talk to God, but here in Genesis, God talks to Abraham. And in their close conversation and relationship, Abraham learned to trust in God. His faith was in His God.

1. Abraham traveled not knowing where he was going.

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." Hebrews 11:8

2. Abraham journeyed in the land of promise.

"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise." Hebrews 11:9

3. By faith Abraham looked for a city.

"For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Hebrews 11:10

"This act of faith in Abraham is recorded for our benefit. It teaches us the great lesson of confidence in the requirements of God, however close and cutting they may be; and it teaches children perfect submission to their parents and to God. By Abraham’s obedience we are taught that nothing is too precious for us to give to God.

Isaac was a figure of the son of God, who was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world. God would impress upon Abraham the gospel of salvation to man. In order to do this, and make the truth a reality to him as well as to test his faith, he required him to slay his darling Isaac. All the sorrow and agony that Abraham endured through that dark and fearful trial were the purpose of deeply impressing upon his understanding the plan of redemption for fallen man. He was made to understand in his own experience how unutterable was the self-denial of the infinite God in giving his own Son to die to rescue man from utter ruin. To Abraham no mental torture could be equal to that which he endured in obeying the divine command to sacrifice his son.

God gave his son to a life of humiliation, self-denial, poverty, toil, reproach, and to the agonizing death of crucifixion. But there was no angel to bear the joyful message, "It is enough; you need not die, my well-beloved son." Legions of angels were sorrowfully waiting, hoping that, as in the case of Isaac, God would at the last moment prevent his shameful death. But angels were not permitted to bear any such message to God’s dear Son. The humiliation in the judgment hall, and on the way to Calvary, went on. He was mocked, derided, and spit upon. He endured the jeers, taunts, and revilings of those who hated him, until upon the cross he bowed his head and died." ( Testimony For the Church, P.P. 368-369, E. G. White)

What a lesson we have here in Genesis 22! Read it and read it again and again. Your faith will be strengthened. Jesus prayed on His way to the cross. "Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me." Then He said, "Nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42) He was casting Himself, as it were, into the arms of His Father.

Do you trust God? Really trust Him? You can. He is our loving heavenly Father, and He always keeps His word. You can depend on it, Abraham did. What God promises, He always provides.

Dugan wrote:

Father, keep me trusting, trusting,

Yielding gladly to Thy will;

Though ten thousand foes surround me,

Let me trust Thee and be still.

Continued next month.