Turn to Genesis chapter 22 with
me. Genesis chapter 22 If you could sum up the gospel
in one word, it would be this. Substitution. Substitution. And nowhere in the scriptures
is it more clearly seen than on this mountain called Mount
Moriah, which is a perfect type of Mount Calvary. So, let's get
right into the story here. Genesis, chapter 22, verse 1. And it came to pass, as all things do in God's people's
lives. They come to pass. They come
and they pass. All things pass away. The mercy
of the Lord. His salvation, which is forever.
It came to pass. Now, after these things that
God did tempt or try Abraham, after these things—Abraham was
an old man by this time, he was well over a hundred years old,
and he had already been through some severe trials in his life,
perhaps some trials more severe than some of us will ever know,
ever have to go through. He was seventy-five years old,
rooted in his ways, settled in his ways, living with his family
and with his kindred and his friends in his hometown. And the Lord called him to leave.
Seventy-five years old. He said, Get up and go. How would
you like to leave now? Just get up and go and not know
where you're going. Seventy-five or eighty years.
He left and grew into a land he didn't know where. That's
a trial. That's a real trial. And then when he got out there
and lived a while, his nephew, Lot, who had been with him for
many, many years—Lot's father died when he was just a baby—they
got in an argument. The clan, the whole family, Lot's
family and Abraham's, they got real big. And they got in an
argument, and they saw that they were going to have to divide
ways. One was going to have to go one way and one the other
with their family. So Abraham, as kind as he was
and merciful, he told Lot, he said, Lot, you just pick what
you want, and I'll take the rest, as a kind old uncle, you know.
And not knowing how Lot was going to deal with him, but Lot took
the best land possible and left Abraham with scruffy, mountainous
country. And that was a trial. I mean,
you think the man, after 75 years, he's entitled to the good life,
you know. But now he had to scrape and
scrimp for a living in the mountains. So that was a trial. And he loved that boy a lot.
Lot had been with him for, he wasn't a boy then, he was a man.
Lot had been with him for a long time, long time, 30, 40 years
or more. And he followed Lot, whom he
loved. He heard that he got kidnapped
by some wicked kings, and he had to run down. That was a trial
of Abraham. He loved Lot, and he didn't know
what had become of him, so he went to get him, went to get
him. You had to rescue him and fight the battles and so forth.
And then, when he was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him
and told him that he would become a father, a father, and have
a child. Now, he'd been childless all
this time, and that's a trial. Those of you who are childless
or have been, we were, it's a trial. I don't know of any mother or
any married couple that doesn't want children. Really, it's just
a natural desire in a married couple to have children, to have
offspring. Now, he didn't have any for a
hundred years, and the Lord came to him and said, You're going
to have a child. Well, he laughed at first, and then he believed
him. Well, this is great, he thought. Well, time went by,
and he didn't have one. The years rolled by and he didn't
have one. And that was a trial. He didn't
receive the promise he was expecting. That's a trial, you know. So
he went in to his handmaid. He listened to his wife. He hearkened
unto his wife and went in to his handmaid and committed adultery
with her and had this child. And I'm sure that weighed on
his conscience. I'm sure that was a trial, this act of adultery. Well, he saw the destruction
then of the city of Sodom. Now, I'm sure that Abraham wasn't
too far off, and I'm sure that Abraham possibly knew some people
there. He certainly knew Lot, and he
probably knew some other people there. And the Lord came to him,
and that's the reason Abraham put up a struggle, you know,
put up a fight, asked the Lord. Not a fight, but he besought
the Lord that he'd save the city for ten, just for ten. Righteous
men say, because evidently he knew some people there. And you
know, we have some friends out there in the world that we don't
want to see them destroyed. And so this was a trial to him
when the Lord destroyed that city and everybody in it beside
him. Then he heard about his nephew's wife being turned into
a pillar of salt. And that was an agony for him,
I'm sure. He probably knew her. And then he went through that
bout of deception concerning his wife, you know. He was afraid
of that king, and he played the part of a stranger to his wife,
or the brother of his wife. And I'm sure that weighed on
his confidence later on. He felt guilty about doing that.
He thought, why did I do such a thing? That was a trial. And
then that boy, Ishmael, that was born by Hagar, his handmaid. That boy was 14 years old, and
he loved that boy. Henry Bounder loved that boy.
He loved him. He was the only child. I don't
care if he was out of an adulterous act. I don't care if he was the
son of the bondwoman. He loved that boy. Had him for
14 years. Sure, he played with him and
talked with him and communed with him. Loved him. He was his
only child. And God came one day and said,
kick him out. Kick him out. Put a water bottle
on his back and send him in the desert, of all things, as the
type of the law and grace cannot mix. The son of the bondwoman
can't dwell with the son of the free woman. Kick him out as a
trial. Don't you know, as a trial, see
that boy being sent away in the wilderness? And Hagar, he probably
loved her. What's that after these things?
You'd think all these troubles were over, wouldn't you? Surely
nothing worse could come over me. Well, God gave him a son,
and he promised. Now, everything's going to be
all right. I've got the boy I've always wanted. Lost one, but
I've got this one. And he's mine, and God's promised
to me that in his seed, in Isaac, thy seed will be called, and
your seed will be as stars in the sky. My boy, things are going
to be looking good now. I've got the land, working the
land, and everything's looking fine. But it says, after these
things God did try. He's had his worst, had his hardest
trial yet coming. And it could be, it could be
Henry or Joe or Charles, Virgie, could be your worst trial's coming.
Could be. But God tried him, it said. God
tried him. Not Satan. Not Satan. God did. God is the author of
all things. Deuteronomy 32 and 39 says, I,
the Lord, do all these things. I do these things. I kill, I
make alive, I wound, I heal. I do these things. God does these
things. God is the first cause. He's the author. He's the first
cause of all things. Well, look at it there in verse
1. God tried him and did try Abraham, and God spoke to him.
God did. and said unto him, Abraham, and
Abraham said, Behold, here I am, behold me, here I am. Abraham,
when God spoke to him, now God had spoken to him before, he
recognized this voice. He had heard this voice before,
and it had been before in promise. He came to him before and promised,
telling him about his coming sea. Came to him another time,
spoke to him, and told him about his covenant with him. He wasn't
going to remove his covenant with him. God had heard, Abraham
had heard this voice before. He had heard it before, so he
recognized who was speaking. And when God spoke, unlike many
of us, Abraham listened. He listened. He listened carefully. But this time, what he heard
pierced his heart. It pierced his heart. He said,
Here I am, here I am, verse 2, and God said, Take now thy son,
thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the
land of Moriah, and offer him there, offer Isaac there for
a burnt offering. from one of the mountains, which
I shall tell thee of. I wish we could enter into this
here. He said, Take now thine son, not a lamb, not a bullock,
not a turtledove. Take your son. Take now thine
only son. And I'm sure by this time, Abraham
was thinking, Ishmael's gone. He's all I've got left, this
boy is. Had Esperance for 14 years, he's gone. Now I've got
Isaac, my only son. And Isaac, most famed by this
time, was about 25 years old. Contrary to what some people
believe, that he was just a lad, just a boy. 25 years he'd been with this
son. Loved him dearly. And God said, now take that boy.
Yes, that one. Your only son. Only one you've
got left. Take now thy son, thine only
son, whom ye love." Abraham had waited a hundred years for this
boy. A hundred years. And he loved him dearly. Don't
you know? You'll see here in a minute why
this is so important. He loved him dearly. He'd waited
so long for him. He was a son of his old age.
Loved him dearly. God said, take him and take him
down there. to Moriah, on a mountain I'll
show you, and kill him and burn his body. Don't you know? Now this man,
he's just a man. Barbara, he's just a man like
us, of like passions. Terry, no different. Every man
was no different. Don't you know the agony he was going through
in his mind? Don't you know the agony that
he must have felt? Not only kill him. But burn his
body. Burn his body. Well, as I said, this is not
just a pitiful story for us to feel sorry for Abraham or to
even admire Abraham's faith. That's not what this is all about.
This is a perfect picture. of the story of stories. This
is a perfect picture of God's redemptive purpose in Jesus Christ. Christ, you see, was the only
begotten. God's only son. The son he loved. God's well-beloved only begotten
son. The son of his old age. God had
had him a long time, Terry. Long time. Long time. Don't you know that God was touched
at the thought of killing his son? Do you think so? Oh, yes. God was touched at the thought
of shedding his only son's blood and sending him to hell as a
burnt offering for sin. You think that touched God? Oh, yeah. Words can't conceive. We cannot conceive the pain that
Abraham was going through here. We can't do it unless we go through
it. Even so, we can't understand the mind of God in this thing.
Pleased God to bruise his son? Can't understand that. Not at
all. Words can't describe that. Well, that night, after God told
him to do this, that night he didn't leave until the next day,
and that night I'm sure he thought these things over. I'm sure all
manner of thoughts should have probably ran through his head.
He's just a man now. People try to make him out as
being just a superman. He wasn't a superman. Ed was.
He was just a man. Abraham was. He believed God,
but he was just a man. And I'm sure that night he thought
that all of these things ran through his mind. He was a sinner
just like the rest of us. Son of Adam. I'm sure he tried
to reason these things out in his head. You know he did. God forbids murder, and he's
telling me, kill my son. I don't understand this. And
then I'm sure he thought, God, he told me to cast out Ishmael.
I understand that. Ishmael couldn't dwell with the
son. I've got myself in that mess. I don't even deserve that
boy at all. God should have gotten rid of him, because he wasn't
the rightful heir, the rightful son. I can understand that, but
this is the boy. that God gave me miraculously.
This is Him. There's no reason for this. It's inconsistent with God's
promise. I can't understand this. God
told me in Isaac, my seed would be called. His seed would be
called. But if I kill him, I don't understand
his. He must have thought, don't you
know he did? Don't you know he did? How am I going to face Sarah? What am I going to tell her?
And how about these pagan kings? These guys that are killing their
kids for some false idol. They used to do that, sacrifice
the children. And here he was, believing in the living God.
He was going to do the same thing. What am I going to tell those
people? What are they going to think of me? Well, nevertheless, that dire
worry. I can't understand it. And you
know, even a believer, you can't understand. We can't reconcile
all the time God's sovereignty and our responsibility, can we? We can't understand everything
the Word says. I just don't understand how God is sovereign, and only
those that he calls, but yet he has told me to pray, to seek
him, and I don't understand these things. But I believe him. See, there
is a difference. Instead of just refusing, like,
I can't figure this out, so I don't believe that. Instead of that,
God's word is not to be disputed, nor argued, it is to be obeyed
and believed. So Abraham was probably somewhat
confused. Now, I'm not really reading anything
into this that wasn't there. He's a man. He's a man. So he
was probably confused, but I'm sure he came to this conclusion.
And this was his only peace and his only hope. He believed God.
I'm sure he came to this conclusion. I don't understand this. Why
God is helping me do this? It hurts. Oh, it hurts. Why, what I told you about this
morning, about that young man, why? It seems like, you know,
things could be so much better without that happening. Why?
Well, Abraham must have came to this conclusion. He's the
judge of all the earth. He's too wise to err. He's going
to do what's right. He's going to do what's right.
So I'm just going to straighten up and act right. I'm just going
to go do what he tells me to do. He's too wise to err, too
good to do evil. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? Well, look at verse 3. So, Abraham
rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, took two of his young
men with him and Isaac his son, and claimed the wood, that is,
split the wood up for the burnt offering, rose up, went into
the place which God had told him. On the third day, he traveled
three days, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place. Far
off. He rose early. Probably the reason
he got up early is because he didn't sleep that night. Have
you ever been there? Troubled, tried over something,
tried to sleep, you sleep fitfully, and in about, you know, 5 o'clock,
4 o'clock rolls around, 4.30, 5 o'clock, you finally just,
oh, what's the use? I'm getting up. And get on about
your business, you know. Probably didn't sleep much, and
he rose early. Says he traveled three days.
Not only was his trial grievous, but it was long. Three days. Those were, Joel, those were
the three longest days of his life. Don't you know it? Don't
you know it? Put Shannon in his place. Three
days. Three days he looked at that
boy. The boy would walk on ahead of him, all full of life and
everything. He looked at that boy and just grieved. Don't you
know it? You know he did. Three nights. He probably didn't sleep for
three nights either. Looked at that boy laying there by the
fire, that boy he loved, his only son, Isaac. We can't enter into this. But
this is the title of Christ. You see, Christ was the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. He was with God from the beginning.
God observed His Son for millenniums. Thousands and thousands of years,
Terry, he looked at that boy and said, oh, I love him. He's my son. I love him. Thousands of years he looked
at that boy. And then he sent him to earth. And then for 33
more years he looked at him. Well, please, that's my son.
I'm well pleased with that boy. And then, humanly speaking, the
thought, now I've got to kill him. God is not unfeeling at
all. Oh, no. We discussed this this
afternoon. Any right emotion, any goodness,
any mercy, any grace, it comes from God. He's the author of
it. Well, did you notice there in verse 3 where it said that
he took his young men, William and Isaac? I kind of thought
about that a while ago. about that day of transfiguration,
when Christ was on the mountain, and there was Moses and Elijah
with him, and the Son, and God, those four people. I don't know,
I just thought about that. But it says that old Abraham
got up early, and he started splitting the wood, getting everything
ready, saddling the asses, getting all the provisions ready. got
up early, and he was meticulous about everything. He had to get
the right amount of seasoned wood. He didn't want green wood
so it would make him suffer long. He wanted quick-burning, fast
locusts or something. burn him, you know, get this
thing over with. He split the wood, he sharpened the knife
real carefully, didn't want it to be dull, make his pain, you
know, make him suffer very long. He kindled the fire. Back then,
they didn't have matches. They'd have to kindle a fire
and then get the coals and put them in a bucket or some kind
of container and carry a bucket full of coals. He did all of
those preparations ahead of time. And what can be said? about the
way our God prepared before the foundation of the world for the
sacrifice of his Son. How many years? What can be said
about the greatest event from all eternity and what God did
to prepare for that day? Thousands and millions of years. He rose up early, God did, from
the beginning. He had that day in mind from
the beginning. He rose up early. Every type,
every prophecy, every picture, every symbol, every covenant,
every word, every deed, every job, every kill, God prepared
meticulously for that day. He's going to sacrifice it, son.
Everything pointed to that day. Now, Calvary. Everything. Now, look at verse 5. So Abraham
said unto his young men, after they got to the base of that
mountain, he said unto his young men, those two boys, ye all stay
here, abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go
yonder and worship. Just me and the boy. It's between
him and me now. It's between him and me. The
father and the son are going to go worship alone. Twelve people went with him to
the Passover. Eleven went with Christ into
the garden. Three people went with him into
prayer to the Father. Nobody went with him to the cross. Everybody else had to clear out
now. True worship is going on here. This is the purest form
of worship ever known, between the Father and the Son. A great
crowd was there, yes, but he was alone with the Father, alone
with God. You see, sin had to be dealt
with. Sin. There's a battle to be fought
here between God and the Son. Between God and Christ, things
had to be taken care of. Our sins had to be paid for.
Righteousness had to be imputed. Great things had to be done here. Nobody else can get in on this.
Out of the way. Only the Son and only the Father
could get this done, get this job done. Out of the way. You
lads, you stay here now. You just stay. You sit. You watch.
Sit him down. They watched him there. Scripture
said, Look at this, verse 5. He said, I am led to go yonder
and worship Him, but we're going to come back. We're coming again. And how many times did Christ
say that to His disciples? Let these words sink down in
your ears, He said. He told them that, distinctly.
He said, now listen to me, listen carefully. The Son of Man is
going to be betrayed. I'm going to go down to Jerusalem,
and they're going to take him, and men with wicked hands are
going to kill him. But the third day, he's going
to rise again and come back. He's coming back. Well, and he tells us that again now,
doesn't he? He says, I've left you, but I'm
coming back. I'm coming back. I'll return someday to receive
you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. I'm going
to prepare things for you." Even so, Christ did it the first time,
didn't he? He came to prepare things for us. Well, somehow
old Abraham here believed God would raise Isaac from the dead.
That's what we read there in Hebrews 11, wasn't it? He believed
that God would raise him from the dead. That's the only conclusion
he could come up with. He knew God had promised him,
and God was true to his word. His word was settled forever
and ever. God told him that in Isaac, the only way he was going
to get anything out of Isaac, if he killed Isaac, was to raise
him up. So he's going to do it. And watch this miracle occur.
Kill his son. You know what? God promised a
long time ago that he would not suffer his Holy One to suffer
corruption. He already said that, that in Christ his seed would
be called. He said that. How's he going
to call a seed unless he raises him from the grave? Huh? A woman's
seed, he said, would bruise a serpent's head. How's he going to bruise
a serpent's head unless he rises victorious from the grave, putting
living sins with it? A seed is a number of the sand
of the seashore in Christ. Well, look at verse 6. So Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering. and laid it on Isaac, his son. He laid that wood upon Isaac,
and he took the fire in his hand and the knife, and both of them
went up together. Isaac carried his own altar. But, as I said before, most believe
that he was in his twenties by this time is a strong lad. He was able. He carried that
wood because he's able. His daddy wouldn't have put it
on him if he wasn't able, he said. But he was able. He's a
strong young man. He was able to carry the burden.
And Christ alone was able to carry the weight of the world,
the sin of the world upon his back. And God, the Scripture
says, God laid on him the iniquity of us all, a heavy burden. Then
he laid on him in perfect picture and type that cross, his own
altar, laid his own altar on him. And Christ carried that
weight, the weight of our sins, all the way to the cross by himself
on those bleeding shoulders. And as a believer says, I'm persuaded
he's able, he's able to keep that which I've committed unto
him against that day. And you notice it said there
that Abraham took the fire in his hand. God is a consuming
fire. And Abraham took the knife in
his hand. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. He took the fire
and he took the knife in his hand. And they both went up together. And look at this, verse 7. Getting
right into it here. Isaac, they walked along a little
bit, in silence perhaps. And the closer they got to the
top of that mountain, I'm sure Isaac started thinking, And finally,
he was no dummy. His father had taught him. He
loved his only son. You know he sat down in personal
instruction with this boy concerning God, the way to God, how to approach
God. He was wise in the things of
God, because Abraham was a man of God. And Isaac knew some things. He was taught from a child things
that would make him wise unto salvation. And I'm sure they
walked along a little bit, and finally Isaac stopped. And he
said this, look at it, verse 7, "'My father?' And Abraham
said, 'Here am I, my son.' He said, 'Here's the fire and the
wood. Where's the lamb? Where's the
lamb?' Isaac knew this much, that you
can't approach God without a sacrifice. You can't approach God without
blood. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of
sins. It's the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Dad,
we can't speak to God without blood. God won't be spoken to. He won't speak to. He won't even
look upon anybody without a proper sacrifice. We know this from
the beginning. We saw that with Cain. You told
me the story about Cain. Cain brought the works of his
hand. But Abel brought blood, and God had respect to his offering. We don't have a lamp. Then we've
got to have a lamb to approach God with. And look here. This
is it. Verse 8. And Abraham said, My
son, God will provide himself a lamb. God will provide himself a lamb
for a burnt offering. I thought about this. He said,
My son, God. My son who is God. will provide
himself, himself, a land. My Son, who is God, remember
what Hebrews said? Under the sun he saith, Thy throne,
O God, is forever. Jesus Christ is God Almighty.
He said, My Son, who is God, will provide himself as the land. He's going to become the land.
He was the land slain before the foundation of the world.
And my Son, God, will provide God is going to be the one to
provide it. Salvation is of the Lord, like we spoke of this evening. Everything is of God. God is
going to have to provide it. God does everything. God gives
faith. God gives a sacrifice. God gives forgiveness. God gives
all these things. God will provide. God will provide
himself. God is going to come down in
the form of a man, and God will provide himself a lamb. God will
provide for himself. You see, in order for the just
God to justify the ungodly, he has to provide himself with a
suitable sacrifice. He has to satisfy his own justice,
you see. God must punish sin to be consistent
with his holiness. So God will provide himself the
land. Look here in the last part of
verse 8. Look at this. I've never noticed this before,
till today. It says that, so they both So they went, both
of them, together. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was
in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.
God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was
in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was
in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling the world
to himself. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. God was
in Christ, recon God told him about this place to go to, and
Abraham built an altar there. You see, Abraham did it. He built
the altar. He prepared everything. Abraham
did it. Abraham built an altar there
and laid the wood in order perfectly. He took his time about it. He
laid the wood in order, and then it says he bound Isaac, his son. He tied him up. Well, you think of the agony
now. Tying those hands up that he
loved so dearly. How many times have you just
had your child's hand within your hand? You just loved their
hands. You loved everything about them,
their feet, everything. Those hands that he held in his
hands and walked with. He tied them up. hide him up behind his back. It says he laid him on the altar, binding his beloved son with
cords and laying him on that altar. But you know, like I said,
Isaac was an older child. He had to be as a perfect type
here. He was obedient. He was obedient
unto this death. You know what the Scripture says
about Christ? He was obedient unto death. Isaac didn't have
to put up with this. There was no commandment for
Isaac. There was nothing in the Word
of God that said, you have to do this, Isaac. He didn't have
to do this. He probably could have resisted.
Abraham's an old man. He probably could have downed
a man and ran off. Couldn't he? But he was willing.
Wasn't he? He was willing and obedient.
He didn't have to, but he willingly surrendered himself to be bound
and laid on the altar, and, quote Christ, saying, if it be possible,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless,
not my will, but thy will be done. He surrendered himself
to the will of the Father, surrendered himself involuntarily So the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despised the shame,
endured the cross, obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. He didn't have to, did he? Christ didn't have to go
to that cross. Oh, no. He didn't have to come
down here. But he was bound, you see. Christ was bound by
his covenant. He made a covenant with his Father
from the beginning. The Father said, Son, will you
go down there and represent these people? Will you die for them
in excruciating death? Will you impute your righteousness
to them? Will you take their sin upon you and go to the cross
and die for them? I will, the Son said. So he's
bound. He had to do it. Bound by his
word. Bound by his covenant with the
Father. He's bound by his love, too. The Father said, Now I love
these people. I'm going to save them. And the
Son said, I love those that you love. And the Son said, I've
got to save them now. We love them. Me and the Father
and the Holy Spirit love these people. We've got to save them
now. Got to. He was bound by that love for
his people. He was bound by sin. There was some point in time
there that he was literally made sin. And there was no turning
back after that. God laid on him the iniquity
of Saul. He couldn't turn back then. There
came a time, I believe, when Christ could not come down from
that cross. Could not. Isn't that what they
said from the foot of the cross, Terry? He saved others. Himself
he can't save. Right. If he's going to save
others, he can't save himself. He's got to hang there. He's
bound, and he was determined to do it. You think he did it? I generally do what I set my
mind to do. How about you? How about the Son of God? Well, this is us laying on this
altar, though. We were crucified with Christ.
This is us laying on this altar, guilty before God, and look at
this, the knife of God's holy law ready to slay us. I want
you to picture this scene with me, just a few more minutes.
Picture old Abraham tying up those hands. tied up those hands,
and he probably, I'm sure he did, I'm sure he embraced him
one more time, and kissed him, kissed him once for him and once
for his mother, and put him on that altar. And
then, over Abraham's countenance changed. He had a job to do, you see.
His countenance changed from a loving Father to a vengeful
God, to a vengeful Father. From the loving Father to the
righteous, indignant one against sin. You see? The Sacrificer. What does the Scripture say?
It says, Be astonished at this, O heavens. Be astonished at this
and wonder. Look at verse 10. So Abraham stretched forth his
hand, and he took that knife and held it over his boy to slay
his son. And just before he plunged that
dagger in his breast, verse 11, the angel of the Lord called
unto him out of heaven and said, You see, he called him once in
judgment. Abraham, take your son. Call him twice in mercy,
just so you hear him. Make sure he heard him. Abraham!
Abraham! How many times has he called
us? How many times did it take? Oh, a hundred and two times,
didn't it? Paul! Wake up! How many times did he
call me? How many times with the gospel,
finally, do you hear his voice? Here I am! Here I am! Here I
am. Do you notice there it says,
the angel of the Lord did it? That may be Christ. Maybe Christ
got in on this too. You know, the Father said God
spoke to him the first time. The holy just God said, I've
got to have a sacrifice. And in mercy and love and grace,
the Son comes and says, now, wait a minute. Stop. Stop! Abraham, verse 12, don't touch
the boy. Don't touch him. Deliver him
from going down in the pit. I found another way. I found
a ransom. I found a way. The way, the only
way. Lay not your hand upon the lad,
neither do thou anything unto him. What does God say about
us, too? Who is he that condemns? Letting
no man from this day forward. Remember what he said to that
woman? Where are your accusers? Letting no man from this day
forward accuse you. Because I am justifying you. Christ is dying. So he told him, he said, Now
I know that you fear God's fear and that thou hast not withheld
thy son, thine only son, from me. Look at verse 13. And Abraham
lifted up his eyes and looked. Look unto me and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth. The scripture says. Abraham turned
around and looked. And I'm sure he grabbed that
boy and said, Isaac, look! A substitute! Isaac, do you see
that? A substitute! A lamb! A lamb! We're going to get that
lamb, buddy. We're going to get that lamb
and we're going to get you off of there. We're going to get that lamb and put him
in your place. You see that, Isaac? And don't you parents,
Henry, Joel, don't you wish you could grab your children and
say, Look! A substitute. Look! Don't you wish you could
just grab them and shake something and say, Look! A substitute. And he took that ram. Don't you
know he grabbed a hold of that thing. Joe, he wasn't about to
let that thing get loose. It's his only hope. It's his
boy's only hope. I bet the boy grabbed one leg,
too. Let's get him. And they grabbed that lamb and
tied it up as tight as they could touch and put it on that altar. And Abraham took that knife without
hesitation. Because of his love for his son,
he loved his son dearly. And because this was his substitute,
he gladly, he didn't say, oh, poor little lamb. Oh, it pleased
him. It pleased him to kill that lamb.
Slit his throat and poured out all the blood there was of Scripture
saying about Christ. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. For the love he loved me. God
loved me so much. This is where we have to stop
and take our shoes off. God loved me so much that it pleased him
to bruise his son in my place, to kill his son in my place.
Be astonished at this. Now let me quote that scripture.
Be astonished at this, O heavens, and wonder, O earth, this is
the Lord's doings, and it's marvelous in our eyes. Look at that. It says, Abraham
took that ram and offered him for a burnt offering in the stead
of, in the place of, substitution. The place of his son. Abraham
called the name of that place from that day forward, Jehovah-Jireh. As it is said to this day in
the mouth of the Lord, it shall be seen. God will provide. God
will see to it. When there doesn't seem like
hope, God will make hope. When it seems like there's not
a way out, God will make himself a way. I bet you, don't you know? Don't you know Abraham and that
boy went down from that mountain skipping, skip to my Lou? I bet they were singing, Oh,
How Merciful, don't you? I bet they were singing, well,
Isaiah 53 wasn't written then, but they would have sung it if
it was written. He was wounded for our transgression. Look at
this over in John chapter 8. You've got to see this now. John
chapter 8. Can you imagine the joy that
they had? Can you imagine the joy that
they had, going down from that mountain together? And they started
talking about the Messiah. They're bound to them. They're
bound to have been talking about the coming Messiah who's going
to take his people's place and die as a substitute for them.
They've seen it firsthand. Didn't it? Look at John chapter
8, verse 56. Christ himself speaking here,
and he says, verse 56, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
and he saw it in a bush and was glad. Oh, he was glad. Oh, you reckon Abraham knew anything
about the gospel. Oh yeah, he saw Christ's day. He rejoiced to see it.