Abraham - Passing the Test

You say, I want to see the Lord. Well, you're going to see the Lord when you go through trial. You're going to see the Lord when you go through testing. When you lift your hands and give to the Lord that which is the nearest and dearest to you, you'll see the Lord.

And now let's pray together. Father, each time we open the Word, we realize our great need for the help of the Holy Spirit. He wrote the Word of God, He teaches us the Word of God, and He enables us to live what we learn. And so we ask now for the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, and may we receive the Word not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, and may this Word work in our lives. This is our prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

When you live the life of faith, when you are moving in the school of faith, life always brings something new. There's variety and vitality. Sin has a sameness about it. Sin is boring. But the life of faith is challenging. There's always a new experience. When you follow the life of Abraham, you see how true this is. One minute he's in Ur of the Chaldees, and then God calls him to go to Canaan. He comes to Canaan, there's a famine. Goes down to Egypt. He shouldn't have done that. Comes back. Gets re-established with the Lord again. Then he has some family problems, and then there are some international problems. Then he has some difficulty with the family again. Then the baby boy is born. Isaac comes into the family. What joy! And that joy is followed by the sorrow of having Hagar and Ishmael leave the family. And then there are some problems with the neighbors.

And then God calls Abraham to his greatest test of all, in fact, perhaps the greatest test anyone could experience. God asked him to lay his son on the altar as a burnt offering. Well, God sent a substitute for Isaac. There was no substitute for Jesus Christ. No one or no thing could substitute for him. Only He could die for us on the cross.

Genesis 22:13, 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. And Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah Jireh, or Jehovah Yireh, which means in Hebrew, the Lord will provide. As it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven 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, in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendant shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. It's rather interesting. Isaac is not mentioned in Genesis 22:19. He's not mentioned again until Genesis 24:62, when he comes to claim his bride.

Now, I'm interested in what happens after the test is over. So often we win the battle, but then we lose the victory. Abraham offered the ram for the burnt offering. Isaac came off of the altar. What was the result of all of this? Now, of course, the main thing is to please God. He pleased God. He brought joy to the heart of God. Lest somebody should be critical, let me point out, God never wanted Isaac's life. He wanted Abraham's heart. He wanted Isaac's will. Isaac, you see, became a new son to Abraham. When Abraham and Isaac walked back to the young servants who were waiting for them, there was a new relationship there. Isaac had obeyed his father in love. Both of them had obeyed the Lord by faith. It looked as though everything was gone, all of their hopes for the future were gone. But just the opposite was true. God spoke to him in a wonderful new way and reaffirmed that he would be a blessing to the whole world.

I am ministering to you today because of Abraham. Indeed, Abraham has been a blessing to the whole world. It's hard for us to believe that one man, with his son, on a lonely mountain, by an altar, could be a blessing to the whole world. We think that we have to have huge arenas filled with people. We must have committees and promotion and all of these things. Well, nothing wrong with those things, except it's possible for you right in your home to be a blessing to the whole world. Just do what God's called you to do. Don't worry about the other church or the other Sunday school class, or the other preacher or the other missionary. Yes, pray for them, but don't compare yourself and don't compete with them. Just do what God's called you to do and you'll be a blessing to the whole world. That's one of the great messages that comes to my heart from the life of Abraham. When one person does the will of God, that one person is a blessing to the whole world. God promised to bless him. God promised to give victory. Your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. Joshua did that. The gate in that time was the city hall. That was the place where the council members would meet. That's where the business was transacted. And God says to Joshua, you're going to conquer. You're going to take city after city. And Joshua did that. And all the nations of the earth have been blessed through Abraham, because the Lord Jesus Christ came through Abraham.

Well, Abraham got a new son, a living sacrifice. You see, Isaac and the Lord Jesus Christ are the two living sacrifices in the Bible. When Isaac got off the altar, he'd been a sacrifice, willing to die. He didn't die, but he was willing. He's a living sacrifice. The Lord Jesus Christ today is a living sacrifice. He bears on his body the marks of his sacrifice on the cross. Now God asks you and me to be living sacrifices. Romans 12:1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. I think we'd have fewer family problems if more fathers and sons went to the altar together. And if there were more sons who loved and trusted their fathers and obeyed.

And Abraham not only got a new son, but he got a new light on the promises. God says, by myself I have sworn. Because you've done this thing, I will bless you. God cannot swear by any higher than himself. And so he says, by myself, I promise you, this is what I'm going to do. You see, we want the blessing, but we don't want the sacrifice that is required for the blessing. We want God to keep His word to us, but we don't want to keep God's word to Him. And Abraham got a new, fresh insight into the Word of God. And then he learned something new about God. Two new names come into this picture now. In Genesis 22:14, Jehovah Yireh, or Jehovah Jireh, which means the Lord will provide. And then the name Rebecca comes on the scene.

When Abraham got back to camp, there was a newscast that came through, some word came through from his relatives, his brother Nahor. And lo and behold, Nahor has 12 sons. Eight by his wife Milkah, and four by his concubine. And there here are 12 sons of Nahor. And here's Abraham with one son. I keep saying, don't compare yourself with somebody else. God is working in your life. God knows what he wants to do. One of these days there will be the 12 sons of Israel. And from one of those tribes would come the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Nobody thinks much about the 12 sons of Nahor. Huz and Buz and Kemuel and these other boys. Nobody today honors them, but how we thank God for the 12 tribes of Israel. Abraham just had to wait a little while, and then his son was born. And then Isaac had to wait, and his two sons were born. And then the 12 tribes of Israel. Oh, how God is so good always to keep His promise. But the name Rebecca comes on the scene because in Genesis 24, Rebecca is going to become the bride of Isaac.

I'd like us to focus now on this new name for God in Genesis 22:14. And Abraham called the name of the place, the Lord will provide, Jehovah Yireh, Jehovah Jireh. As it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. You know, so often we pray, oh God, I want to know you better. Where do you get to know God better? On the mount by the altar. That's where you get to know God better. Oh, we can study the Word of God and learn facts about God, doctrines about God. But if you want to get to know God better, you've got to walk up the mountain with Him, the mount of obedience. I'm sure you've noticed the the different mountains in the Bible. Mount Sinai, the mount of condemnation. Mount Calvary, the mount of salvation. Mount Olivet, where Jesus will return. The mount of expectation. But here is Mount Moriah, the mount of dedication. You say, oh, I want to know God better. Fine, he wants to reveal himself to you. But are you in the place, am I in the place where he can reveal it to us? Abraham had to listen to God's Word, obey God's Word, sacrifice that which was his dearest before he discovered God had the name Jehovah Jireh.

Abraham discovered a new name for God, Jehovah Jireh. What does it mean? Warren Wiersbe explains. Now this name Jehovah Jireh in the Hebrew actually has three different meanings. You might want to jot them down. The Lord will see to it, which is Genesis 22:14, the Lord will provide. The word provide just means to see beforehand. Pro means before and video means to see, to see beforehand. The Lord will see to it. That's the first meaning. The Lord will be seen. That's the second meaning. The Lord will make it clear. That's the third meaning. The Hebrew language is very rich, and we have these three meanings from Jehovah Jireh.

Number one, the Lord will see to it. I like that because God does see to it. The life of faith, of course, is a life of testing. God tests us to bring out the best in us, and the devil tempts us to bring out the worst in us. And this is the only way to grow. I don't know of any other way to grow in the Christian life than to go through testing. Our tests from God prove our faith, prove that faith is genuine. You've heard me say it many times, allow me to say it again. A faith that can't be tested, can't be trusted. And when a person professes to have faith in Jesus Christ, that faith is going to be tested and he will find out, she will find out how real that faith is.

Now the testing becomes more difficult. First Abraham was asked to separate himself from other people, from his father, from Lot, from Lot's herdsmen. Then he had to separate himself from Hagar who had become his second wife, and Ishmael, his firstborn son. It's getting a little closer. Now he is at the point where he has to separate himself even from Isaac. Isaac was God's gift to Abraham, and Abraham gave Isaac back to God. The tests become more difficult, but God enables us to go through the test. You see, as Abraham spent those three days going to Mount Moriah, I wonder what was going through his mind. This was not a sudden test. Job's test was sudden. You know, the whirlwind came and destroyed this, and the the fire came and destroyed that, and the robbers came and stole something else. In one day's time, Job was was stripped of everything. But here we have three days of sorrow, as Abraham in a broken-hearted way, is on his way to Moriah. Oh, he believes God. He believes God will raise his son from the dead. But it still hurts. I believe that God is going to raise people from the dead, but death still hurts.

God provides for our future. Now, if you have some need in your life, in your ministry, and we certainly have them here at the broadcast. We need to remind ourselves, the Lord will see to it. Where will he see to it? In the place of his appointment. If I am in his place of appointment, the Lord will see to it. When will he see to it? Just when we need it. That ram didn't accompany them for three days. They didn't see the ram until they needed the ram. How will he see to it? In a very natural, wonderful way. He'll open our eyes and we'll see the answer. To whom will he see to it? Those who trust and obey. Abraham and Isaac were trusting the Lord and obeying the Lord. What will he do? Just what is needed. Not anything more, not anything less. Abraham didn't see a whole flock of rams, he saw one ram. God will give us what we need, when we need it, just in the right way. And why will he do it? For his glory. Abraham says, I want to glorify the Lord. I'm going to put a name on this place, Jehovah Yireh, the Lord will provide. The Lord will see to it. Well, obey him by faith, trust him, don't be afraid. The Lord will see to it if you're in the right place, at the right time, with the right attitude and the right motive.

Secondly, this name Jehovah Yireh, Jehovah Jireh, means the Lord will be seen. In the mount of the Lord, the Lord will be seen. Now, this ties in with John 8:56, where the Lord Jesus said in verse 56, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Now there wasn't much joy as Abraham made his way to Mount Moriah, but there was a great deal of joy as he made his way home from Mount Moriah. Tests always bring to us a double revelation. The tests of life reveal ourselves. We see ourselves. A crisis does not make a person, a crisis shows what a person is made of. But secondly, we see the Lord. As we go through these tests of life, we see the Lord.

Now Abraham had seen the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaac's birth, a miraculous birth to two old people. He had seen the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaac's life, as he was the heir and the son, as he was persecuted by Ishmael. Now he sees the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaac's offering on the altar, his death and his resurrection. Hebrews 11 tells us that Abraham received him back in a figure, that is, figuratively speaking, Isaac died and was raised from the dead. In the mount of the Lord, the Lord will be seen. You say, I want to see the Lord. Well, you're going to see the Lord when you go through trial. You're going to see the Lord when you go through testing. When you lift your hands and give to the Lord that which is the nearest and dearest to you, you'll see the Lord. Abraham has been growing in his understanding of the Lord. Genesis 14:22, the Lord Most High, El Elyon. And then Genesis 17:1, El Shaddai, the sufficient one. Genesis 21:33, El Olam, the eternal God. And now Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will be seen.

Thirdly, that name means the Lord will make it clear. There are many things about the Christian life I don't understand. This whole test in Genesis 22 defies explanation. Give up your home and family, go to a new land. Give up Ishmael, give up Isaac. I can understand leaving a godless home and family. I can understand giving up Ishmael, but I can't understand giving up Isaac. Everything was wrapped up in Isaac. But you know, we live by promises, not by explanations. Abraham may not have understood immediately all that God was doing, but ultimately he did. The Lord will make clear.

The Lord Jesus said an interesting thing to Peter in the upper room before the Lord Jesus was arrested and crucified. Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet. And the Lord Jesus said to him, What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will know after this. That's John 13:7. You will know after this. And perhaps you're saying in your prayers, Lord, I don't understand what you're doing. And the answer is, we don't have to understand what he's doing. He understands what he's doing. God always does that which is right. I can remember Dr. R. T. Ketchum saying, Your Father in heaven loves you too much to harm you, and he is too wise to make a mistake. That has been good therapy for me. Your Father in heaven loves you too much to harm you. He might hurt you, but he'll never harm you. And he is too wise to make a mistake. The Lord will make it clear. Abraham could not look ahead and see all that God was doing. But one day he could look back and he rejoiced. He said, I have seen the Lord.

Wherever J. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, lived, he had a motto with two words that he would hang over his mantle. Ebenezer, hitherto has the Lord helped us. And Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will see to it. Well, that takes care of the past and it takes care of the future. Ebenezer, hitherto has the Lord helped us. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will see to it, the Lord will be seen, and the Lord will make it clear. You see, we don't live by explanations, we live by promises. And Abraham had all the promises of God to claim. If you and I are going to be victorious in the tests of life, we must recognize God's tests. They're not the same as temptations. We must know the reasons for God's tests. He has His purposes in mind. And most of all, we must draw upon the resources that God gives to us, the resurrection power of Jesus Christ at work in our lives.