ABRAHAM'S SACRIFICE

 

ABRAHAM SACRIFICE

Gen. 22:1-12

¹ 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. ² And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son  Isaac, whom thou lovest, 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. ³ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and cleaved the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.  ⁴ Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. ⁵ And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 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.⁷ And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? ⁸ And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. ⁹ 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 upon the wood. ¹⁰  And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  ¹¹ And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. ¹² 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.

  

1. It was upon this sacrifice God solidified His covenant with Abraham and his generation. Gen. 22:12

2. The reason for a human sacrifice was to know if Abraham could withhold anything from Him.

Gen 22:1-2

¹ 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. ² And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son  Isaac, whom thou lovest, 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.

When God is requesting for a thing from man it is not because He needed that thing but He is simply looking for an avenue to channel blessings through such individual. i.e;

1. In 1kings 17:9-17. The widow sacrifice her last meal and never lacked for three and a half years

2. In John 6:9-13 The young lad sacrificed his meal and went with 12 baskets full 

3. In Joshua 2:1-14, The harlot gave protection to the spies and her life was spared from destruction

God is always in the business of paying back, He will owe no man anything.

HOW DID GOD REPAY HIS FRIEND ABRAHAM

God sent His only begotten son Jesus as a sacrifice for the generation of Abraham

 

-     1. God said who shall I send, who shall go for us, and Jesus said here I am, send me.

Isa. 53-4-5,10,11,

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵  But 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.⁶  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him  the iniquity of us all. ⁷  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ⁸  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  ⁹  And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰  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.¹¹  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Matt. 8:17

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

 

WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR GOD’S SACRIFICE

1. To keep the covenant between Him and Abraham

Deut. 7:8

 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

  

2. God wanted to deliver Abraham’s children from the guilt of sin unto righteousness.

I Peter 2:22-25

²¹ For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: ²² Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:²³ Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: ²⁴ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ²⁵ For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

3. To free Abraham and his descendant from the pit of hell inherited through the first Adam

I Cor. 15:20-21,

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹ For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

4. Since Abraham bruised Isaac on the altar of sacrifice to fulfill God’s instruction so also God bruised and killed Jesus on the cross of Calvary.

Isa. 53:1-12,4,10,11

⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵  But 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. ¹⁰  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.¹¹  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

5. To give gift to the descendant of Abraham.

Eph. 4:8-11

⁸ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ⁹ (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  ¹⁰ He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

6. To perfect the saints for the work of the ministry.

Eph. 4:11-12

¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

¹²For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

7. God gave man the opportunity to live in righteousness and holiness.

Eph. 4:23-24

²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

WHAT IS GOD DEMANDING FROM US TODAY (WHAT SACRIFICE IS EXPECTED FROM EVERY BELIEVER)

 1. There is no other sacrifice because Christ has paid the ultimate sacrifice on the cross of Calvary but He only requires the following from every believer. Matt. 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27

³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

2. Sacrifice of love towards our maker (Love God with all your heart).

3. Sacrifice of love towards your neighbors and the people around us

4. Sacrifice time (He want us to make time to fellowship and commune with Him)

5. Sacrifice your possession which may include; our talent, our gifts, etc.

6. Sacrifice our money

 

PST. LANRE AREOLA

      

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