The Green Forest tribune., 1913-03-14

and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. How 6:6
 The birth of Isaac ('1aughter'') l7:19, and the setting aside of the son of the bond woman, a story so rich with suggestiveness, forms the con nection between the lesson of last week and the one of this week.
 |. Sacrifice Required. God did prove Abraham (R. V) w 1-2 Abra- hams ready response, Behold me, here am l." gives evidence of his life long habit of obedience. He was ready For sacrifice or service. His habit of taking God at his word prepared him for this final act of testing, and per fectfng, of his faith. The revised yer sion "prove" is a better rendering than the authorized version tempt" God does not tempt, 1. e., solicit men to evil Jas. 1:13, but he does prove" men; see Elk. 20:20 and I Peter 1:12. Abraham had been tried before but what father Is there who will not say this was the supreme test, for he is called upon to give up his, "only son, whom thou cherishest"
 Abraham's Faith.
 Superficial critics have taken occa- sion to make light of a God who would make such demand upon an earthly rather. We need to remember that Abraham had doubtless witnessed hu- man sacrifices in Chaldea and that baUinoy CoJ5a Fo{ P,,l, I,i past deliverances. he had enough faith to believe that God could in his own Providence deliver Isaac. Fur ther, attention has been called to the exact language of the text, viz, Gods demand was that Abraham "offer" (not "kilP) Isaac as a sacrifice. The liter al language Is make him go up" up- on the altar doubtless in symbol We read elsewhere. Heb. 11:17 that "Abra- ham offered up Isaac" but we know he did not kill Isaac. Those who stumble at that part of the story miss the great lesson God intended to teach in the record of this incident How, ever. Abraham was ready to do (v 10) what God himself did actually do when AAS 5O'S AAAo OhAy DUH, OOAI . IOy Rom. :32. Isaac was the child of the promise, hence the only son (cf. Gen. H:12). This makes the text more se- were for Ishmael had been sent off, A:14 God today is calling upon fath- CTS to sacrifice their sons, and fathers are sacrificing though not always unto God. We must put our children upon the altar. Matt 10:37.
 H. Sacrifice Granted. Abraham rose up carly" w. 3-10. The writer of Genesis has left us to fill in the emotions and the mental agony that must have surged through Abraham's heart, yet we again see a wonderful illustration of prompt obedience, Of. Ps. 119:60. There Is no suggestion whatever as to Sarah's connection with this incident, yet we judge she must have known. How Abraham's heart must have bled at Isaac's ques- tion, v. ', yet he trusts God for we read, God will provide himself the lamb" V. S); of. John 1:29 Notice also Abraham's words to his servants, We will come again" V. 5. Just as God had revealed the place at which to offer the sacrifice, he Saw the place. V. 14, so also we believe Abra- ham was looking unto God for the sac ri1cial lamb, V. 13.
 Abraham's Devotion.
 Attention has been called to Isaac as type of Christ (cf. John 10:17-18). CD His name given before birth; CD His birth, supernatural, predicted; (3) His offering, a, by his father; b, volun- tary; c, risen from the dead; (4) His marriage; a. bride selected by his fath- CT; b, servant calls the bride; c, meet ing of bride and bridegroom. In this connection we behold Isaac bearing the wood (v. 6) reminder of Christ bearing his cross, John 19:17. The test to Abraham's faith was full even to the point that he took the knife to slay his son." when God intervened. The repetition, Abraham, Abraham" suggests the urgency of God to save and the devotion of Abraham in that he was not easily turned aside nor looking for way of escaping a dis agreeable duty. Abraham was sus- tained to the end (Rom APO, 21 R. VI and out of 1t all he Is abundantly re- warded, w. 15-18 and 26:4-5.
 III. Sacrifice Provided" "A lamb caught in the thicket," w Ills. Again God spoke to Abraham through "an angel" an old Hebraic way of saying that God made himself known. It has been suggested that at this point the Hebrew broke away from human sacri- fees. There is nothing in this story to sustain any claim that God justifies human sacrifices, but the exact con- trary, for God gave Isaac back to Abraham (Heb. 1:19 R. VI and that he Is constantly doing to those who surrender their all and their best to him, Mark 10:29-30; Prov. 11:24-25. Abraham did not leave the mountain until he had offered a sacrifice and who can question but that his heart was filled with great joy and thanks giving unto God, 9 Cor. 9:15 Without the shedding of blood we cannot ap- proach God, yet we do not need to pro- vide our sacrifice, that has been pro- vided once for all, Heb. 9:22, Isa. 535, 1 Peter 2;24. Small wonder Abraham should name the place Jehovah will provide"
 This is wonderful lesson Begin with the joy of Abraham's home over the son born for whom they had so ong waited. Grown to manhood. the
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