The Yale expositor., 1913-03-13

The Sirtn OF Isaac ("alsuslIter")
1913, and the setting aside az she son
of the annn woman. story 80 rich
with snggestiveness, forms rihe ,con.
hection aet%een the lesson cot las+
week arai the one of this week.
l. Sacrifice Required. "C.}od did
prove Abraham" tR. W w. l-& Abra
hams ready response. "BebDid me
here ana q. .giyes evidence @f his life
| long habit OF obedience. He wsss ready
| for sacrifice Or service. His habit OF
taking G@t sat his word prepared him
for this final act of testing. aSrd per
| fecting, Of his faith. The restsed ver.
sion prove" is better rendering than
| the authorized version "temp." God
does not tempt. !. e.. solicit nen to
evil Jas. l:f3. but he does "lprovd
men; see Ex 20::0 and peser 1f2
Abraham had been tried befOne but
| what father is there who will net say
this was the supreme test, for he IL
called urOa 40 give up his. "0Gly ,a0n
whom thoaa Gherishest"
Ettlrshanl's Faith.
Superficial critics have taken ooea-
sion to make light OF God who @,0itld
makeisCch dse1nand upon an earthly
father. We need to remembers EhGt
Abraham had doubtless witnesses. HIT
man sacrifices All rChaltiea and tfrat
having seen Gods faithfuiness and his
past deliverapaes, he had enoHgii
faith to believe rhat God could in his
own Providence deliver Isaac. fur-
ther, attention ares been called to the
exact language Jf tie text. viz. Coos
demand was thaS aIbraham offer" mot
"kilFD Isaac as & zscriiice. The liter.
al language is -gna&e him go up" up
on the altar. dOubSsess III symbol We
read elsewhere, Heb. 11:1T that "Abra-
ham offered up iease, but we know
Me did not kill Isaac. Those who
stumble a that part or the story miss
the great lesson Gcd istendcd to teach
sn the record OF ,iiis i1cident. How
ever, Abraham was ready to do ". 10)
what God himself did actually do when
he gave his only son," John 3:16.
,toa1. 1892. Isaac was tue child OF the
pTogDise, hence the only son (cf. Gen.
2i;sE). This makes the teSt more Sc
we're Cor Ishmael had been sent of.
2l:l4. God today is calling upon faith
ers to sacrifice their sons, and fathers
are sacrificing though not always unto
God. We must put our children upon
the altar. Matt. 10:37.
II. Sacrifice Granted. Abraham
rose up early" w. $40. The writer
of Genesis has left us to FIJI in the
emotions and the mental agony that
must have surged through Abraham's
heart, yet We again see wonderful
Illustration OF prompt obedience, CT.
Ps. 1880.
hbraham's Devotion.
Attention has been called to Isaac
as a type of Christ tcf. John 10:17-1S).
% His name, given before birth; GU
His birth. supernatural predicted; (3)
His offering, q, by his father; b. volun-
tary; c. risen from the dead; (4) His
marriage; a. bride selected by his faith
er; b. servant calls the bride; C. meet
Ing OF bride and bridegroom. III this
connection we behold Isaac bearing
the wood ". G. reminder of Christ
bearing his cross. John 1917. The
test to Abrahan's faith was full even
10 the point that "he took the knife to
say his SON" when God intervened.
The repetition. Abraham. Abraham"
suggests the urgency Of God 10 save
and the devotion of Abraham IL that
be was not easily turned aside nor
looking for way OF escaping dis.
agreeable duty. Abraham was sus.
tanned to the end Rom. 4;20. 81 r. W
and out Of il all lie is Gbundantly re-
waracd, w. 1918 and oG:A-5.
H. Sacrifice Provided" n lamb
caught in the thicket," w 11-I5. Again
God spoke TO Abraham through IAN
angel" an old Hebraic way Of saying
that God made himself known. Ii has
been suggested that at this point the
Hebrew broke away from human sacri.
fees. There is nothing in this story
70 sustain any claim that God justifes
human sacrifices, but the exact con-
trary for God gave Isaac back to
Abraham tHeb. 1:l9 r. W and that
he Is constantly doing 10 those who
surrender their all and their best to
him. Mark 10:2930; Prov. 1i:24-25.
Abraham did not leave the mountain
until lie had offered sacrifice and
who can question but that his heart
was filed with great Joy and thanks.
giving unto God, 9 Cor 9:t5. Without |
the shedding OF blood we cannot ap-
proach God.
Abraham is a type Of true piety |
and is constantly held Up by New Tos.
lament writers as the ideal of religion, |
the reason is that religion never
changes, IL is the attitude Of the soul
to God. Read Horace BushnelI's ex.
perience as related In "Dissolving OF |
Doubts" Some men seem to pass
through life without much testing, the |
question is suggested. are they worth
testing, are they of sufficient value. |
Trials are Gods vote Of confidence"
This is also great Illustration of |
,ubstituuopary sacrifice. ask Isaac n |
"a believed It? Ask the question.
How 40 we show our faItb?"