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sermons by IVOR POWELL

ABRAHAM ... who believed God

(Genesis 22: 5)

"It came to pass that God did tempt Abraham,

and said unto him . . . 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. And Abraham

rose up early in the morning . . . and went unto the place

of which God had told him."

The Faith which brought Strength

"Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son

Isaac was born unto him" (Gen. 21: 5). When God sent

Isaac, domestic difficulties soon upset the tranquillity of

the home, and Abraham quickly recognized that two

women cannot reign from the same throne. "Sarah said

unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son."

And God said, "Let it not be grievous in thy sight

in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her

voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called" (v. 12). Thus

Abraham received a double blessing. The Lord gave

immediate guidance concerning the domestic arrangements

of the troubled home, and also a promise for the continu-

ance of the race. Isaac was but a lad, yet his father knew

the boy would marry and beget children, for the Lord

had promised that "in Isaac shall thy seed be called."

When God suggested that the child should be offered as

a burnt offering, Abraham probably received the greatest

shock of his life; but as he struggled with himself and

with his problem. the memory of the promise reassured

him. It was not possible for his child to die-and to

remain in his grave-until he had become a father.

"Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and

saw the place afar off. 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. Abraham

knew that if Isaac were slain, the Lord would raise him

to life to fulfil the great promise. And if God did not

permit the death of the boy, He would reveal a way out

of the difficulty.

The Faith which brought a Substitute

"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said

... Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb

for a burnt-offering? And Abraham said, My son, God

will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they

went both of them together." Abraham was the man who

believed God, and language seems inadequate to express

the quality of his faith. Many years later the Lord Jesus

said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day

and was glad." What did Abraham see? Should verse

eight be printed like this: ". . . And Abraham said, My

son, God will provide HIMSELF a lamb for a burnt

offering"? If he saw Christ's day and was glad, did he

also see that the Word would be made flesh and become

the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world?

"And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven

Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any-

thing unto him . . . And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and

looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket

by his horns." By his horns. Had the offering been caught

by any other part of its body, parts of the fleece would

have been left on the thorns, and the offering would not

have been perfect in the sight of its Creator.

The Faith which brought Salvation

And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered

him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son." The

lad was removed from the altar; the ram took his place,

and through that ancient act of substitution, one of the

earliest Gospel types was presented to the world. As

Isaac returned to his home, he realized that an offering

had died in his stead. And every day, Abraham watched

his son growing on toward manhood. "And the angel of

the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second

time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord,

for because thou hast done this thing . . . that in blessing

I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy

seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is

upon the seashore . . . And in thy seed shall all the nations

of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my

voice" (Gen. 22:15-18).

Oh, help me then to understand

How great was thy rich grace;

I should have died upon that cross,

 But Thou didst take my place.