sermons by IVOR POWELL

ABRAHAM WHO MADE AN UNQUALIFIED COMMITMENT

"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" (Gen. 22:5).

Abraham was deep in thought; he was facing the greatest crisis

of his life. He had been instructed by the Lord to offer Isaac as a

sacrifice upon Mount Moriah, but the more he considered the command,

the greater became his problem Nothing made sense! Isaac,

his beloved son, had become the center around which life revolved

and upon whom the future depended. The boy's presence made life

worthwhile; be was his mother's pride and joy. The thought of

offering him as a sacrifice was totally obnoxious and senseless. Yet

God had commanded this, and Abraham was obliged to make a

choice: either to do as commanded or to refuse cooperation with the

Lord. He was at an impasse.

A Test of His Feelings

Obviously, he had to decide who came first in his affections

God or Isaac. There were various ways to consider the problem. If

he refused to obey God, then Isaac could die just as easily as he had

been born. His birth had been a miracle, but his decease could be

swift. In that event, having disobeyed God, Abraham would be left

alone. He loved his son intensely, but nothing could change the

fact he loved the Lord even more. God's command had shocked

him, for it was unnatural to expect a father to kill his only child;

when Abraham reflected on the matter, his conclusion was inevitable.

The Lord was not foolish; there had to be a reason for His

command. "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 clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and

went unto the place of which God had told him" (Gen. 22:3).

A Test of His Faith

During that journey be had time to reflect. He remembered

the domestic strife between Sarah, his wife, and Hagar, the servant.

At that time God had said, "In all that Sarah hath said unto

thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called"

(Gen. 21:12). The old man seemed to be in a trance! His thoughts

continued, "How can my seed be multiplied in Isaac if he dies as

a child? Even the Lord cannot raise children from a corpse! Yet

God cannot lie. Nothing seems to make sense, but if God is to

bless and honor my name through Isaac, even though the lad be

offered in sacrifice, it will be incumbent upon the Lord to restore

his life." When Abraham reached the place where his servants

were to remain, his problem had been solved. He told them to

wait, and promised that when their mission had been completed,

he and his son would return. That was a special promise, for at

that moment he believed Isaac would be slain. Centuries later it

was written, "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up

Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only

begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed

be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even

from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure."

(Heb. 11:17-19). That father never hesitated to take the knife; he

knew that Isaac, even if he were slain, would be raised from the

dead; otherwise the Lord would be a liar.

A Test of His Fellowship

Abraham was already a son of God by the creative process, but he

became known as "the friend of God" (see James 2:23, and 2 Chron.

20:7). Which was the more valuable relationship to be a child of

God or His close friend? A son is related by nature to his parent, but

fellowship between parent and child can sometimes be mined. Close

friends are seldom separated except by distance; each desires and

enjoys the company of the other. There was never strain between God

and His intimate friend. Perhaps there were times when Abraham

found it difficult to understand why the Lord took a certain course of

action, but when faith was tested, trust remembered God's promises.

If it were possible to see Abraham's face when he took the knife to

slay his son, the picture would be informative. Expectancy shone in

the eyes of the old man; he never thought of blood streaming from a

wound but considered only the power of resurrection raising his boy.

He carried a knife but not a shovel! There would be no need to dig a

grave; the boy would still be alive!

The promises of God are lifelines in stormy seas, a sure foundation

upon which to build, a safe and sure guide when life's highways

are obscured by fog! God has never broken a promise; to rely

upon His faithfulness is to exhibit wisdom.