The Mountain

March 5, 2023

Tests are part of life. In “The Mountain,” Pastor Dave Gustavsen shares the familiar story of Abraham & Isaac, reminding us that God not only tests us to accomplish His purposes, but also provides us with what we need to persevere through those tests. This story ultimately points us to the cross, where Jesus took our place.

Good morning Chapel family. I’ve been reading the Bible seriously for about 35 years. And I would say the most significant breakthrough in my understanding of Scripture happened a little over 20 years ago. I discovered that the entire Bible is about Jesus. Not just the Gospels; not just the New Testament. All the Scriptures are about Jesus—especially his death and resurrection. In fact, last week, Pastor Ted brought us to that verse in the Gospel of Luke 24, where Jesus opened up the Hebrew Bible and it says he explained what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. So Jesus himself recognized that all the Scriptures were talking about him! And when I realized that, the Bible came alive for me in a way that it never had before. I was amazed at how connected and unified it was. And it made me want to read it more; it made me want to follow Jesus more; because it just became so clear: he’s the message! This whole thing is about him!

So this year during Lent, we are preparing our hearts for Easter by going to parts of the Bible that people don’t normally associate with Jesus: we’re going deep into the Old Testament, and looking at stories that you’ve probably read many times. But we’re inviting you to look at them with new eyes. To ask yourself: what does this tell me about the cross? How does this help me understand more deeply what God has done for me at the cross, and how that can change the way I live every day of my life? That’s what this series is all about. And I hope this will spark something in your heart like it did for me.

So: today we come to one of the best-known stories, and frankly, one of the most disturbing stories in the entire Bible: the story of Abraham and his son Isaac on the mountain. Let’s read the story together—Genesis chapter 22, beginning in verse 1. Let’s hear the Word of God…

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” This is the Word of the Lord.

Let’s break this down into three scenes.

Scene #1: The Test. Verse 1 says Some time later God tested Abraham. Of all the people who needed testing, doesn’t seem like one of them. Think about it: back when he was 75 years old, married, prosperous, settled, out of the blue God came to him and said, “Your retirement’s over. I want you to leave everything you’ve known and follow me.” And Abraham packed up and left. To me that’s impressive. He passed the test!

Over the years that followed, God made a series of promises to Abraham. He said, “Your descendants will possess the land where you are now living. They’ll be as numerous as the stars in the sky. I’m not saying you’ll adopt children; they’ll come from you—99-year-old Abraham, and your lovely 90-year-old bride. And even thought Abraham laughed at the audacity of that promise, deep down he believed. It says in Romans 4 that Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God. He passed the test!

Then God said, “I’m going to give you a special sign to remind him of the covenant relationship between us.” And Abraham said, “That’s wonderful! What’s the sign?” And God said, “Circumcision.” And Abraham said, “Couldn’t it be, like, a secret handshake?” But God said, “No—it’s circumcision.” And Abraham immediately did it: he believed God; he obeyed God; he passed the test.

I’m not saying Abraham was perfect. He had his faults. But by the time you get to this point in the story, he’s well over 100 years old. He’s been following God for at least a quarter of a century. And he’s clearly a man of astounding faith. And yet…Genesis 22 says Some time later, God tested Abraham. See, here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a believer; how may spiritual victories you have under your belt; how old you are. As long as you walk this earth, God will test you. You should expect it.

Maybe you say, “That’s terrible. That’s mean.” But it’s not! All through Scripture, God only tests his people. People who love him and follow him. Testing is a family privilege. Don’t hear me wrong: God never tempts us. Someone said it this way: “Satan tempts us to bring us down; God tests us to bring

us up.” So there’s always a good purpose for testing: to make us better. To deepen our faith. To make us tougher and more resilient and more useful to him and to other people.

And in this final scene from Abraham’s life, after everything he’d already been through, he’s about to be tested like he’s never been tested before.

Keep in mind: we know something that Abraham didn’t know. We know this was a test! We know that Isaac wasn’t in any real danger. But Abraham didn’t know any of that. All he knew was that God was commanding him to do this unthinkable thing. To take his son, Isaac—which means laughter, because God had done this hilariously impossible thing by giving a baby to this elderly couple…and to sacrifice him. Now: for Abraham, the idea of human sacrifice wasn’t quite as shocking as it is for us. He had grown up in a pagan, Canaanite culture where human sacrifice was a thing. But the idea that this God that he’d grown so close to would require it—it was a repulsive thought. Especially with Isaac! If there was no Isaac, how would God come up with all those descendants he had promised? It just didn’t make sense.

Let me ask you something: Has God ever tested you by asking you to give up something you cherish? That’s not the only way he tests us, but it’s one of the main ways.

Maybe it was a person you really loved, and that person was taken away from you. I was reading the autobiography of the late Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric. His faith was very important to him early in his life. But then his mother died of a sudden heart attack. And he wrote this: "I felt cheated, angry, and mad at God for taking my mother away." And he never recovered from it. He said he still believes in God, but he no longer practices his faith.

Maybe your faith has been rocked by something like that—the death of someone you loved, or losing somebody through divorce. Or maybe some physical loss—I’ve talked before about losing my beloved running because of knee problems, and this hand condition that’s taken away my ability to play guitar and basketball. Relatively small losses in the big picture of life, but those are all tests. As you think of your life, I’ll bet you have your own version of that—something that’s out of your control—it wasn’t like you had a choice; the person or the physical ability was just taken from you.

Or maybe, like Abraham, you did have a choice. Maybe God has clearly called you to give up something you cherish. To give up your leisurely retirement so you can serve a family member—maybe take care of your grandkids. Or give up your middle-aged freedom to take care of your aging parents. Or to give up a career that paid well, because he was calling you to something more meaningful. Or to give up your desire to date that beautiful woman or that perfect guy, because they don’t share your faith, and you know it would drag you down spiritually. In some way, He’s called you to give up something that you really valued, and really wanted. And it’s been a hard decision. Maybe you’re wrestling with that decision as you sit here today.

And I want you to remember that God didn’t ask Abraham to give up his leftovers or his excess. He was calling Abraham to give up something precious. That’s what made this whole thing so hard, and that’s why tests are so hard for us.

And that leads us to scene #2:The Response. Verse 3 says Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. There’s so much the story doesn’t tell us. Like, what in the world was going through Abraham’s mind? Was he feeling angry with God? Was he feeling guilty for hiding this from his son? From that verse, I think there’s a hint that he was disoriented. If you were thinking straight, you would chop the wood, and

then load up the donkey. But did you see how he did it? It says he loaded up the donkey, then he chopped the wood while the donkey was standing there, all loaded up. Can you blame him for being a little off his game? What would you be like? But despite how he might have been struggling inwardly, outwardly Abraham made a choice to obey. No delay. No trying to find a loophole. God had made his will crystal clear, and even though Abraham didn’t understand it, he chose to obey. It’s really amazing.

So they make the three-day journey to the mountain that God told him about. And when they get close to the mountain, we get a little clue about what’s going on in Abraham’s head. Look at verse 5: He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Did you see it? Why would he say, “We will come back to you”? I mean, if he goes through with this, there’s only one guy coming back. What was Abraham thinking? Hold that thought.

So Abraham and Isaac go on alone, up the mountain. And then in verse 7, Isaac breaks the silence: Father? Yes, my son? The fire and the wood are here, but where’s the lamb for the burnt offering? That’s what I’d want to know, wouldn’t you? This was before God had laid out the temple sacrificial system in detail—that comes in Exodus and Leviticus. But even at this point, everyone knew what a burnt offering was. You put the animal to death with a knife to shed its blood—because God says without the shedding of blood there’s no forgiveness of sin—and then you burned it completely. So Isaac asks the obvious question: we’ve got everything we need, except one thing—where’s the lamb?

And Abraham’s answer in verse 8 is the most important verse in the whole passage: God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. Abraham said those words by shear faith. See, here’s what he knew: he knew God had promised to multiply his descendants through Isaac. He also knew God had commanded him to sacrifice that same Isaac. How do those two things go together? He didn’t know. But he knew that God knew way more than he knew. So he says, “God’s going to provide.” Shear faith! He had no clue how, but he had faith that God would come through.

The New Testament book of Hebrews reflects on this moment—look at Hebrews 11:17…17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead… If that’s what it took to work this out—raising the dead—even that wasn’t beyond the ability of God. In times of testing, sometimes you just have to take God at his word. Just believe that he’s good, and he’ll provide, and follow where he leads. What an awesome example this is.

And then it really gets gnarly. They get to the top of the mountain; Abraham builds an altar and arranges the wood on it; he ties up his son Isaac and lays him on top of the wood. In the Hebrew world, this story is known as the Aqedah, because the Hebrew word for “binding” is aqedah. Isn’t it interesting that the word they chose to represent this story represents the most intimate, unthinkable act—of binding your own son in preparation for his death. We haven’t said much about Isaac, but can you imagine the level of trust in his father, to allow himself to be bound without a struggle? This is overwhelming on so many levels.

I think you and I have a tendency to want to hurry past this part and get to the happy ending. Right? But let’s not. Let’s not rush past the fact that when you’re being tested, choosing to stay faithful to God can be excruciating. It can stretch you more than you’ve ever wanted to be stretched. Because you don’t know the ending! You’re right in the middle of it! And all you have to go on is your faith that God is good, and God will provide. If you’re in the middle of something like this right now, would you allow the Holy Spirit to use this story to strengthen you? To remind you that you’re not the first one to

be tested? God knows the pain; he knows how hard it is; that’s why he included this in the Bible. If you’re thinking about giving up, allow the Spirit of God to use the Word of God to strengthen you. So you can keep going.

And finally, scene #3: The Provision. Just when he has the knife raised, his face dripping with sweat and his heart pounding, and who knows what’s going on in the mind of Isaac—right at that moment, God speaks: Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Can you even imagine the emotions of that moment?

And just then, Abraham looks up, and over in the nearby bushes, he sees something struggling. And he realizes it’s a ram, caught by its horns. So he goes over and takes the ram, and he sacrifices it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Possibly the most famous painting of this scene was done by Caravaggio in the year 1602—it’s “The Sacrifice of Isaac.” It’s a beautiful painting, isn’t it? Although I’m not sure it adequately captures the anguish and the relief of that moment. This was an event that neither of these guys would ever forget, and would shape Isaac’s faith deeply.

Because God had provided. Just like Abraham said he would, right? He let it go to the very last second, but when it mattered the most, God came through in an amazing way. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will Provide.” You know what that is in the Hebrew language? Jehovah jireh. “The Lord will Provide.” It’s part of his character. It’s part of his very nature—we serve a God who provides. And if he’s testing you right now, he’ll provide whatever you need to pass the test. Because the God who tests is the God who provides.

A few years ago there was a popular band called Sixpence None the Richer. Anybody remember them? They had a huge hit called “Kiss Me.” Great song. So they were on the David Letterman show, and after they played their song, Letterman invited the lead singer, Leigh Nash, to chat for a minute. And he asked about the band’s name—“why are you guys called Sixpence None the Richer?” And she said, "It comes from a book by C. S. Lewis…called Mere Christianity. A little boy asks his father for a sixpence, which is a very small amount of English currency, to go and get a gift for his father. The father gladly accepts the gift, but he also realizes that he's not any richer for the transaction because he gave his son the money in the first place." And Letterman said, "He bought his own gift.” And she said, "That's right. Pretty much. I'm sure it meant a lot to him, but he's really no richer.” And she said, “C. S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God has given him and us the gifts that we possess, and to serve him the way we should, we should do it humbly, realizing how we got the gifts in the first place." This was on David Letterman—you’ve got to love this! And Letterman said, “Well, that’s beautiful. When you hear something explained that’s so obvious…if we could just keep that little sliver of enlightenment with us, things would be so much better.”

It was a sacred moment on late-night television. But I have to correct Letterman: what she shared was not a “little sliver of enlightenment.” It was a massive mountain of enlightenment. It was everything!

It’s exactly what God did for Abraham, right? The thing that Abraham needed the most, God provided. God provided the ram, and Abraham gave it back to God. And God wasn’t any richer, because the ram was his in the first place. But God wasn’t doing it for himself! He was doing it for Abraham, and for Isaac—to save Isaac’s life and to test them and stretch them and show them how faithful he was. Because the God who tests is the God who provides.

And it’s actually very significant that he provided in that specific location. This event took place on Mount Moriah. Any idea what else happened there? Look with me at 2 Chronicles 3:1… Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah… Hundreds of years

later, this was the very spot that the Jewish temple would be built. Isn’t that amazing? So in this very location, where God provided a substitute sacrifice in the place of Isaac, the Jewish people would come year after year, to confess they were guilty of sin and deserving of judgment, and through the temple sacrifice system, God would provide an animal as a substitute, to be put to death in their place.

See this event was pointing to something beyond itself. But it was pointing even further.

Jewish Rabbis often wrote commentaries on Scripture, and those commentaries are called “Midrash.” So there’s one midrash called the Genesis Rabbah—it’s a commentary on the book of Genesis. And in it, this rabbi points out that when Isaac walked up the mountain, carrying the wood on his back, it’s like a condemned man carrying his own cross. Some of you thought of that when we read it in the story, right? And even this rabbi couldn’t help but see the similarity.

And the more you study this passage, the more you realize, “Wait—this is about Jesus, isn’t it?!”

When Isaac asked his father, “Where’s the lamb for the burnt offering,” and Abraham said, “God will provide the lamb,” technically speaking, that didn’t happen. Because a lamb is a baby sheep, and God provided…what? A ram. An adult, male sheep. So technically speaking, Abraham’s words to his son weren’t truly fulfilled. Yet. But centuries later, as John the Baptist stood in the Jordan River, he saw someone coming toward him, and he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” And three years later, at a place called Golgotha, which was in those same hills, the perfect Lamb of God was nailed to the cross that he had carried, and he was put to death in place of the people who deserved it. Just like Abraham had promised, God himself provided the Lamb.

See, you and I are all Isaacs. Every one of us deserves the judgment of God because of our sin. But at the cross, God provided a Lamb to take our place. And all we have to do is believe. Please don’t let this day go by without turning to God and saying, “Yes—I see it! I believe Jesus is the Lamb of God who was put to death in my place. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I receive it.” That’s where forgiveness comes from. That’s what makes you a child of God.

And as a child of God, you will be tested. God will put you in situations that are so hard and so painful and you will be stretched beyond what you thought possible. And even when you’re old like Abraham, and you feel like you’ve paid your dues, he’s still going to test you. He’s going to call you to give up things; he’s going to take things from you; he’s going to test you. Because he loves you, and he wants to take your faith to a new level.

When that happens—not “if,” but when that happens—never forget that the God who tests is the God who provides.

Sometimes people say, “God never asks you to do anything you can’t handle.” That’s not true at all. Here’s what’s true: God never asks you to do anything he can’t handle. He wants to stretch you way beyond what you can handle, but it’s never more than he can handle. Because the God who tests is the God who provides. Jehovah Jireh is faithful.

So keep trusting him, keep walking forward in faith. And as you do, here’s the promise—in verse 17, after Abraham passes this last test, God says, “I will surely bless you.” Would you take those words to heart today? As you walk in faith and obedience to God, he will surely bless you—in ways you cannot even imagine.