Sealed By Blood
The Long Road Home - Part 1
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Genesis 15:1-21, 22:1-19
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram…
Genesis 15:17-18a
Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.
Genesis 22:7-8
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
We know Abraham was a man of great faith, and as the writer of Hebrews says, his faith was credited to him as righteousness. But what if the story of Abraham and Isaac is about something bigger than Abraham’s faith. What if it says more about God’s faithfulness?
“God will provide the lamb”, Abraham says through his tears, but he knows the lamb is Isaac
Abraham had tried many times in his life to make God’s promise come true on his own terms. He had deceived others and put his wife in harm’s way to protect himself. He had a son with his wife’s maidservant just to make sure there would be an heir. Over and over, Abraham’s outward faith is challenged by his anxious behavior.
But this time is different. God had fulfilled his promise and was asking Abraham if he was willing to give it all up to trust God? When God’s promises or God’s blessings in our lives become more valuable to us than God himself, we have a serious problem.
But look at the rest of the story. A ram comes in the thicket and God spares Isaac. Abraham names the place, “The Lord provides” …
It was never about Abraham’s faith… it was God’s final proof to Abraham that he could be trusted no matter what happens.
It was God’s reminder that He was serious when he made his covenant with Abraham, that He would put his own blood on the line… that he would provide the lamb for the sacrifice…
And so he did…. Almost 2,000 years later…. On a cross.
God sealed his covenant with Abraham with the promise of his own blood. And one day, God alone would pay that debt that humanity owed for their sin.