The Promise Foreshadowed

Sermon Series: The Promise of Christmas
Genesis 22:1-19

December 2, 2007

Manuscript

Big Idea: Abraham's almost-sacrifice of Isaac showed that God’s plan for Christmas is born out of his loving heart, would come through the birth of a son to a barren woman, required sacrifice, and offered a blessing to the whole world.

Introduction
In C. S. Lewis’s classic novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Narnia is referred to as "A land that was always winter, but never Christmas." Some people view the Old Testament like that. That would be a tragic mistake, because in reality, the Old Testament actually decks the halls of time with rich imagery and historical story that build anticipation for Christmas. The Old Testament is filled with the promise of Christmas. That’s why I’m calling our Christmas series of messages, THE PROMISE OF CHRISTMAS.

My hope through this month of messages is to refresh us in the profound significance of Christmas that too often gets brushed over and rushed through during this season. Too often the stunning part of Christmas...the soul gripping part of Christmas and heart capturing part of Christmas gets drowned out by crammed calendars and well-intentioned seasonal “whobilation.” Christmas is one of the most crucial acts in God’s redemptive drama in our lives. Christmas is the realization of a promise of God that had been incubating and developing and emerging since the dawn of mankind. And I hope this series will help you avoid the risk of brushing over it and rushing through it with a wide yawn...a few obligatory gifts given....a few parties attended and a few carols mindlessly sung.

Last week we saw the promise of Christmas whispered in Genesis 3:15 where God’s curse-word to Satan whispered judgment on the tempter as it whispered hope for the tempted. Though Satan will “strike our heel” and bring as much heartache and pain to our lives as he can, the verse said, “He”...that is God’s champion, the Messiah Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas...will be the one who delivers the crushing, deadly blow to Satan once and for all. You might say that Genesis 3:15 is the Bibles’ first whisper of Christmas and it begins a steady unveiling of the promise of Christmas.

The sin problem introduced in Genesis 3 resulted in estrangement and hostility between God and his creation. The rebellion of man from God’s design and desires is immediately evident in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis chapter 4 and in humankind’s growing rebellion from God that leads up to the story of Noah in Genesis 6-9. God's promise, whispered in Genesis 3:15, is pictured in the story of Noah and the Flood as God provides a safe passage through his judgment on sin for those who trust him and follow the directives of his word.

A few chapters later, a piece of the promise is revealed in Genesis 12 when God calls Abram and makes an everlasting covenant with him to be the father of a new nation, a people loyal to God and committed to him, a people through which he would bring the promise of Christmas and bless all peoples of the earth.

Genesis 12:2–3:

"I will make you into a great nation
       and I will bless you;
       I will make your name great,
       and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
       and whoever curses you I will curse;
       and all peoples on earth
       will be blessed through you."

[Transition] - Now, where the significance of this new facet to the promise is pictured with new layers of clarity is in Genesis 22 and the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Look with me at Genesis 22:1-19

In this story, the promise of Christmas is foreshadowed with fascinating detail. Typically, we don’t associate this story with Christmas at all, but I want to show you four ways the promise of Christmas is foreshadowed in this story of Abraham and Isaac.   This story is chocked full of so much rich meaning and symbolism foreshadowing and giving us glimpses of God’s redemptive plan that it would take a series of messages to unpack it. For our purposes today, I just want to point out four ways it foreshadows the promise of Christmas. Perhaps the most obvious is that God’s promise of Christmas is born out of his loving heart.

God’s promise of Christmas is born out of his loving heart (Genesis 22:2).

Notice in verse 2...Abraham is instructed to take his son, his only son...WHOM HE LOVES and set him apart for God’s purposes. God goes way out of his way to comment on the strength of the affection this Father has for his son. Abraham’s character in this story gives us a rare glimpse of the events of the crucifixion of Jesus from the heart of the Father. Abraham’s character displays for us the throat choking emotion of the heart of the Father and his great love for his son, his only son. And yet, despite the intensity and intimacy and love shared between the Father and the son in this scene, the Father willingly sets his son apart for God’s purposes.

What a stunning statement of God’s love for you. As much as God loves his Son, he is willing to subject him to death on the cross in order to crush Satan’s head and deliver you from sin and its consequences in your life.

[Illustration] - In the Box Office hit Evan Almighty, Morgan Freeman plays the role of God...and he actually does a pretty good job. But, at one point in the movie when he’s putting the human character, Evan, played by Jim Carey, through some tough stuff to teach him some important lessons about life, Carey cries out, “Why are you putting me through this?” and God replies... “Because I love you...everything I do, I do because I love you.” J

At the end Romans 8 Paul is doing his best to declare how great God’s love is for you and in verse 32 speaking of God says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” And John said, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”-1 John 4:9

The promise of Christmas is born out of the heart of an incredibly loving father. Don’t miss what this says about the Father God and his love for you. As much as the father loves his son and as jealous as he is for the life and safety of his prized possession, he sets him apart for sacrifice on the cross because of his committed love for you. The promise of Christmas is pulsating with divine love for you. Don’t miss this motive. Don’t overlook the clear demonstration of committed love the promise of Christmas holds for you.

[Transition] – Against this backdrop of the committed love of the Father, this story pictures another key piece to the promise. It pictures God’s promise for Christmas coming through the birth of a son to a barren woman.

God’s promise of Christmas will come through the birth of a son to a barren woman (Genesis 22:15-16).
To fully appreciate this picture of the promise of Christmas, you have to have in view the uniqueness of Isaac’s birth story. Let me summarize: from Genesis 17, 18 and 21. Sarah was Abraham’s wife and even though older, she had bore him no children (16:1). But God had promised to make a great nation out of Abraham (12:2-3) and he had promised to give Sarah a son in her old age (17:15-16). This promise of miraculous proportions made both Abraham and Sarah laugh because they were 100 and 90 years old respectively. Despite their laughter at the idea, God instructed them to name the son Isaac and he promised to establish a covenant with Abraham as an everlasting covenant for all his descendants after him (17:19). The promise of the Lord came true exactly as he said it would and Sarah gave birth to her and Abraham’s only son, Isaac (21:1-2).

Abraham was old when Isaac was born, old enough indeed to have been his grandfather, and after that long of a wait, the child became at once his delight and prized possession. This only son represented everything sacred to his father’s heart; the promises of God, the covenants, the hopes of the years and the long messianic dream. As he watched him grow from babyhood to young manhood, the heart of the old man was knit closer and closer with the life of his son. Imagine Abraham’s convulsing heart when God instructed him to “Take your son, your only son, whom you love...and sacrifice him....”

Take a moment and line up this birth story with the birth stories of God’s servant Samuel who was born to Hannah after God had closed her womb for many years (1 Samuel 1:6, 20) and God’s servant John the Baptist who was born to Elizabeth who was never able to have children until God miraculously opened her womb in her old age giving she and Zechariah a son. These birth stories are all pictures of God’s promised solution to the curse of sin and it’s consequences...each of them point forward little by little to the supernatural birth story of Jesus. The promise whispered in Genesis 3 emerges more and more clearly, God’s promised deliverer will come through a barren woman who will miraculously be with child by the design and desire of God.

The words of Luke speak of the fulfillment of this part of the promise when he writes concerning the birth story of Jesus, “But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” - Luke 1:30-35

[Transition] – This story of Abraham and Isaac pictures the promise of God being born out of the heart of a loving father, God’s promise of Christmas coming through a barren woman and the third thing I want you to see is that God’s promise for Christmas will require a sacrifice. Read verses 6-8 and 13-14.

God’s promise of Christmas requires a sacrifice.
Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac pictures again that sacrifice is going to be involved for God’s promise whispered in Genesis 3 to become a reality.

Speaking of Jesus, Paul said in Colossians 1:19-22, “ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation”

The head of Satan, God’s chief enemy, is crushed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Verse 13 tells us that God provided the sacrifice... “a ram caught by its horns...he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering INSTEAD OF his son. “So Abraham called that place {Jehovah Jireh} The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.

It should be no surprise that on the hill called Golgotha, or “The place of the skull” God provided the ultimate and final sacrifice...the life of his son...his one and only son INSTEAD OF your life. This, of course is speaking of Jesus who the New Testament explains, “... has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” “ ... Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”- Hebrews 9:26, 28

[Transition] – The promise pictured in this story of Abraham and Isaac reveals that 1) God’s promise of Christmas is born out of a father’s loving heart. 2) It will come through a son born to a barren woman. 3) It will require a sacrifice and finally, God’s promise of Christmas will offer a blessing to the whole world. Read verses

Gods’ promise of Christmas offers a blessing to the whole world (Genesis 22:17-18).
That word "offspring," there in verse 18 is also translated as "seed," and it can be taken as both singular and corporate. In the cooperate understanding, the “seed” or “offspring” refers to those who have trusted Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, their leader and forgiver. God’s blessing extends to the whole world through them as they take his Great Commission seriously...going into all the world with the news of Jesus. – Matthew 28

But, I want you to focus the singular understanding for now. In the singular understanding, Jesus is the seed through which all the world will be blessed. When Jesus was born those who were paying attention to the promised whispered and foreshadowed immediately recognized who he was:

Mary celebrated in song with a refrain that went, “God has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever...” -Luke 1:54-55

Zechariah praised God for his mercy in remembering “his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham; to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” – Luke 1:72-74
When Simeon laid hands on the baby Jesus in the temple he erupted in praise for the blessing this promise of God would hold for the whole world, “Sovereign Lord...my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” -Luke 2:30-32

Conclusion
God’s promise of Christmas that had been whispered and foreshadowed had now been fulfilled...Jesus born to live among us and give his life for us to show us the love of God and deliver us from the curse of sin and its consequences.

The promise of Christmas came for you. He wants you to trust him to forgive your sin and trust him to be the promise of eternity in heaven. He wants you to receive direction from him and follow him in your life. You can begin to do all of that today by calling on him in prayer.

Let’s pray....

Communion calls us to remember and celebrate the promise of Christmas. To those who have embrace Jesus as the promise of Christmas, Jesus has extended an invitation to you to remember and celebrate all that he is and all that he has done through the table of Communion. The bread and the cup that we receive call us to remember and celebrate his body given for us and his blood shed for us on the cross. They call us to remember the fulfillment of the sacrifice foreshadowed on Mt. Moriah with Abraham and Isaac and fulfilled in Jesus on Golgotha.