Thoughts on Stewardship
Lesson No. 7 from Genesis
Obligating God with Your Offering
Foundation Scriptures: Genesis 22 verses 1-14
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said,”Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” Genesis 22:1-14 NKJV
1. God spoke to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
a. He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love.”
b. These words have significance. They are a type and shadow of that which is to come.
c. God and Abraham were in covenant together and God wanted to see the extent of Abraham’s commitment to Him.
d. He wanted to see what Abraham was willing to sacrifice—what he was willing to give up.
2. This was a test from God to see if Abraham would give up his son—his only son—and if he did, then it would put God in a position where He would then be obligated to give “His Son, His only Son”! Abraham represented all of mankind when he passed this test.
a. God provided a Lamb for the sacrifice.
b. In verse 14, Abraham called the name of the place, where God provided the ram, Jehovah-Jireh—The-Lord-Will-Provide.
c. The Bible says that the Lord will even provide seed to the sower.
d. The covenant was in full force here. Abraham was willing and obedient to obey God’s commands and he experienced the abundant, supernatural provision of God.
f. Obligating God: God challenges us to obey His Word. He even says, “Prove Me!” (Malachi 3:10) When God makes a promise, He obligates Himself to keep it. When we do what is required of us, He does what He said He would. Obey God, and you obligate Him to keep His Word. You can obligate God through your obedience to His word and His commandments.
Pastor Adonica’s thoughts:
When God makes you a promise and you meet the conditions of that promise, God WILL do what He said He would do. God has blessings in store for you. Do you really trust God? Do you really believe His word? Do you dare to step out in faith and obedience so that you can see God prove Himself true and faithful to you once again?
Pastor Rodney’s thoughts:
The Bible is a record of God’s interactions with man through the ages. It is a record of His Word, His Will, and His Plan for man. God does have a definite plan for each person and He presents tests—opportunities to make the right choice—to all of us. The question is: Do we have faith? Do we really trust God enough to obey, even when the thing He asks us to do doesn’t make sense to us? Even if we have obeyed God in the past, He may once again test us to see if we are prepared to go to the next level. It is about trust and faithfulness—can you be trusted to obey Him; will you be faithful with what He tells you to do? The Lord wants to see how far you will go. Are you prepared to go to the next level? Will you do what God has told you to do—without fear? God will probably ask you for something that means a lot to you—your treasure. Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. From what I have seen, every man or woman that God has used in an extraordinary way has been at the same place that Abraham was, and passed the test. Will you?
