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God Testing Abraham - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac,
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  Speaker 1: whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah,
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  Speaker 1: and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one
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  Speaker 1: of the mountains, which I will tell thee. Genesis 22.2
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  Speaker 1: Dear Lord, Today I choose the ultimate sign of worship.
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  Speaker 1: I choose to render my life to the workings of
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  Speaker 1: your hand. Like Abraham and Isaac, I choose to live
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  Speaker 1: in total obedience to the plans you have for me.
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  Speaker 1: Even when I don't understand your methods, even though it
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  Speaker 1: may look like I could lose everything, I will trust
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  Speaker 1: your character, knowing that no eye can see as far
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  Speaker 1: as you can see. Holy Spirit, give me the understanding
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  Speaker 1: to know that once you give a promise, you never
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  Speaker 1: go back on your word. With this truth, I choose
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  Speaker 1: to understand that in order for my life and dreams
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  Speaker 1: to go forward, they must first go upward. I now
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  Speaker 1: know that the secret to my provision is being able
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  Speaker 1: to give my dreams back to you, because only in
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  Speaker 1: your hands will they flourish, multiply, and be given life.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for providing the sacrifice needed for me to
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  Speaker 1: hold on to my promise. Thank you for giving me
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  Speaker 1: the ultimate gift in your Son, Jesus. And thank you
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  Speaker 1: for always providing a way when it seems as though
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  Speaker 1: there is none. You are a miracle-working God. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: God Testing Abraham Before this story, we heard the unfolding
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  Speaker 2: of God's great promises. Abraham and Sarah finally bore a son,
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  Speaker 2: and his name was Isaac. Now we learn of Abraham's
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  Speaker 2: true devotion to God. Will he, after waiting decades to
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  Speaker 2: have a child, choose his relationship with God over his son?
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  Speaker 2: Inspired by the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book That's yours
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
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  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
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  Speaker 3: slash stress. Today's reading is about a test. the most
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  Speaker 3: difficult test a parent could imagine, in fact. Just think
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  Speaker 3: about how you would feel if you finally received something
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  Speaker 3: you'd worked hard and waited for so long to receive,
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  Speaker 3: and then in an instant you're told to give this
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  Speaker 3: thing that God had promised back. How devastating, how confused
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  Speaker 3: you would be. That's exactly where we find Abraham today.
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  Speaker 3: Isaac had finally arrived and all seems well in the world.
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  Speaker 3: But now, some years later, God commands Abraham to offer
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  Speaker 3: Isaac as a sacrifice. If he wanted to test Abraham's
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  Speaker 3: faithfulness and trust, there could be no better or more
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  Speaker 3: painful way to do that than what he is telling
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  Speaker 3: him to do now. As you listen, pay attention to
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  Speaker 3: how Abraham responds. Are we going to see the fearful
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  Speaker 3: Abraham who lied about Sarah being his sister? Or, Will
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  Speaker 3: we see the faithful Abraham who refused to align himself
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  Speaker 3: with the king of Sodom, but instead honored God with
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  Speaker 3: an offering and thanksgiving for delivering him in battle? What
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  Speaker 3: could have possibly been going through his mind as he
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  Speaker 3: climbed a mountain, that mountain with Isaac? And what must
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  Speaker 3: Isaac have been feeling, probably now a teenager, realizing the
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  Speaker 3: meaning of the events that are about to happen to him?
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  Speaker 3: Notice how Abraham is confident that God would provide. even
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  Speaker 3: though he has no idea how. This passage is such
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  Speaker 3: a clear foreshadowing of what will come later in Scripture,
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  Speaker 3: as God the Father gives his own Son to be
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  Speaker 3: sacrificed for our sins. So as you listen today, pay
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  Speaker 3: attention to the promise that is yet to come, the
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  Speaker 3: promise that Jesus would die on the cross for our sins.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's passage.
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  Speaker 2: At last Abraham held his son in his arms. Sarah
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  Speaker 2: and Abraham, after decades of falling on their knees begging
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  Speaker 2: for a child, had finally seen their prayers answered. Isaac
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  Speaker 2: was growing into a young man with the love and
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  Speaker 2: affection of his parents. Abraham savored every moment he had
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  Speaker 2: with Isaac, for he knew his days were numbered, already
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  Speaker 2: being so advanced in years. Abraham and Sarah experienced the
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  Speaker 2: joys of raising their child together and the highs and
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  Speaker 2: lows of parenthood. Abraham held closely to God's promises, remembering
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  Speaker 2: that God had promised to make a great nation out
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  Speaker 2: of Isaac and his descendants. Hope glistened in Abraham's eyes
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  Speaker 2: as he gazed upon his son, his miracle, his namesake.
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  Speaker 2: One day, God came to Abraham, yet this time he
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  Speaker 2: did not come with a promise, nor did he come
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  Speaker 2: with a warning. Instead, he came with a command. A
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  Speaker 2: command that would test Abraham's faith to its very core.
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  Speaker 2: A command that would break him completely. Abraham, God called out.
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  Speaker 2: Here I am, replied Abraham.
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  Speaker 3: God answered.
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  Speaker 2: With no warning, explanation, or promise, spoke plainly, Take your son,
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  Speaker 2: your only son Isaac, whom you love, up into the
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  Speaker 2: mountains of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt sacrifice.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham was faced with a command so devastating and seemingly
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  Speaker 2: cruel that it could quite possibly be the end of him.
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  Speaker 2: Yet God had shown Abraham his compassion, his power, and
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  Speaker 2: his faithfulness before. God had promised Abraham that from Isaac
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  Speaker 2: would come a great nation of people. If this was
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  Speaker 2: God's command, there must have been something greater at work.
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  Speaker 2: So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey,
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  Speaker 2: and took Isaac along with two of his men. Abraham
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  Speaker 2: began chopping wood, the axe methodically and swiftly cutting the
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  Speaker 2: kindling that would burn his son at the altar. How
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  Speaker 2: painful it was to prepare the altar at which your
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  Speaker 2: son would be murdered. Sweat fell from his brow and
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  Speaker 2: tears from his eyes. Abraham arose, eyes towards heaven, and
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  Speaker 2: took Isaac to the base of the mountain. Abraham turned
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  Speaker 2: towards his men and said, Stay here with the donkey.
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  Speaker 2: My son and I shall climb the mountain to meet
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  Speaker 2: with the Lord and worship. Abraham and Isaac climbed to
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  Speaker 2: the face of the mountain. ISAAC, STILL UNAWARE OF WHAT
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  Speaker 2: HIS FATHER WAS ASKED TO DO, HELPED CARRY THE WOOD
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  Speaker 2: UP TO THE ALTAR. ABRAHAM PREPARED A FIRE AND LAID
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  Speaker 2: THE WOOD ON THE ALTAR BESIDE HIS SON. SEEING THE
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  Speaker 2: TURMOIL DEEP IN HIS FATHER'S EYES, ISAAC SPOKE. MY FATHER,
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  Speaker 2: HE EXCLAIMED. HERE I AM, MY SON, ABRAHAM REPLIED, LOOKING
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  Speaker 2: DOWN AT THE WOOD, REFUSING TO MEET HIS SON'S GAZE.
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  Speaker 2: WE HAVE THE FIRE AND THE WOOD. BUT WHERE IS
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  Speaker 2: THE LAMB FOR THE BURNT OFFERING? ABRAHAM COULD HARDLY BEAR
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  Speaker 2: THE WORDS COMING FROM HIS MOUTH. OH, MY SON, GOD
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  Speaker 2: WILL PROVIDE HIMSELF A LAMB, I AM SURE OF IT.
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  Speaker 2: ANGUISH FILLED ABRAHAM'S HEART AND MIND. HE TOOK ROPES IN
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  Speaker 2: HIS HANDS AND BOUND THEM TO HIS SON. TEARS STREAMING
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  Speaker 2: DOWN HIS FACE, HE LAID ISAAC DOWN AT THE ALTAR. ABRAHAM,
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  Speaker 2: GOD'S CHOSEN HERO, stood over his son. The supposed father
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  Speaker 2: of nations, poised to slay his only child, raised the
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  Speaker 2: blade high in the air. With his eyes looking toward
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  Speaker 2: heaven and faith welling up within his heart that God
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  Speaker 2: would make this right somehow, Abraham prepared the descent of
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  Speaker 2: his knife towards Isaac. In that instant, the heavens opened
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  Speaker 2: up violently Booming from the skies, a voice of deliverance
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  Speaker 2: bellowed across the mountaintops. Abraham! Abraham! The voice cried. Trembling
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  Speaker 2: on the floor with tears blurring his vision, Abraham managed
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  Speaker 2: a response. Here I am, he whimpered. Do not strike
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  Speaker 2: your child, God said. Your faith in me will be
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  Speaker 2: spoken of for all eternity. for not even your own
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  Speaker 2: son would keep you from worshipping me. Abraham finally lifted
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  Speaker 2: his eyes, and there in the thicket beside him was
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  Speaker 2: a ram crying, caught by his horns. There he and
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  Speaker 2: Isaac sacrificed the ram to God on the altar, and
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  Speaker 2: they named the mountain, The Lord Will Provide, for God
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  Speaker 2: is the one who would provide the ultimate sacrifice. A
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  Speaker 2: second time God spoke, Since you did not withhold your
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  Speaker 2: son from me, I will make his name great. As
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  Speaker 2: the stars are adorned in the sky and the grains
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  Speaker 2: of sand scattered across the shore, so I will expand
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  Speaker 2: your offspring. Greatness shall follow you. After that, Abraham and
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  Speaker 2: Isaac left the mountain. God would not require Abraham to
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  Speaker 2: sacrifice his own son. God most of all knows the
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  Speaker 2: love one has for his children. For God himself is love.
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  Speaker 2: And because of this love, God would one day send
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  Speaker 2: his own son to be sacrificed for all. For the
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  Speaker 2: Garden of Eden, the Ark of Noah, and the Son
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  Speaker 2: of Abraham were all pointing towards a greater and more
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  Speaker 2: glorious promise. One that would truly bless all nations and
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  Speaker 2: generations to come.
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  Speaker 3: Isaac is finally born. He is with his parents. He
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  Speaker 3: is growing in strength and stature. Abraham and Sarah, as
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  Speaker 3: they watched their son play, must have been filled with
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  Speaker 3: dreams for their child's future. How he would grow strong
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  Speaker 3: and wise, working alongside his father, fulfilling the promise of God.
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  Speaker 3: How he would meet a woman one day, and they
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  Speaker 3: would become one, producing grandchildren from Abraham and Sarah. The
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  Speaker 3: great nation, God's chosen people, was coming to be, and
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  Speaker 3: it was growing up right before their eyes as Isaac
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  Speaker 3: became a man. God had come through in a big
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  Speaker 3: way and now the world was brighter for it. So imagine,
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  Speaker 3: just imagine the suffering, the pain, the agony that stabbed
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  Speaker 3: Abraham's heart as he heard God tell him that a
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  Speaker 3: sacrifice was required. And not the sacrifice of a bull
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  Speaker 3: or a ram, not the first harvest of wheat or
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  Speaker 3: a dove. No, it was so much bigger than that.
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  Speaker 3: a devastating command. God wanted Isaac back and he wanted
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  Speaker 3: the full heart of Abraham. And he wasn't just going
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  Speaker 3: to take him. Abraham would be the one to take
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  Speaker 3: the life of his son and give him back to God.
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  Speaker 3: As a parent, I wonder how Abraham was even able
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  Speaker 3: to function after hearing God tell him to take the
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  Speaker 3: life of his son, his only son, and offer him
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  Speaker 3: as a sacrifice on a mountain. But Abraham, to his credit,
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  Speaker 3: did not question God or even try to bargain with him.
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  Speaker 3: He very simply, painfully, courageously obeyed without hesitation. When God
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  Speaker 3: calls us to do something, how often do we do this?
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  Speaker 3: Do you respond in obedience without hesitating or rationalizing your
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  Speaker 3: way out of things? Or do you, like Abraham, draw
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  Speaker 3: from your experience of trusting God, God's overwhelming faithfulness and
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  Speaker 3: love and step forward and obey God, knowing that God
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  Speaker 3: will provide according to his will and for your ultimate good.
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  Speaker 3: This is what Abraham does. He knows God must have
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  Speaker 3: a reason beyond his understanding, a reason for his own
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  Speaker 3: plan to be fulfilled. He just can't fathom what it is.
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  Speaker 3: Like Job, he recognized the truth God gives and God
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  Speaker 3: takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I
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  Speaker 3: can only imagine the pain of each question Isaac may
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  Speaker 3: have asked. Where are we going, Dad? What are we
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  Speaker 3: going to do there? And then came the most painful
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  Speaker 3: question of all in Genesis 22, 7. Isaac spoke to Abraham,
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  Speaker 3: his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here
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  Speaker 3: am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire
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  Speaker 3: and the wood. But where is the lamb for the
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  Speaker 3: burnt offering? How is it possible for Abraham to answer
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  Speaker 3: the question of his son he loves so much? His
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  Speaker 3: answer shows immense faithfulness in God. Verse 8, Abraham said,
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  Speaker 3: God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering,
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  Speaker 3: my son. So the two of them walked on together.
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  Speaker 3: Abraham doesn't know how it's possible, but he trusts that
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  Speaker 3: God will provide. and he remains obedient to the point
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  Speaker 3: of tying Isaac up and raising the knife to kill him,
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  Speaker 3: just as God had commanded. But this would not be
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  Speaker 3: the day when a father would sacrifice his son. God stays,
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  Speaker 3: stops the hand of Abraham in the last moment, and
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  Speaker 3: provides a sacrifice, a ram. There will be blood shed
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  Speaker 3: that day, but not on his only son, Isaac. Because
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  Speaker 3: of Abraham's great faithfulness, because He held nothing back from God.
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  Speaker 3: He and Isaac would be blessed in ways that we
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  Speaker 3: can never fathom. They descended down the mountain knowing God
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  Speaker 3: has a special plan for them and again reassured him,
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  Speaker 3: God reassured them of his incredible love for his children,
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  Speaker 3: for his family. I imagine Jesus looking down on these
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  Speaker 3: events by his father's side, knowing that when it was
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  Speaker 3: his turn, there would be no last minute cancellation, no
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  Speaker 3: reprieve from the soldier's whip. the nails in his flesh,
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  Speaker 3: the death that he would die. God would indeed sacrifice
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  Speaker 3: his only son to bring others to himself, to give
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  Speaker 3: them eternal life. But the sacrifice is not Isaac. The
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  Speaker 3: sacrifice is Jesus, the one perfect sacrifice who would die
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  Speaker 3: once and for all for those who would trust in
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  Speaker 3: him and believe in his salvation. Dear Heavenly Father, Thank
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  Speaker 3: you for today's story and how we see your mercy
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  Speaker 3: and love and grace. Thank you that you spared Isaac
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  Speaker 3: from death, but you chose not to spare your only son, Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: as he went to the cross and was put to
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  Speaker 3: death because of our sins so that we could be saved.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for how the story reminds us of the
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  Speaker 3: sacrifice and the love that you share with each one
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  Speaker 3: of us in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: Before we go, I want to let you know about
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: a unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today.
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: It's called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: that it will help you conquer the daily task and
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: pressures and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: your free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org. dot org slash stress.