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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.
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  Speaker 2: 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 Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Today's reading is about a test,
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  Speaker 3: the most difficult test a parent could imagine, in fact.
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  Speaker 3: Just think about how you would feel if you finally
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  Speaker 3: received something you'd worked hard and waited for so long
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  Speaker 3: to receive. And then in an instant, you're told to
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  Speaker 3: give this thing that God had promised back. How devastating,
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  Speaker 3: how confused you would be. That's exactly where we find
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  Speaker 3: Abraham today. Isaac had finally arrived and all seems well
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  Speaker 3: in the world. But now, some years later, God commands
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  Speaker 3: Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. If he wanted
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  Speaker 3: to test Abraham's faithfulness and trust, there could be no
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  Speaker 3: better or more painful way to do that than what
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  Speaker 3: he is telling him to do now. As you listen,
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  Speaker 3: pay attention to how Abraham responds. Are we going to
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  Speaker 3: see the fearful Abraham who lied about Sarah being his sister? Or,
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  Speaker 3: Will we see the faithful Abraham who refused to align
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  Speaker 3: himself with the king of Sodom, but instead honored God
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  Speaker 3: with an offering and thanksgiving for delivering him in battle?
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  Speaker 3: What could have possibly been going through his mind as
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  Speaker 3: he climbed a mountain, that mountain with Isaac? And what
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  Speaker 3: must Isaac have been feeling, probably now a teenager, realizing
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  Speaker 3: the meaning of the events that are about to happen
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  Speaker 3: to him? Notice how Abraham is confident that God would provide.
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  Speaker 3: even though he has no idea how. This passage is
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  Speaker 3: such 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. God, with no warning, explanation,
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  Speaker 2: or promise, spoke plainly. Take your son, your only son Isaac,
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  Speaker 2: whom you love, up into the mountains of Moriah and
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  Speaker 2: offer him there as a burnt sacrifice. Abraham was faced
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  Speaker 2: with a command so devastating and seemingly cruel that it
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  Speaker 2: could quite possibly be the end of him. Yet God
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  Speaker 2: had shown Abraham his compassion, his power, and his faithfulness before.
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  Speaker 2: God had promised Abraham that from Isaac on, would come
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  Speaker 2: a great nation of people. If this was God's command,
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  Speaker 2: there must have been something greater at work. So Abraham
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  Speaker 2: rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took
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  Speaker 2: Isaac along with two of his men. Abraham began chopping wood,
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  Speaker 2: the axe methodically and swiftly cutting the kindling that would
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  Speaker 2: burn his son at the altar. How painful it was
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  Speaker 2: to prepare the altar at which your son would be murdered!
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  Speaker 2: SWEAT FELL FROM HIS BROW AND TEARS FROM HIS EYES.
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  Speaker 2: ABRAHAM AROSE, EYES TOWARDS HEAVEN, AND TOOK ISAAC TO THE
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  Speaker 2: BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN. ABRAHAM TURNED TOWARDS HIS MEN AND SAID,
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  Speaker 2: STAY HERE WITH THE DONKEY. MY SON AND I SHALL
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  Speaker 2: CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN TO MEET WITH THE LORD AND WORSHIP.
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  Speaker 2: ABRAHAM AND ISAAC CLIMBED TO THE FACE OF THE MOUNTAIN. ISAAC,
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  Speaker 2: STILL UNAWARE OF WHAT HIS FATHER WAS ASKED TO DO,
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  Speaker 2: HELPED CARRY THE WOOD UP TO THE ALTAR. Abraham prepared
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  Speaker 2: a fire and laid the wood on the altar beside
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  Speaker 2: his son. Seeing the turmoil deep in his father's eyes,
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  Speaker 2: Isaac spoke. My father, he exclaimed. Here I am, my son,
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  Speaker 2: Abraham replied, looking down at the wood, refusing to meet
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  Speaker 2: his son's gaze. We have the fire and the wood,
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  Speaker 2: but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham
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  Speaker 2: could hardly bear the words coming from his mouth. Oh,
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  Speaker 2: my son, God will provide himself a lamb, I am
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  Speaker 2: sure of it. Anguish filled Abraham's heart and mind. He
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  Speaker 2: took ropes in his hands and bound them to his son.
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  Speaker 2: Tears streaming down his face, he laid Isaac down at
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  Speaker 2: the altar. Abraham, God's chosen hero, stood over his son.
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  Speaker 2: The supposed father of nations, poised to slay his only child.
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  Speaker 2: raised the blade high in the air. With his eyes
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  Speaker 2: looking toward heaven and faith welling up within his heart
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  Speaker 2: that God would make this right somehow, Abraham prepared the
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  Speaker 2: descent of his knife towards Isaac. In that instant, the
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  Speaker 2: heavens opened up violently. Booming from the skies, a voice
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  Speaker 2: of deliverance bellowed across the mountaintops.
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  Speaker 1: Abraham!
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  Speaker 2: Abraham! The voice cried. Trembling on the floor with tears
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  Speaker 2: blurring his vision, Abraham managed a response. Here I am,
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  Speaker 2: he whimpered. Do not strike your child, God said. Your
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  Speaker 2: faith in me will be spoken of for all eternity,
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  Speaker 2: for not even your own son would keep you from
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  Speaker 2: worshipping me. Abraham finally lifted his eyes, and there in
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  Speaker 2: the thicket beside him was a ram caught by his horns.
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  Speaker 2: There he and Isaac sacrificed the ram to God on
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  Speaker 2: the altar, and they named the mountain, The Lord Will Provide,
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  Speaker 2: for God is the one who would provide the ultimate sacrifice.
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  Speaker 2: A second time God spoke, Since you did not withhold
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  Speaker 2: your son from me, I will make his name great.
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  Speaker 2: As the stars are adorned in the sky, and the
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  Speaker 2: grains of sand scattered across the shore, so I will
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  Speaker 2: expand your offspring. Greatness shall follow you. After that, Abraham
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  Speaker 2: and Isaac left the mountain. God would not require Abraham
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  Speaker 2: to sacrifice his own son. God most of all knows
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  Speaker 2: the love one has for his children, for God himself
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  Speaker 2: is love. And because of this love, God would one
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  Speaker 2: day send his own son to be sacrificed for all.
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  Speaker 2: For the Garden of Eden, the Ark of Noah, and
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  Speaker 2: the Son of Abraham were all pointing towards a greater
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  Speaker 2: and more glorious promise. One that would truly bless all
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  Speaker 2: nations and 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 way,
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  Speaker 3: 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
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  Speaker 3: him He very simply, painfully, courageously obeyed without hesitation. When
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  Speaker 3: God calls us to do something, how often do we
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  Speaker 3: do this? Do you respond in obedience without hesitating or
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  Speaker 3: rationalizing your way out of things? Or do you, like Abraham,
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  Speaker 3: draw from your experience of trusting God, God's overwhelming faithfulness
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  Speaker 3: and love, and step forward and obey God, knowing that
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  Speaker 3: God will provide according to his will and for your
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  Speaker 3: ultimate good. This is what Abraham does. He knows God
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  Speaker 3: must have a reason beyond his understanding, a reason for
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  Speaker 3: his own plan to be fulfilled. He just can't fathom
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  Speaker 3: what it is. Like Job, he recognized the truth God
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  Speaker 3: gives and God takes away. Blessed be the name of
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. I can only imagine the pain of each
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  Speaker 3: question Isaac may have asked. Where are we going, Dad?
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  Speaker 3: What are we going to do there? And then came
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  Speaker 3: the most painful question of all in Genesis 22, 7.
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  Speaker 3: Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, My father.
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  Speaker 3: And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said,
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  Speaker 3: Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the
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  Speaker 3: lamb for the burnt offering? How is it possible for
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  Speaker 3: Abraham to answer the question of his son he loves
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  Speaker 3: so much? His answer shows immense faithfulness in God. Verse 8,
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  Speaker 3: Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for
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  Speaker 3: the burnt offering, my son. So the two of them
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  Speaker 3: walked on together. Abraham doesn't know how it's possible, but
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  Speaker 3: he trusts that God will provide. and he remains obedient
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  Speaker 3: to the point of tying Isaac up and raising the
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  Speaker 3: knife to kill him, just as God had commanded. But
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  Speaker 3: this would not be the day when a father would
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  Speaker 3: sacrifice his son. God stays, stops the hand of Abraham
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  Speaker 3: in the last moment, and provides a sacrifice, a ram.
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  Speaker 3: There will be blood shed that day, but not on
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  Speaker 3: his only son, Isaac. Because of Abraham's great faithfulness, because
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  Speaker 3: He held nothing back from God. He and Isaac would
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  Speaker 3: be blessed in ways that we can never fathom. They
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  Speaker 3: descended down the mountain knowing God has a special plan
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  Speaker 3: for them and again reassured him. God reassured them of
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  Speaker 3: his incredible love for his children, for his family. I
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  Speaker 3: imagine Jesus looking down on these events by his father's side,
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  Speaker 3: knowing that when it was his turn, there would be
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  Speaker 3: no last minute cancellation, no reprieve from the soldier's whip.
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  Speaker 3: the nails in his flesh, the death that he would die.
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  Speaker 3: God would indeed sacrifice his only son to bring others
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  Speaker 3: to himself, to give them eternal life. But the sacrifice
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  Speaker 3: is not Isaac. The sacrifice is Jesus, the one perfect
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  Speaker 3: sacrifice who would die once and for all for those
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  Speaker 3: who would trust in him and believe in his salvation.
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  Speaker 3: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for today's story and how
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  Speaker 3: we see your mercy and love and grace. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: that you spared Isaac from death, but you chose not
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  Speaker 3: to spare your only son, Jesus, as he went to
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  Speaker 3: the cross and was put to death because of our
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  Speaker 3: sins so that we could be saved. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: how the story reminds us of the sacrifice and the
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  Speaker 3: love that you share with each one of us in
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  Speaker 3: Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: 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: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how
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  Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for your life, be sure
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  Speaker 3: to visit JackGraham.org. God bless you.
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  Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative healthcare solution
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