International S. S. Lessons.
"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."—Neh. 8:8 LESSON VIII.—SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1894.
[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson; it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as in the common version.] TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH.
1. And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I.
2. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3. And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you.
6. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together.
7. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father; and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is a lamb for the burnt offering?
8. And Abraham said, God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son; so they went both of them together.
9. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.
10. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Here am I.
12. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
13. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh; as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.
15. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said,
16. By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17. That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." Golden Text.—"By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac." Heb. 11:17. 1. Give a synopsis of the events between this and our last lesson. Note 1.
2. After Abraham left the land of the Philistines, what did God do with respect to him? Verse 1.
3. What was the test which the Lord used to prove him? Verse 2.
4. How promptly did Abraham obey? Verse 3. Note 2.
5. Whom did he take with him? Verse 3.
6. How long was he on his journey? Verse 4. Note 3.
7. When they reached the place, what did he say to his servants? Note 4.
8. Where did Abraham and Isaac then go? Verse 6.
9. When they were going to the place, what did Isaac ask his father?
10. When they came to the place, what did Abraham do? Verse 9. Note 5.
11. After laying Isaac upon the altar, what did Abraham do?
12. How was he kept from slaying him? Verse 11.
13. In what language did the Lord approve his course? Verse 12.
14. How did God provide an offering? Verse 13.
15. What did Abraham call that place? Verse 14.
16. Because of Abraham's faith, how did the Lord238again assure him of his blessing? Verses 15, 16. See note 6.
17. What did the Lord further promise in regard to Abraham and his seed?
18. Who is this seed?
"And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise." Gal. 3:29. 1. Our last lesson took in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The remainder of the 19th chapter gives us an account of the incestuous origin of the nations of Ammon and Moab. In chapter twenty we have an account of Abraham's sojourn among the Philistines, the history showing that Abimelech had the knowledge of the true God, and that that nation had a much higher regard of morality than the other nations of Palestine. In chapter twenty-one we have recorded the birth of Isaac; the mocking of Isaac by Ishmael; the sending away of Hagar, and God's mercy to her in the wilderness. The last part of the chapter records the separation from Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, which brings us to our lesson of to-day. 2. And Abraham rose early.—In the promptness of Abraham's obedience was shown his perfected faith in God. When God first promised that his seed should be as the stars of heaven, Abraham thought it would have to be through his trusted servant. The Lord corrected him upon this, and told him it should be from his own seed, and then Abraham and his wife thought it must come through his maidservant. While he believed God, he believed his own works and wisdom must have a part in the fulfillment of God's promise. The Lord again told him that his seed was not to come in that way, but that Sarah, his wife, should bear the child of promise; and Abraham believed the Lord. And now that that son had grown to be a young man, God tested the faith of his servant again, and said unto him, "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, . . . and offer him . . . for a burnt offering." If Abraham had not had faith in that God who had guided him through all his past life, he would have hesitated and waited, and human wisdom would have found some excuse by which to evade the plain command of God. But Abraham did not even hesitate; he did not put it off in the morning, as naturally he would have done. Strong as was his love for his son, his simple faith in God's wisdom was more, and he promptly obeyed. That is what simple faith always does. 3. On the third day.—Notice the strength of the test. Many men do brave things through impulse. The decision is made at once and the act is soon over; but Abraham had, during his long three days' journey, time to ponder God's command and think of the terribleness of the sacrifice. One writer has said: "Side by side the father and son journeyed in silence. The patriarch, pondering his heavy secret, had no heart for words. His thoughts were of the proud, fond mother, and the day when he should return to her alone. Well he knew that the knife would pierce her heart when he took the life of her son. That day—the longest that Abraham had ever experienced—dragged slowly to his close. While his son and the young men were sleeping, he spent the night in prayer: still hoping that some heavenly messenger might come to say that the trial was enough, that the youth might return unharmed to his mother; but no relief came to his tortured soul. Another long day, another long night of humiliation and prayer, while ever the command that was to leave him childless was ringing in his ears. Satan was near to whisper doubts and unbelief; but Abraham resisted his suggestions. Even now he did not murmur against God, but strengthened his soul by dwelling upon the evidences of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 151. Saw the place afar off.—God evidently gave Abraham some sign by which he would know it. He told him to go to the place that he would afterward tell him of, and when Abraham saw the place afar off, he knew it. It might have been a cloud of glory, the presence of holy angels hovering over Mount Moriah. It is interesting to know that upon this very spot the temple was afterward built. 4. We will worship, and come again to you.—In this expression is shown Abraham's faith, for we certainly would not accuse him of telling a falsehood. He certainly expected to offer up Isaac as the burnt offering, and he therefore knew that Isaac would have to die. But he also knew that God said the promised Seed should come through Isaac, and he therefore believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead. "By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac; yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only-begotten son; even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a parable receive him back." 5. Bound Isaac his son.—Evidently Isaac submitted to God's will in this as did Abraham, for he was a young man, and doubtless strong enough to resist his aged father. The binding was evidently done without a struggle, for Isaac had faith in his father and in his father's God. 6. As the faith of Abraham grew stronger, God's promises were given brighter and fuller, and when Abraham endured his supreme test of faith, God confirmed his promise with an oath. Not that Abraham especially needed it, but he did it in order to give hope to those who should live after Abraham. "For men swear by the greater; and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us."