Summary
Highlights
R.C. Sproul begins by sharing his personal dislike for tests, recounting a challenging experience with multiple oral examinations in graduate school. He then transitions to the Lord's Prayer, explaining that 'Lead us not into temptation' refers to a place of testing, not enticement to sin. This sets the stage for discussing the ultimate test of faith.
Sproul introduces the story of Abraham in Genesis 22, where God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. He reviews Abraham's earlier promises from God to become the father of a great nation, and the miraculous birth of Isaac after Abraham and Sarah had lost hope.
God explicitly tells Abraham to sacrifice 'your only son, whom you love, Isaac.' Sproul emphasizes the agonizing specificity of this command, highlighting that it wasn't Ishmael, but Isaac, the son of promise. He discusses Soren Kierkegaard's interpretation from 'Fear and Trembling,' questioning whether Abraham's early rising was due to eager obedience or restless torment.
Sproul suggests that Abraham's act of saddling his donkey and cutting wood himself was a way to cope with his immense grief and internal conflict, akin to occupying oneself with manual labor during depression. He shares a personal anecdote about his piano teacher’s method of coping with the loss of her grandchild through playing the piano, illustrating how physical action can process deep sorrow.
The narrative emphasizes the three-day journey, prolonging Abraham’s agony. Sproul tells a moving story about his sick German Shepherd, Hosanna, who suffered a severe snakebite and later developed convulsions. He recounts the emotional struggle of deciding to put Hosanna to sleep and his inability to personally take the dog to its death, drawing a powerful contrast with Abraham's task.
Isaac, noticing the fire and wood but no lamb, asks his father, 'Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham's response, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb,' is interpreted not as naive optimism, but as a profound statement of faith that Isaac himself is the sacrificial lamb God would provide.
Abraham prepares the altar, binds Isaac, and raises the knife. Just as he is about to strike, an angel stops him, and a ram is found in a thicket. Sproul then reveals the profound theological significance: Mount Moriah, the site of Abraham's test, is also thought to be Calvary. Two thousand years later, God sacrifices His 'only Son, whom He loved,' Jesus, on that very mountain, fulfilling the promise of 'the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'