1

Abraham Proved His Faith on Mount Moriah

2

Bible verse : Genesis 22:12-13 (NIV)

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns.
He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

3

Among the characters in the Bible, there are people with special nicknames.
Today, we would like to look at Abraham, nicknamed “the father of faith.”
Let’s take a look at how Abraham got this nickname.

4

When God first appeared to Abraham, God said the following to him:
[The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
(Genesis 12:1-2)]
When he heard these words from God, Abraham had no children, let alone a nation.

5

However, Abraham left his hometown, relatives, and father's house and went to Canaan, believing that God would definitely do this.
Twenty-five years after arriving in Canaan, God gave Abraham a son, Isaac.
At this time, Abraham was 100 years old. Abraham experienced a God who could give him a son even when he was 100 years old.

6

However, Abraham left his hometown, relatives, and father's house and went to Canaan, believing that God would definitely do this. Twenty-five years after arriving in Canaan, God gave Abraham a son, Isaac. At this time, Abraham was 100 years old. Abraham experienced a God who could give him a son even when he was 100 years old.

7

God gave Abraham a command that was difficult to accept. “Take your son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Slaughter your son on the mountain that I will tell you about, and offer him up as a burnt offering.”
God's command was for Abraham to kill his beloved son Isaac with a sword and burn him with fire to sacrifice him to God.

8

Early the next morning after God spoke, Abraham saddled his donkey.
He also prepared firewood for the burnt offering. He took his beloved son Isaac and two servants and set out for Mount Moriah, where God had appointed him to offer sacrifice. It took three days to reach Mount Moriah.

9

On the third day, Abraham's group arrived at a place where they could see Mount Moriah. Abraham said to his servants there: “Stay here with the donkeys. My son and I will go over there and offer sacrifices and then return.”
Abraham had his son Isaac carry the wood for the burnt offering.

10

Abraham began to climb Mount Moriah with fire and a sword in his hands.
Isaac, who was going up the mountain, asked his father, “Father, we have fire and wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered Isaac’s question like this: “Son, God will prepare a sacrifice to be offered as a burnt offering.”

11

After arriving at the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and laid out firewood. And he bound his own son Isaac. Isaac just did as his father did without any resistance. Abraham placed Isaac on the altar, as God said.

12

In order to offer Isaac as a burnt offering as God had commanded, Abraham took up a knife and tried to kill his son. At that moment an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. “Abraham!, Abraham!” Abraham answered, “Yes, here I am.”

13

The angel of the Lord continued to speak.

“Do not touch your son. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, for I have seen that you do not hesitate to sacrifice your only son.”

God was testing Abraham to see how great his faith was.
Abraham passed God's test very well.

14

Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.
Abraham and Isaac offered the ram as a burnt offering to God instead of their son Isaac.
Just as Abraham had told Isaac, God prepared the lamb to sacrifice as a burnt offering.

15

Abraham called the name of that place “Jehovah Jireh.” It means, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” The angel of Jehovah appeared to Abraham again and gave him a promise. “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.
Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of your enemies.
“Through your descendants all the nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

16

Abraham and his son Isaac, who passed God's faith test, arrived safely at the place where his servants were. And together they returned joyfully to Beersheba, where they were living. Chapter 11 of Hebrews in the New Testament says this about Abraham:
[By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,(Hebrews 11:17)]
Abraham had 100% trust in God and did not hesitate to follow His words. Through the Mount Moriah incident, we can see how much faith Abraham had.

17

There is another message in this incident that showed Abraham’s great faith. It is the ram that died in place of Isaac. This ram is a preview of Jesus' future death on our behalf to forgive our sins. Just like the ram that died in place of Isaac, Jesus died on the cross in place of me.
While God was testing Abraham's faith, he also showed him the image of Jesus who would come to this earth in the future.
We all receive salvation by believing in Jesus. Like Abraham's faith, we too must become children of God who show true faith by completely trusting in Jesus and completely obeying His words.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)