Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Abrahamic Covenant, Part 11. Tranquility and blessing are available in the midst of the greatest pressures of life.
Wednesday, April 24, 2002
The similarities between the birth of Isaac and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ - Isaac truly is a type of the coming of our Lord.
1. Isaac was the child of promise and more was said about him before his birth than about any other birth, with the exception of only Abrahams greater Son, The Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Isaac was the child of miracle. Sarahs womb was “dead,” ROM 4:19, and she needed supernatural “strength” given to her, HEB 11:11.
3. Isaac was the promised seed and son, GEN 17:16; so also was Christ, GEN 3:15; ISA 7:14.
GEN 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.
ISA 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
4. A lengthy period of time occurred between Gods first promise to Abraham and the coming of his child, as well as a lengthy interval between Gods promise to send Christ and the actual fulfillment of it.
5. When Isaacs birth was announced, his mother asked, GEN 18:13 Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old? to which the answer was returned, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
6. Isaacs name was specified before he was born, GEN 17:19 “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac;”
7. Isaacs birth occurred at Gods appointed time, GEN 21:2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
GAL 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
8. Isaac was declared to be Abrahams uniquely born son whom he loved; our Lord was called the uniquely born Son of God, MAT 3:17.
9. The coming of Isaac into Abrahams household aroused opposition and produced a conflict, GEN 21:9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking.
JOH 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
10. It was the birth of Isaac which revealed the true character of Ishmael.
Tranquility and blessing are available in the midst of the greatest pressures of life.
PHI 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
JOH 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
1CO 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
Tranquility and peace is not freedom from pressure but blessing in the midst of pressure.
Doctrine resident in the soul provides the basis for victory over the adverse circumstances of life, and God guarantees to the mature believer that with maximum doctrine resident in the soul, all things will work together for good.
The raising of the eyes indicates that he is ready to execute the command. Here is a test in itself, the anticipation of things to come.
It is in this process of waiting upon God that our soul is strengthened and character and integrity is revealed.
Despite Abrahams pre-occupation with his own special sorrow, it was necessary for him to hide that sorrow under an appearance of relaxation and overt happiness so neither his son nor his servants might guess the agony in his heart.
We must not consult with flesh and blood about them, GAL 1:15-16, but with a gracious attitude persist in our obedience to them.
Those who do the will of God with their whole heart and soul do it speedily because when we delay, time is lost and the heart is in danger of becoming hardened because we begin to be bombarded with questions.
There are so many distractions that could prevent our spiritual progress that we need to keep out as many hindrances as possible.
1. The two slaves were entirely dependable.
2. Mature believers are blessed with faithful servants and excellent service.
Integrity and honor belong to all classes of people, slaves as well as free men, labor as well as management, and those in the ranks as well as the officers.
RHIP - rank has its privileges.
Abraham was surrounded by dependable and trustworthy servants which speaks well of his treatment of slaves.
lad - wehanna'ar = his son Isaac; he is a young man, not a boy.
There is no familiarity with the hired help.
There is no familiarity with the hired help.
A mature believer knows that by buddying up with the hired help, youre not going to improve the function of the estate.
Robert R. McLaughlin All Rights Reserved 2002