Genesis 22:14

Genesis 22:14

From this passage we learn: (1) the lesson that God taught Abraham that all souls and all beings are His, and that our greatest and dearest possessions are beneath His control and within His grasp. (2) We learn also a lesson of obedience. Abraham was called upon to make the greatest possible sacrifice, a sacrifice that seemed to clash with the instinct of reason, affection, and religion alike, and yet without a murmur he obeyed the command of God. (3) We learn, too, that for wise reasons God sometimes permits the trial of His people's faith not to weaken, but to strengthen it, for He knows that if it be genuine, trial will have the same effect which the storm produces on the kingly oak, only rooting it more firmly in the soil. (4) We learn that God's provisions are ever equal to His people's wants. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. He giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.

J. W. Atkinson, Penny Pulpit,No. 772.

I. Jehovah-Jireh the Lord will provide for the body. Temporal blessings, no less than spiritual, come to us through the medium of the covenant of grace. (1) The Lord will provide food for the body. He will bring round the seasons without fail, and make corn to grow for the service of man. (2) The Lord will provide raiment for His people. For forty years in the wilderness, amid the wear and tear of journey and of battle, the raiment of the Israelites waxed not old, because Jehovah provided for them; and doth He not still remember His own? (3) The Lord will provide for His people protection. Many times are they delivered in a most wonderful way, and to the astonishment of the world.

II. Jehovah-Jireh the Lord will provide for the soul. (1) Jehovah has provided a Lamb; in the gift of His Son we have the guarantee for the supply of every needed blessing. (2) The Lord will provide for you His Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit comes to us through the atonement of Christ, and the sufficiency of the Sacrifice entailed and implied the promise of the Spirit, so that He who hath provided the Lamb is confidently to be trusted for this also. (3) The Lord will provide for the soul an eternal home, as is clear from that word, "I go to prepare a place for you." When the toils of life's pilgrimage are over, there remaineth a rest for the people of God.

J. Thain Davidson, Sermon Preached in Montrose,Nov. 19th, 1856.

References: Genesis 22:14. S. Martin, Sermons,p. 159; Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxx., No. 1803; J. Van Oosterzee, The Year of Salvation,vol. ii., p. 346.; Genesis 22:16. E. H. Gifford, Voices of the Prophets.p. 131.Genesis 22:18. S. Leathes, Bampton Lecture,1874, p. 49; Expositor,2nd series, vol. viii., p. 200; Old Testament Outlines,p. 10; Preacher's Monthly,vol. vii., p. 140. Genesis 22:20. R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis,vol. i., p. 383.Genesis 22 M. Dods, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph,p. 3; F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis,p. 53; R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis,vol. i., p. 364.Genesis 23:1; Genesis 23:2. Preacher's Monthly,vol. vii., p. 182.Genesis 23:2. Clergyman's Magazine,vol. x., p. 86. Genesis 23:4. Preacher's Monthly,vol. v., p. 102.Genesis 23 F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis,p. 62; Parker, vol. i., p. 240; R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis,vol. i., p. 388.