Genesis 22:1-14

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

- The LORD will “see”

As Issac followed his Father up the mountain he noticed something was wrong, 

wait up dad we have fire and we have wood but where is the lamb?” 

What was Abraham's response?

“God will provide for himself a lamb for a burnt offering my son” Gen 22:7

This is the first example of God’s providence is found here. Abraham used the word in Hebrew which translated is the ordinary word  “see”  “The Lord will see” Abraham however was not stating that God would stand back and observe but that God would provide. Abraham and the writers of the OT had a high understanding of God, they understood that God was not like a watchmaker, who creates a watch, puts all things in their place, puts the gears in motion and stands back to observe time go by. No, they understood that when the Lord “sees” he is also active in sustaining and providing, in Abraham's case providing a sacrifice in place of Isaac. It's interesting to note that it was said of that place that “On the mount of the Lord it will be provided”.  

Why would the Hebrew understanding that the Lord “seeing” equaled the Lord providing?

We sometimes use a similar expression. We might say well the “Lord sees!” what you're going through, or the injustice of a situation. What we don't mean by that is that God is just standing by idle, we usually mean God is at work or God is gonna provide a way out or God is going to do something about that just hold on, right!? It's kind of like when you go to the park when you're little, and Jorge who usually picks on you at school doesn't because you have your parent or older sibling or cousin, your thought is they see (therefore they will provide safety). The same with Abraham and the OT saints, The Lord Sees therefore he will provide.  

Why is it that in the Hebrew the word “to see” is understood as “the Lord will provide”? In the Hebrew the word translated "provide” is the ordinary word “see.”  Perhaps, the word see when applied to God is not the same as when we see. God does not see the universe the way we see. Nor is God just observing it from afar.  “Seeing” for the Hebrew meant that God  was involved and working in all of His creation, so that when Abraham says “God will see”, it meant that God would “see to it”, he would provide the solution. They could not conceive of a God who just saw passively. 

-The Technical: definition, word use: latin origin

Providence: The doctrine of the providence of God is the understanding from the Bible that God is present and involved in sustaining and providing for all that He has created. 

 root: latin, videre: meaning “to see”, from which we get the word video. The latin word provideo from which we get the word providence means to “see beforehand”, or foreknowledge. However the way theologians use the word is not simply to see beforehand. One might know beforehand of something that is being planned, however the one who is preparing to execute the plan knows beforehand or has foreknowledge unlike the one who is simply aware of the plan.  The closest word in English to the latin word provideo is provision. But there is a phrase that comes even closer to explaining the core of what the providence is, and it is to see to it. God's providence is God “seeing to it” that his creation is provided for and that his plans which he decreed sovereignly take place. Its power or action to purpose

-Providence vs Sovereignty

God's sovereignty is closely related to but is not the same as Providence. 

The sovereignty of God is his ultimate authority and power as the supreme ruler to do as He sees fit.  John Piper said in an interview about his book called Providence that : “Providence is God's purposeful sovereignty. Sovereignty is the authority and power to do as He (God) pleases. Providence is “this” (sovereignty) purposefully.” 

In other words Providence is the doctrine of God that what he has planned sovereignly “sees to it” or provides for. 

Isaiah 46:10: “[I declare] the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” In other words, “I will see to it.” See to it — pro-vide. “I will provide. I will see to it that everything works together for the goals that I have for the world.”  (Are God’s Providence and God’s Sovereignty the Same? | Desiringgod.org by John Piper)

The Bible is soaked with the doctrine of Providence and Sovereignty of God. Because of that you will see repeatedly how God says and then he does, he creates and he sustains down to the smallest details. To the point that every star has a name, every bird that falls from its nest and every hair on our heads are accounted for. 

-The Heidelberg Catechism

Q & A 27

Q. What do you understand

by the providence of God?

A. The almighty and ever present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

1 Jer. 23:23-24; Acts 17:24-28

2 Heb. 1:3

3 Jer. 5:24; Acts 14:15-17/a>; John 9:3; Prov. 22:2

4 Prov. 16:33

5 Matt. 10:29

-NT Examples of Providence

I want to look at 3 New Testament examples of Providence

(ask for volunteers to read)

Matthew 4:4

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

In Matthew, we read of the time when Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by satan. When tempted to use his power to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger Jesus response was “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Remember the Spirit led him to the wilderness to go hungry but the Son trusted that He would be provided for. That His life whether in hunger or not was governed by the power of the word of His Father, the whole of His time on the earth. And not only His own life, but all of mankind, every moment of every day is sustained by God.  Jesus quoted from the OT. 

Deuteronomy 8:3

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

God “let them” meaning (there was purpose in His sovereign choice) to bring them to a place where there was little to no food to eat. He allowed the people of Israel to hunger in order that they may be humbled and know that it is the providence of God which keeps their life. By this text we can understand that even when there is sickness or health, drought or rain, poverty or abundance it's all because of the providence and sovereignty of God. 

Hebrews 1:3

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Here we see an example of how God upholds or sustains the universe by his power, not only at the beginning of creation but in the present tense, now. 

During Jesus' ministry he was persecuted for healing on the Sabbath and he said this

John 5:17

 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

God has been working since the creation of the universe, seeing to it that it is sustained , not by random processes or with or with his hands off but by his power.  

Additional text: Luke 12

-The Importance of knowing providence, a plan for good. 

I have 2 reasons, there may be more why it is important to know the doctrine of Providence. 

It can help us fight against pride and produce humility. 

James 4:13

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Explain and connect to pride

It instills peace and trust in our powerful God who is providentially governing and providing for all

Q & A 26

Q. What do you believe when you say,

“I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth”?

A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence,2 is my God and Father because of Christ the Son.3 I trust God so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need

for body and soul,4 and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me

in this sad world.5 God is able to do this because he is almighty God6

and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.7

1 Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11; Ps. 33:6; Isa. 44:24; Acts 4:24; 14:15

2 Ps. 104; Matt. 6:30; 10:29; Eph. 1:11

3 John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5

4 Ps. 55:22; Matt. 6:25-26; Luke 12:22-31

5 Rom. 8:28

6 Gen. 18:14; Rom. 8:31-39

7 Matt. 7:9-11

Q & A 28

Q. How does the knowledge

of God’s creation and providence help us?

A. We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well,

and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father

that nothing in creation will separate us from his love. For all creatures are so completely in God’s hand that without his will they can neither move nor be moved.4

1 Job 1:21-22; James 1:3

2 Deut. 8:10; 1 Thess. 5:18

3 Ps. 55:22; Rom. 5:3-5; 8:38-39

4 Job 1:12; 2:6; Prov. 21:1; Acts 17:24-28

 Fate is blind; providence has eyes. Fate is blind, a thing that must be; it is just an arrow shot from a bow, that must fly onward, but hath no target. Not so, providence; providence is full of eyes. - Charles Spurgeon

Aside from these things we can also understand by what the Bible says that all of these things have a purpose and a goal. They have an objective or mission if you will. It all has meaning because everything he does has purpose even the hard things. 

Romans 8:28- 

“What then shall we say to these things? In other words, What should be our response? What should be our response to the providence of/sovereignty of God is what follows, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” - Everyones a Theologian by RC Sproul

“An ancient saying of the church was Deus pro novis: “God for us” This is what the doctrine of providence is all about” Everyones a Theologian by RC Sproul

Why should we trust the will of God?

Because God in His Providence takes all that is meant for evil and uses it for our good. He not only foresees our current needs, He is providing for them in the future. Not only our physical needs like the basics, food, water, shelter, but the needs of our soul, salvation, transformation into the being like the character of Christ, producing in us the character through the challenges and trials we face. And because He is about His glory and understands, and we need to know it, He will see to it that all that He has said he will accomplish. We get to see the providence of God everyday we wake up and take in a breath. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.

Assignment: 

Read Luke 12, and the Article In the Providence of God | Tabletalk

In the Providence of God | Tabletalk

Video: The Providence of God (Part 1)

Are God’s Providence and God’s Sovereignty the Same? | Desiring God

Book: Providence by John Piper