In the introduction, the speaker was able to convey very effectively the whole theme of his sermon. He used a true-to-life illustration of 29 year old cult leader, Jacques Robidoux, to arrest the attention of his listeners. Robidoux was a convicted murderer.
He claimed that he was just obeying God when he decided to refuse his infant son of his food for three days, causing the baby to die (Groves, 2008). Groves used this illustration to contemporize the biblical narrative of Abraham’s offering of his son Isaac, and to probably make his audience feel the horror of the biblical scene, and to eventually, from there, launch his listeners to the overall theme of his sermon – Does God Test Us? He founded his sermon on the text found in Genesis 22:1–19.Indeed, although the story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac was a powerful account which enables readers to see the sovereignty of God and the greatness of Abraham’s faith among other things, still, the story calls to the mind many thought provoking questions – about God, about Abraham, about Isaac, and about Sarah, etc. Richard Groves then, in the introduction, connected all these critical thoughts to faith’s role in the Christian life. Lessons of the Sermon 1.) God do tests people.
Immediately after the introductory words, Groves plainly stated that it was common to biblical narratives the concept of “God testing people.” He started by quoting Genesis 22:1, where it says that after some time, “Abraham was tested by God.” He supported that truth by enforcing it with enough passages from the scriptures. He proceeded to quote Deuteronomy 8:2 where Moses reminded the people of Israel of the reason why God has allowed them to wander for forty long years in the wilderness before letting them enter the Land of Promise.
It was to “test” their hearts. 2.) Abraham’s response to God’s testing. In the sermon, Abraham’s background was briefly touched, using Joshua 24:2.
Truly, Abraham was before his call a pagan.He was just like the rest of the people of his time, if not for the sovereign choice and call of God. And so, how did he take God’s testing? What went on in his mind when he first heard God’s demand for him to sacrifice his only son? These are some of the questions which were raised by Richard Groves in his sermon. He then suddenly returned to Genesis 22:3 to highlight Abraham’s response. No question was uttered from the lips of Abraham; no bargaining with God was recorded. He simply responded positively to the command of God.
Groves tried to guess about what has transpired during that night before the sacrifice in Abraham’s closet. Abraham could not have slept that night.He could have been very fidgety on his bed. He could have doubted whether it was the voice of God. Abraham could have reminded himself of his bargain and intercession with God regarding the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and regretted the fact that he was not able to defend his son’s life.
These are just likelihoods in the case of Abraham during that night. Nevertheless, none of these things are said to have taken place in the biblical narrative. The obvious thing that happened after God’s command was Abraham obeyed God (Gen.22:3).
Groves proceeded to, one by one, describe what happened next using the biblical text (Gen.22:4-14). Generally, the text was satisfactorily explained. The story was followed through and expounded in order.
Conclusion Although certain aspects of the sermon accommodated what I would call “wild guesses of the mind,” overall it succeeded, especially in the last part where the author tried to stress the attributes of God. This part gathered the loosed ends of the sermon and finally made sense of the test. God is the Sovereign God, He is holy, and He is Love. He is not subject to our judgments. He is the Authority when it comes to truth.
