I. God Testing of Abraham (Genesis 22:1-19)
A. Genesis 22:1 – And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [here] I [am].
1. Tempt – נסה nacah, verb, to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test
2. Does this contradict scripture in that it says God does not tempt man?
a. James 1:13 - Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
· This verse is clearly referring at temptations of evil and that God can neither be tempted nor tempt of evil
· In Abraham’s case this is clearly a test, not of evil, but of faith. Will Abraham trust that God has a plan and believe that He will honor His promises?
B. Genesis 22:2 - And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
1. Those who wonder how God could ask this of Abraham must realize this is the very request we made of God, for without His sacrifice we could not be saved
2. Is Isaac Abraham’s only son?
a. Was Jesus God’s only Son?
b. We know that Adam was also referred to as God’s own Son, yet like Ishmael he seems to be ignored
c. Recall from Galatians 3 that Ishmael is the son of the flesh and Isaac is the son of the spirit, God rejects all works of the flesh
3. “Whom thou lovest…” - אהב 'ahab, verb, first occurrence of this word meaning to love:
a. human love for another
b. human love for God
c. God’s love toward man
God chose to use this word for the first time in scripture to describe the love between a father and son. He could have used it to describe the love between husband and wife, or other family but He specifically chose this defining moment to use this word for the first time which establishes the love a father has for a son as the precedent we can see the consistent definition as the Father God’s love for the Son.
· John 10:17 - Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
o Because Christ lay down His life for the Father’s sheep
· John 14:21 - He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
· John 15:9 - As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
o The love of the Father for the Son can be transferred to us.
· John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
o The precedent of love is defined in that of a father’s love for his son, here we see from this verse that His love for the World was so great that He gave up His Son.
· John 15:12 -13 - This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
o From the perspective of the Son who gave himself up because of His love for us. We are commanded to love each other in the same way.
o This is very difficult, to love those who hate you. We are commanded to love those who would go as far as to kill us.
o We underestimate the power of love.
· 1 John 3:16 - Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren.
o And many have and continue to do so
4. land of Moriah
a. The mount on the eastern edge of Jerusalem
· 2 Chronicles 3:1 - Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where [the LORD] appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
· 1 Chronicles 21:18 - Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
b. So we know that Moriah was actually in Jerusalem
c. Why did God tell Abraham to take Isaac to this specific location rather than just anywhere?
5. “Offer him there for a burnt offering…” – This statement remains a stumbling block for many to this day that God would demand such a thing to prove his obedience.
a. This is not necessarily a test to prove Abraham’s obedience as it is already well documented that Abraham was very obedient to the Lord.
b. This is more of a test to prove that Abraham will trust that God is a God of truth and will honor His promises and will walk by faith in the Lord not by visible circumstance.
c. God wants us to trust Him and rely on His Word even when what he asks us to do may seem in the natural world as illogical.
C. Genesis 22:3 - And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
1. Third occasion where the author makes a point of telling us that Abraham got up early. All three came after a stressful circumstance and probably produced a high level of anxiety depriving Abraham of sleep. The two other situations were after the destruction of Sodom
2. Abraham saddled his ass, whom did he saddle it for? Seems likely that Abraham knowing he was taking his son to his death may have placed his son Isaac upon the ass rather than ride it himself. This would foreshadow Christ entering Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem
a. Zecheriah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion Jerusalem
b. Matthew 21:5 - Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
3. What does this tell us about Abraham?
a. Abraham plead for the lives of the righteous in Sodom
· Did he learn from that “negotiation” that God had already intended to save the righteous no matter how few and Abraham’s “negotiated” number of 10 was actually surpassed by God when He waited until the 4 (eventually 3) fled Sodom before He destroyed it.
· Was this the event that proved to Abraham that God’s best was better than his anything for which Abraham could have “negotiated”?
b. Abraham knew the promise God had given him
c. No evidence that Abraham discussed with anyone, even Sarah his wife. Why? There was nothing to discuss, no decision to be made. One of the situations in life where no one could help him, this was Abraham’s mission and his alone.
· A life of faith can be very lonely
d. Abraham believed God
· Hebrews 11:17-19 – By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That “in Isaac shall thy seed be called:” Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
o So Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead
o Here Isaac is called Abraham’s only begotten son.
· God knows that Abraham believes Him which goes to show that this order was much more than just a test for a single man, this was a dress rehearsal for the most important event in human history. This was for the benefit of all future generations to look to the Messiah and recognize these historical markers.
D. Genesis 22:4 - Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
1. The third day… this is the time from which God commanded Isaac to be sacrificed to the day that Isaac was returned to Abraham reflecting the 3 days that Christ was dead and returned to the Father
2. Saw it afar off…would indicate that Moriah was elevated so that it can be seen at a distance
3. Three days journey from Beersheeba to Jerusalem
E. Genesis 22:5 - And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
1. Abide ye here…who is abiding? 2 men who are Abraham’s servants, this could represent the 2 servants of God the Father that came to Christ on the mount of transfiguration just before his crucifixion.
a. Matthew 17:2-3 - And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
· Just as these two men were the servants of father Abraham, Moses and Elijah were servants of Father God. Once again a foreshadowing of things to come
· Christ was crucified alone, His servants did not accompany Him.
2. I and the lad will go…and come again
a. Abraham was confident that even though he was commanded to slay his son, God would raise him up.
b. Hebrews 11:19 – Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
3. Lad – נער na`ar, a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer
a. Translated to “young man” 76 times in the OT
b. This word is used to describe a young male up to the age of military service
c. Isaac was at most 37 years old (because the next chapter Sarah dies at age 127, she was 90 when Isaac was born), but at least a teenager. Not a child of today’s standard
4. Christ was 33 years old when He was crucified, Isaac could have been 33 years old?
F. Genesis 22:6 - And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
1. Isaac carried the wood to the place of sacrifice
2. Christ carried the cross to His place of sacrifice
a. John 19:17 – And He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
3. Abraham “took the fire in his hand”
a. Likely carrying the fire from his own altar
b. Fire symbolic of Judgment
4. “…and a knife”
a. knife = sword is symbolic of the Word
b. Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
5. Romans 8:32 – He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
· This could almost be applied to Abraham
· Abraham may have believed that Isaac was to be sacrificed for the sins of the world
G. Genesis 22:7 - And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?
H. Genesis 22:8 - And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
1. God will provide himself a lamb…
a. God will provide…HIMSELF
b. Lamb - שה seh, masculine noun, one of a flock, lamb, sheep, goat, young sheep, young goat
· Exodus 12:5-7 - Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take [it] out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
o Lamb - שה she, same as Genesis 22:8
o This is the Passover lamb
· 1 Corinthians 5:7 - Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
c. Neither Abraham (who said it) nor Moses (who wrote it) probably had any idea what Abraham was prophetically speaking here
I. Genesis 22:9 - And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
1. Laid him upon the wood that he carried
2. Abraham built the altar (doesn’t say Isaac helped)
3. Isaac, while possibly confused; nevertheless had to have been willing or else this would have been very difficult for a man over one hundred years old. Isaac trusted his father just as Christ trusted His Father
a. Luke 22:42 - saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."
· Christ surrendered to the will of the Father
J. Genesis 22:10 - And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
K. Genesis 22:11 - And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.
1. The only thing that would allow Abraham to go through with this is Abraham’s faith and trust in God.
a. He knew God had already promised that “In Isaac will thy seed be called”
b. Abraham probably believes that God will resurrect Isaac here
2. Through Abraham’s obedience God saw a man who loved Him enough to give his son
L. Genesis 22:12 - And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.
1. Again refers to Isaac as Abraham’s only son
2. What Abraham began here the Roman soldier completed on Calvary
a. John 19:34 - But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
b. Isaiah 53:5 - But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
3. We have the benefit of history to see how these events foretold what would take place many years after this, but Abraham probably had no idea at the time.
a. Sometimes we have an incomplete picture as to why things are happening to us and may never fully understand the magnitude of those trials in this lifetime.
b. God has a plan beyond our individualism that will serve the entire body of Christ
c. John 3:30 - He must increase, but I [must] decrease.
M. Genesis 22:13 - And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
1. Ram – איל 'ayil, masculine noun, a) ram b)pillar, door post, jams c) strong man, leader d) mighty tree, terebinth
2. here is a ram, different from a lamb, even though God provided this Ram, it is not the Lamb to be provided from vs. 8
3. “In the stead of his son” established the doctrine of substitution atonement, the ram took the place of Isaac
N. Genesis 22:14 - And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
1. Jehovah-jireh - יהוה יראה Yĕhovah yireh, proper locative noun, "Jehovah will see (to it)"
a. Jerusalem
· יראה yireh
· שלום shalowm
2. Mount of the Lord – Calvary ?
a. Likely this is the exact geographical location of Christ’s crucifixion
b. No current way to prove this as fact
O. Genesis 22:15 - And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
1. The last of seven instances that the Lord speaks to Abraham
P. Genesis 22:16 - And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]:
1. No higher authority to swear an oath than by Himself
2. Again God states that Isaac is Abraham’s only son
3. 3rd time Isaac is referred to as Abraham’s only son
Q. Genesis 22:17 - That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
1. Plural Seed – multiplying seed a restatement of the covenant
2. Seed shall posses the gate of his enemies, physically or spiritually (or both)
a. Who are the enemies? Flesh and blood or spirits?
b. Ephesians 6:12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
R. Genesis 22:18 - And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
1. Singular Seed – A restatement that the promised Messiah will come through Isaac
2. Thy seed being Christ has provided a blessing for all nations
S. Genesis 22:19 - So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba Beersheba
1. Young men – Lad – נער na`ar, same as lad before
2. Returned to Beersheba
3. Abraham lived out his days in Beersheba
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