Genesis Lessons 22: 1-14 - Ultimate Test of Faith
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Gen. 21:1-8, we covered the miraculous birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, when they were many decades past normal child-bearing age. Even if we consider the longer life spans of humans in that age, it still doesn't explain how a woman who had been infertile all her life was able to give birth to a healthy baby at age 90. The basic lesson we learned can be boiled-down to one short sentence: The birth of Isaac was unforgettable. The text we covered established two inescapable facts: that (1) God has the sovereign power to keep promises that are impossible by any human standard; and (2) Isaac, the biological child born from the union of Abraham and Sarah, was a miracle baby, not a freak of nature. Moreover, God's timing of this event was perfect: He used it to ultimately glorify Himself by delaying the birth of Isaac until all likelihood of Abraham and Sarah ever having a biological child between themselves was humanly past impossible.
This week, In Gen. 22:1-14, we return to Abraham's story over ten years later, when he had finished making a treaty with Abimelech, the local ruler, to settle his household in the area known as Beer-Sheeba (lit. well of seven). The last verse of Chapter 21 states: "And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines." This doesn't refer to the warlike Philistine people reported in the books of Judges and Samuel but to the coastal region that encompassed the site of Beer-Sheeba. In any case, we see Abraham settling down to live the rest of his life in peace. But as we come into today's lesson, we'll learn that God isn't finished with him yet.
Read Gen. 22:1-2 - GOD TESTED ABRAHAM
1 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."
v. 1: "After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." - The phrase "After these things" marks a transition from the events of Chapter 21. God's use of the term "tested" rather than tempted (i.e., God never tempts anyone to do to evil) indicates He wants the person being tested to pass this test of obedience. And in calling him by name, God is underscoring the utter significance of what He's about to demand from him.
v. 2a: "He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love," - Here, we see God name "Isaac" as Abraham's "only son," that is, the only son who will be the heir of God's promise to Him, and the son Abraham loves more than his own life.
v. 2b: "and go to the land of Moriah, - Most scholars identify this as the site where the future temple will be built by Solomon (2 Chron. 3:1).
v. 2c: "and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." - This would have hit Abraham like a hammer blow! It would have made absolutely no sense to him. Nothing in the entire world was more precious to him than Isaac; and this is the key to understanding the requirement that God is placing on him. The real test, therefore, is to see whether Abraham, who loves Isaac, will be able to put all common sense aside and prove that he loves God even more.
Read Gen. 22:3-5 -ABRAHAM WENT TO THE PLACE OF WHICH GOD HAD TOLD HIM
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."
v. 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." - All of the action verbs in this verse-"rose, saddled, took, cut, arose, and went"-demonstrate Abraham's determination to obey God's command. While he is certainly confused about God's reasons for commanding him to do this, Abraham obeys because he has complete confidence in God to do the right thing. This confidence, in fact, is the entire point of this test: He doesn't need understand every detail of God's plan; he simply needs to trust Him. He is trusting God based on previous experience (e.g., destroying Sodom while preserving Lot's family).
v. 4: "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar." - This tells us that Abraham has had three days to contemplate the terrible task which God has commanded him to do-time to remember how bad he had wanted this son, a boy now growing into a fine-looking adolescent who was now learning how to follow in his father's footsteps. When he "lifted up his eyes" to see the place where his son might die, it must have filled him with unspeakable dread. He trusted God but still couldn't fathom why God was requiring him to do this. When he does reach this place, we will hear again the phrase he "lifted up his eyes and saw." Keep it in mind as we continue.
v. 5a: "Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey;'" - Abraham addresses this command to the two men who accompanied them on the journey. We don't know why he asked them to come, but he obviously doesn't want them with him when he sacrifices Isaac. They would be horrified and might even try to intervene, to stop it.
v. 5b: I and the boy will go over there and worship." - The word "worship" doesn't necessarily imply a sacrifice; yet, the fact that they've been carrying firewood and have a knife insinuates that Abraham intends a form of worship that includes a sacrifice of some kind.
v. 5c: "and come again to you." - While Abraham is fully committed to carrying-out the sacrifice of Isaac, he is moving forward with the belief that both of them will return. This is pure, undiluted faith.
Read gen. 22:6-8 - GOD WILL PROVIDE THE LAMB
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.
v. 6a: "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son." - This would have involved a strenuous hike up to mountain to reach the site. That Abraham handed the wood over to Isaac to carry it up tells us that he must have been a well-muscled teenager by that time.
v. 6b: "And he took in his hand the fire and the knife." - Abraham is carrying some coals to start the fire and a knife that is probably the type normally used to butcher animals.
v. 6c: "So they went both of them together. " - Assuming that this site is up to the future temple mount, it would have been a long trek for both of them. We can only guess at the heart-rending torment that Abraham must have felt as his innocently trusting son followed him and the terrible deed that the boy would suffer at his hands. Can you imagine anything worse than this? I can't.
7a: "And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." - These words show the love between father and son, and the son's unwavering trust in his father.
7b: "He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" - Here, Isaac asks a logical question: Where is the lamb? He clearly does not yet understand that he is to be the sacrifice. But notice that despite his uncertainty, he continues to demonstrate trust in his father. This represents a foreshadowing of the willing sacrifice of Christ Jesus some 2,000 years later.
v. 8: "Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together" - This is a defining moment: as Abraham understands things, God has already provided the lamb-Isaac. Even if Abraham believes that God will somehow spare Isaac, it does not alter his actions; there is no hesitation, no questions. Do you see that? Notice, too, that they, "went both of them," showing that Isaac was continuing to trust and obey his father.
Read Gen. 22:9-10 - ABRAHAM TOOK THE KNIFE
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.
v. 9a: "When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order" - You might recall that Abram built an altar to God when he first entered Canaan (Gen. 12:7). Now, he builds an altar to sacrifice the very offspring through whom God has promised to carry out his original promise. The details of building this altar show Abraham's resolve to obey God's command without pause or question, pressing-on in spite of his inner turmoil.
v. 9b: "and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood." - This causes us to ask how a very old man managed to bind-up a strong, young teenager. The only answer is that Isaac has continued to submit to his father, even up to this point. Whether he fully realizes that his father intends to kill him is open to question. But after he allowed Abraham to completely lash him to the altar, he might have understood his father's true intent. Again, this foreshadows the passion of Jesus, carrying the cross up to Golgotha and allowing the Roman guards to nail him to it without a struggle.
v. 10: "Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son." - This is the moment of truth. Without wavering, Abraham draws the knife with the intent to inflict a killing blow. He most likely aimed for the heart to make the boy's death as quick as possible. In reference to Abraham's actions here, the writer of Hebrews later added, He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type." (Heb. 11:19).
Read Gen. 22:11-14 - DO NOT LAY YOUR HAND ON THE BOY
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."
v. 11: "But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.'" - Before he can complete the thrust, Abraham's hand is stayed by a shout from heaven, one of God's angels calling "Abraham, Abraham!" To which he instantly replies, "Here I am," which is the recurrent response of the faithful, e.g.: Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and Mary.
v. 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." - God's previous command to Abraham in v. 2 is reversed: Isaac is to be spared. This was God's plan all along and Abraham has passed the ultimate test of faith. To "fear God" in Abraham's context isn't fear of retribution for sin but the reverence and faith that prompts obedience. Time and time again, God has proven to Abraham that he doesn't need to understand every detail but merely needs to obey.
v. 13a: "And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns." - Do you remember v. 4, when Abraham "lifted up his eyes" to look at the place where Isaac was to be sacrificed? Here, he "lifted up his eyes" again and sees a ram caught in a thicket, and he immediately recognizes that God has made this provision-a ram-to save Isaac's life.
v. 13b: "And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son." - In most sacrificial offerings, the one making the sacrifice provides the animal, but here, in this extraordinary circumstance, God provides it. In most offerings, the death of the animal is a substitute for the person who offers the sacrifice, but here it substitutes for Isaac's death (i.e., the type of v. 10).
v. 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." - Echoing his earlier observation that "God will provide for Himself the lamb" (v. 8), Abraham now names the place "The LORD will provide." You should notice that Abraham does not draw any attention to his role, so that those who remember it would be more impressed with God's faithfulness than with Abraham's obedience. But I think, it safe to say that all of us will come away with admiration for both: God's provision and Abraham's faith.
Endnote: We need to clearly understand that God at no time was actually demanding a child sacrifice. In fact, when God later gives the law to Moses, He will make it explicit that child sacrifice is prohibited (Lev. 18:21). In today's lesson, the angel's call that stayed Abraham's hand, together with the ram provided for the sacrifice, makes it abundantly clear that Isaac's life was never in any real danger. Abraham didn't know this, of course, and that is what made it into his ultimate test of faith. Nothing was more precious to Abraham than his son Isaac. The real test was whether Abraham would give God the thing nearest and dearest to his heart-a test he passed with flying colors.
APPLICATION-Following Abraham's Example of Faith
