The Sacrifice of Isaac. 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.
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. Gen 22:1-2
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
1. The History of Abraham and His Son Isaac, Genesis 11:27-25:11
36. What made Abraham’s faith in offering Isaac remarkable?
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
Comments by Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.”
God said, “Take now your son, your only son [of promise], whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then he got up and went to the place of which God had told him.
On the third day [of travel] Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
Abraham said to his servants, “Settle down and stay here with the donkey; the young man and I will go over there and worship [God], and we will come back to you.” [Heb_11:17-19]
Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on [the shoulders of] Isaac his son, and he took the fire (firepot) in his own hand and the [sacrificial] knife; and the two of them walked on together.
And Isaac said to Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself a lamb for the burnt offering.” So the two walked on together.
Gen 22:9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. [Mat_10:37]
Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. [Heb_11:17-19]
But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Here I am.”
The LORD said, “Do not reach out [with the knife in] your hand against the boy, and do nothing to [harm] him; for now I know that you fear God [with reverence and profound respect], since you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son [of promise].”
Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, 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 for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son.
ABRAHAM READY TO OFFER ISAAC
Faith must be proved. Only in trial does she put forth her strength or dare the impossible. Satan tempts to bring forth the bad, God to call forth into exercise our highest and best. God went every step of the way with His servant, who was called into closer fellowship with himself than any other of the human race. Moriah was a miniature of Calvary, where God spared not His only Son. Abraham’s obedience was immediate. He arose early in the morning. It was exact. It was performed in the spirit of worship. It was contagious, for Isaac used the same expression to his father, as he to God-“Here am I.” Apparently he had no need to acquaint Sarah with the object of his journey; he was so sure that the divine promise could not fail. He said to his young men, “We will come unto you.” If it were necessary, he knew that God would raise him from the dead. See Heb_11:19. Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb?” John the Baptist answered in Joh_1:29.
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 22:1-13
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
A. Abraham (12:1–25:18)
B. The Offering of Isaac (Chap. 22)
22:1-10 Perhaps no scene in the Bible except Calvary itself is more poignant than this one, and none gives a clearer foreshadowing of the death of God’s only, well-beloved Son on the cross. The supreme test of Abraham’s faith came when God ordered him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah. Actually God had no intention of allowing Abraham to go through with it; He has always been opposed to human sacrifice. Moriah is the mountain range where Jerusalem is situated (2Ch_3:1) and also where Calvary stood. God’s words, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,” must have pierced Abraham’s heart like ever-deepening wounds. Isaac was Abraham’s only son in the sense that he was the only son of promise—the unique son, the son of miraculous birth.
The first occurrence of a word in the Bible often sets the pattern for its usage throughout Scripture. Love (v. 2) and “worship” (v. 5) are first found here. Abraham’s love for his son is a faint picture of God’s love for the Lord Jesus. The sacrifice of Isaac was a picture of the greatest act of worship—the Savior’s self-sacrifice to accomplish the will of God.22:11, 12 “Abraham, Abraham” is the first of ten name duplications found in the Bible. Seven are spoken by God to man (Gen_22:11; Gen_46:2; Exo_3:4; 1Sa_3:10; Luk_10:41; Luk_22:31; Act_9:4). The other three are Mat_7:21-22; Mat_23:37; Mar_15:34. They introduce matters of special importance. The Angel of the LORD (v. 11) was God (v. 12).
22:13-15 To offer Isaac was surely the supreme test of Abraham’s faith. God had promised to give Abraham a numberless posterity through his son. Isaac could have been as much as twenty-five at this time, and he was unmarried. If Abraham slew him, how could the promise be fulfilled? According to Heb_11:19, Abraham believed that even if he slew his son, God would raise him from the dead. This faith was remarkable because there was no recorded case of resurrection up to this time in the world’s history. Notice his faith also in Gen_22:5 : “the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” Abraham was first justified by faith (Gen_15:6), then justified (vindicated) by works here (see Jas_2:21). His faith was the means of his salvation, while his works were the proof of the reality of his faith. When Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb?”, his father replied, “God will provide for Himself the lamb.” This promise was not ultimately fulfilled by the ram of verse 13 but by the Lamb of God (Joh_1:29).
There are two outstanding symbols of Christ in this chapter. Isaac is the first: an only son, loved by his father, willing to do his father’s will, received back from the dead in a figure. The ram is the second: an innocent victim died as a substitute for another, its blood was shed, and it was a burnt offering wholly consumed for God. Someone has said that, in providing the ram as a substitute for Isaac, “God spared Abraham’s heart a pang He would not spare His own.” The Angel of the LORD in verses 11 and 15, as in all the OT, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham named the place The-LORD-Will-Provide (Jehovah-jireh) (v. 14). This is one of the seven compound names for God in the OT. The others are:
Jehovah-Rophekha — “The LORD who heals you” (Exo_15:26).
Jehovah-Nissi — “The LORD my banner” (Exo_17:8-15).
Jehovah-Shalom — “The LORD our peace” (Jdg_6:24).
Jehovah-Roi — “The LORD my Shepherd” (Psa_23:1).
Jehovah-Tsidkenu — “The LORD our righteousness” (Jer_23:6).
Jehovah-Shammah — “The LORD is present” (Eze_48:35).
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