In this chapter, we read about one of the most significant events in the life of Abraham, the sacrifice of his only son, Isaac. We read about real faith in action, not only with Abraham but with Isaac himself.
Faith isn’t simply about hearing God’s commands, but it involves obeying those commands, John 14:15 / James 1:22. This whole event was pointing toward what God would eventually do with His own Son, Jesus.
Some time after the events of the previous chapter, God test Abraham. He calls him, and he replies, Genesis 22:1. We should note there is a difference between the word ‘temptation’ and the word ‘test’.
Satan is the tempter, not God, Genesis 3:1-6 / Matthew 4:1-11 / James 1:13. He tempts us to sin and lures us away from God and to bring out the worst in us, but testing is done by God to draw us closer to Him and to bring out the best in us, Genesis 21:1 / Genesis 22:16-18 / James 1:2-4.
Why did God test him? God was testing Abraham, not because God needed to know how strong Abraham’s faith was, but because Abraham needed to know how strong his faith was. This was done to reveal Abraham’s faith in God because he needed to know.
Notice how personal God’s words are, ‘take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac’, Genesis 22:2. He is to go to the region of Moriah and sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering, Genesis 22:2. It’s almost as though God was driving the knife into Abraham’s heart.
What do you think Abraham is thinking at this point?
1. This was crazy.
2. This is my only son.
3. God was against human sacrifice, Leviticus 18:21 / Deuteronomy 18:10.
4. What about the seed promise? Genesis 3:15.
5. Against the law that God gave them after the flood, Genesis 9:5-6.
Remember, Abraham was also the father of Ishmael, but we also must remember that Isaac was the son of promise, the only legitimate son born to his lawful wife, Genesis 21:1-3.
Abraham had to learn to trust ‘THE ONE’ who made the promise, not the promise itself. The word ‘love’, Genesis 2:22, is mentioned here for the first time. The first time the word ‘love’ is mentioned in the New Testament is found in Matthew 3:17, where God announces His love for His Son at His baptism. Love is mentioned in relation to the sacrificial offering of a father’s son, John 3:16.
Because Abraham had to rise in the morning, Genesis 22:3 suggests that God gave him the command to sacrifice Isaac early in the evening. Notice that Abraham didn’t argue with God; he simply obeyed.
He took two servants along with him and Isaac, Genesis 22:3. Abraham then cut enough wood for the burnt offering, headed out to the place where God told him to go, Genesis 22:3.
Do you think he told Sarah? I personally don’t believe he did, or he may have received a lot of resistance from her. He simply prepared for the journey ahead and went in the direction which God told him to go, Genesis 22:3.
It took three days to get to the region of Moriah, Genesis 22:4 / 2 Chronicles 3:1. After three days, Abraham finally saw Moriah, the place where God had commanded him to go to sacrifice Isaac, Genesis 22:4.
The Jewish Targum says the following.
‘He knew the place by seeing the cloud of glory smoking on the top of the mountain.’
He tells his servants to stay behind with the donkey while he and Isaac go to worship. Afterwards, they will return, Genesis 22:5. Could this be the moment when Abraham reasoned in his heart that God would raise Isaac from the dead? Hebrews 11:17-19.
The word ‘worship’ is used here for the first time. In the New Testament, the first time the word ‘worship’ is used is when the magi came with their gifts for the baby Jesus, Matthew 2:2 / Matthew 2:11.
It’s clear that both Abraham and the magi offered God the very best of what they had, which is what our worship of God should be. Some commentators suggest that Isaac was around thirty to thirty-three years old at this moment.
Josephus, in his writings, says the following.
‘Isaac was now twenty-five; some Rabbis say that he was thirty-six; but it is more probable that he was about thirty-three, the age at which his great Antitype was offered up.’
Isaac carries the wood on his back for his own sacrifice, Genesis 22:6. This is what Jesus did with the cross, John 19:17. Abraham was carrying the fire, implying everything he needed to start the fire, and the knife and Isaac notices that they have everything for the sacrifice except the lamb, Genesis 22:7.
After asking his father about it, Abraham simply replies, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering,’ Genesis 22:8. John 1:29 tells us that Jesus is the lamb of God, and Revelation 5:1-10.
It’s clear that Abraham trusted God to deliver, even up to the last minute. Notice also that Isaac and Abraham walked together, side by side, Genesis 22:8 / Genesis 22:6.
There was a specific place on Mount Moriah for Abraham to go to, but when he arrived, we have to wonder what was going through his mind as he built the altar for his son, Genesis 22:9. We also have to wonder what was going through Isaac’s mind as his father bound him and laid him on the altar, Genesis 22:9 / Mark 15:1.
Isaac was to be killed first and then be offered as a burnt offering. Remember that Abraham had never experienced a bodily resurrection, but he trusted that God would indeed resurrect Isaac from the dead, Hebrews 11:17-19.
Abraham knew everything was possible with God, Matthew 19:26. But notice that there’s no resistance from Isaac, which tells us he, too, must have trusted God and his father.
Hamilton, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If Abraham displays faith that obeys, then Isaac displays faith that cooperates. If Isaac was strong and big enough to carry wood for a sacrifice, maybe he was strong and big enough to resist or subdue his father.’
We can only imagine the gulp in both Abraham and Isaac when Abraham took the knife to slay his son, Genesis 22:10. This was it; it was now time to follow God’s commands, but the angel of the LORD calls out to Abraham from heaven, and calls his name twice, and Abraham replies, ‘here I am’, Genesis 22:11.
The calling of a person’s name twice in Scripture appears to imply that something significant is about to happen, Genesis 22:11 / Genesis 46:2 / Exodus 3:4 / 1 Samuel 3:10 / Acts 9:5.
Notice it is the angel of the LORD who steps in at the very last second, Genesis 22:12. Who is this angel of the LORD? This is a Christophany, which suggests that this is a preincarnate appearance of Christ, Genesis 12:7 / Genesis 16:7.
This becomes clearer when we read Genesis 22:15-18. Remember the word ‘angel’ in Hebrew is ‘malak’, and it simply means messenger. Christ is God, not an angel, Genesis 16:13.
Haynes Jr, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A study of these passages reveals that the Angel of the Lord appeared in human form, Genesis 18:2 / Genesis 22:1-18 / Hebrews 13:2, and performed normal human functions, Genesis 32:24 / Numbers 22:23 / Numbers 22:31, yet he was an awe-inspiring figure, Genesis 32:30 / Judges 6:22 / Judges 13:22, exhibiting divine attributes and prerogatives including predicting the future, Genesis 16:10-12, forgiving sin, Exodus 23:21, and receiving worship, Exodus 3:5 / Judges 13:9-20.’
The angel of the LORD says, ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy, Do not do anything to him, Genesis 22:12. Why? Because the angel of the LORD now knows that Abraham fears God, because he didn’t withhold from his son, his only son, Genesis 22:12.
The testing of Abraham’s faith was now over; he would become the father of faith to everyone who would put their trust in the only begotten Son of God, John 3:16. God wouldn’t allow Abraham to sacrifice his only son, but in the future, God would allow His only Son to die for the sins of all of humanity, John 3:16-17.
Francisco, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Not until Abraham acted upon his faith did that faith come to fruition. Until he lifted the knife over his son, his ultimate surrender to God had not occurred. Faith is not just a nice attitude toward God; it is submission to His will. To will it in the heart is not enough. The act is the ultimate test.’
Abraham’s faith was in God’s ability to raise Isaac from the dead, Hebrews 11:19, and he willingly obeyed God’s word, even before he knew what God’s will was. Abraham was justified by his works, James 2:21, and if he hadn’t done the work, there would have been no evidence of his faith; in other words, he demonstrated his faith by his works, James 2:18.
Isaac took three days to get there, and when he got there, he left still alive, and we know that Jesus was raised on the third day according to Scripture, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Isaac is a picture of Jesus.
1. Both are loved by their father, Genesis 22:2 / John 3:16.
2. Both are only sons, Genesis 22:2 / Genesis 22:12 / John 3:16.
3. Both were offered by their fathers, Genesis 22:9 / John 3:16.
4. Both offered themselves willingly, Genesis 22:9 / Philippians 2:8.
5. Both were bound, Genesis 22:9 / Mark 15:1.
6. Both carried the wood for their own sacrifice, Genesis 22:6 / John 19:17.
7. Both were laid upon wood, Genesis 22:9 / Luke 23:32.
8. They were sacrificed on the same hill. Mount Moriah, Genesis 22:2, and Golgotha, Matthew 27:33.
9. Both are delivered from death on the third day, Genesis 22:4 / 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
Abraham now looks up and sees a ram in a thicket caught by its horns, Genesis 22:13. Some may ask why God supplied a ram instead of a lamb? Well, God never said anything about a lamb being supplied as an offering; that was Isaac’s thought, Genesis 22:8.
He goes over and sacrifices the ram as a burnt offering instead of his son, Genesis 22:13. ‘The Lord will provide’, Genesis 22:14, means on this mount it will be provided. Abraham named it in reference to what Jehovah-Jireh had done.
When we read Genesis 22:15-18, we clearly see that the angel of the LORD is a preincarnate appearance of Christ, Genesis 12:7 / Genesis 16:7. The angel of the LORD calls to Abraham from heaven a second time, Genesis 22:15, and swears by Himself, Hebrews 6:13-18, that because of what Abraham did regarding not withholding Isaac, his only son, Genesis 22:16. The angel of the Lord is here called LORD, which is Jehovah, Genesis 22:16.
He will surely bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore, Genesis 22:17 / Genesis 12:3. His descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, Genesis 22:17.
And through his offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because he obeyed God, Genesis 22:18 / Galatians 3:8 / Galatians 3:16 / Galatians 3:18. Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off for Beersheba where Abraham stayed, Genesis 22:19.
Some time after the events on Mount Moriah, Abraham is told Milkah is also a mother and she has sons born from his brother Nahor, Genesis 22:20. Uz was Nahor’s firstborn, Buz was his brother, Kemuel, who was the father of Aram, Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel, Genesis 22:21-22.
Bethuel was the father of Rebekah, Genesis 22:23. Milkah is the mother and Nahor, Abraham’s brother, is the father of all eight sons, Genesis 22:23. Reumah, who was Nahor’s concubine, also had sons named Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah, Genesis 22:24.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Uz, Aram, and Kesed are interesting, as they show that we are in the region of the Shemites, among whom these are ancestral names, Genesis 10:23 / Genesis 11:28. Buz may have been the ancestor of Elihu, Jeremiah 25:23 / Job 32:2. Maakah may have given rise to the tribes and land of Maakah, Deuteronomy 3:14 / 2 Samuel 10:6. The other names do not again occur.’
Remember, genealogies are important to the Jews as they can trace their ancestors, but the genealogy here is given in order to bring our attention to Rebekah, who is going to be Isaac’s future wife, Genesis 24:67, and show the continuation of the lineage of Abraham, Galatians 3:16.