“Genesis 22:1-8”

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

“Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here I am.' He said, 'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.' So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.' 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 the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham said, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' So the two of them walked on together.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now it came about after these things...” (verse 1) The text does not tell us how long after the events of chapter 21 that “God tested Abraham,” but Isaac is now strong enough to carry a load of wood a great distance and sufficiently mentally developed to hold an intelligent conversation with his father. The Bible teaches that God allows all of His people to undergo trials and tribulations in order to test the metal of their faith. “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) Be that as it may, God has never put any other person to the test in such a demanding, disturbing, gut-wrenching way shy of Jesus Christ Himself!

“And he said, 'Here I am.'” (verse 1) Abraham was not merely responding to the Lord's calling by acknowledging that he was present and listening. When he replied to God's call by saying, “Here I am,” Abraham was standing at attention and expressing his desire to do the Lord's bidding, whatever it was that he may have been called upon to do. It is reminiscent of the great prophet Isaiah's response to the Lord's call in Isaiah 6:8. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'' Abraham and later Isaiah were both called upon to perform very great and difficult tasks, but none more burdensome than that of the great patriarch.

“'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering...” (verse 2) “The shocking intensity and impact of this divine command are seen in the cumulative effect of the designations for Isaac: 'thy son ... thine only son ... whom thou lovest ... even Isaac!' 'This is the first mention of love in the O.T.'... Oddly enough, the first mention of love in the N.T. ('This is my beloved Son …' Matthew 3:17) refers to Christ, of whom Isaac was a type.” (James Burton Coffman) According to 2 Chronicles 3:1, there was a Mount Moriah located in Jerusalem, the place where “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord.” The connections between Abraham offering up Isaac and the heavenly Father offering up His Son Jesus are many and profound and astonishing.

James Burton Coffman offered the following commentary on “Isaac as a Type of Christ: The birth of Isaac was supernatural, as was Christ's. Both were sons of 'promise.' Both were called 'the only begotten son.' Both carried the 'wood' up Calvary. Both Isaac and Jesus consented to suffer death. Both consented to be 'bound.' Both were laid 'upon the wood.' Both were 'offered' by their fathers. Both 'sacrifices' occurred on the same hill. Both were in the prime and vigor of life... Both were 'dead' three days and nights, Christ literally, Isaac in a figure. Both lived again after the 'offering,' Christ literally, Isaac 'in a figure.'” While it may be a stretch to maintain that Isaac was led up the exact same Hill of Calvary as Christ was, the fact that it is within the realm of possibility because it was located in the same vicinity is astonishing to think about.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning...” I could have probably thought of a million reasons to delay this trip and falter at this unimaginable test. But then again, there is a good reason (or several) why Almighty God chose Abraham to be the paragon of faith for all generations after him and forever more. When the Lord told Abraham to do something, He simply, promptly and completely obeyed. There have been many suggestions given as to why the Lord required this test at this time from this man. The two great obvious purposes were to demonstrate, through God's testing and Abraham's obedience, that the patriarch possessed the kind of humble, submissive and obedient faith that would qualify him to be man through whom God would implement His great scheme of redemption. And also to manifest by way of foreshadowing and prefigurement just how that great plan would finally be fulfilled through Abraham's physical and spiritual Seed, Jesus the Christ.

“We will worship and return to you.” (verse 5) “This is a classical definition of worship. Worship does not mean feelings of ecstasy, for Abraham's heart was breaking. Worship does not mean 'communion with God.' Worship is not some kind of a subjective attitude. Worship is DOING what God commands.” (James Burton Coffman)

“Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son...” (verse 6) “And laid it upon Isaac his son: who was a grown man, and able to carry it: in this also he was a type of Christ, on whom the wood of his cross was laid, and which he bore when he went to be crucified, John 19:17; and this wood may be also a figure of our sins laid on him by his Father, and which he bore in his body on the tree, 1 Peter 2:24; and which were like wood to fire, fuel for the wrath of God, which came down upon him for them.” (Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)

“Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.'” (verse 7) How this father's heart must have come near unto bursting with grief and anguish at the trusting query of his beloved son, yet he answered his question resolutely. “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham said, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.'” (verses 7-8) Did Abraham answer his son evasively believing that God had already provided the sacrifice in Isaac himself? That is a possibility since, 'He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type” (Hebrews 11:19).

But I believe it is more likely that he still held out great hope and trust in the Lord that He would provide a substitutionary sacrifice and spare his son's precious life and his own breaking heart. Once again, Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” (verse 5) It seems to me that Abraham fully expected to return back to his servants with his son's life still fully within him, even though he was more than ready to do the unthinkable if God refused to change His mind. Either way it went, he trusted the Lord to do what was right and to keep all the promises He had made to him through the son of promise.

Please read Genesis 22:9-14 for tomorrow.

Have a joyful day!

- Louie Taylor

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