The Sacrifice of Isaac
Genesis 22:1-241
June 11, 2006


Today’s message is from Genesis chapter 22, the entire chapter. As we read the passage, remember that we are reading the word of God. It’s what God inspired Moses to write through his Holy Spirit many years ago so that we might read it now and know him through it. His purpose is for our minds and hearts to be conformed to his mind and his heart.

Also, as always, I encourage all of you to read your Bible every day. Read it all the way through; and then read it again. Study and meditate on the word of God. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding and conviction. The word of God is the bread of life. You’ll starve to death without it.

[Prayer]

Now let’s read the passage. We’ll read the first 19 verses, the section the HCSB translators gave the title The Sacrifice of Isaac. I’ll read the last few verses later. Verses 1 through 19:

The Sacrifice of Isaac
1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3So early in the morning Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together.
7Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
9When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
12Then He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” 13Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said: “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”
15Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, 17I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies. 18And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed My command.”
19Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba. (Genesis 22:1-19)

Verse 1 says, “After these things God tested Abraham…” ‘These things’ were the birth of Isaac, Abraham’s sending away of Hagar and Ishmael and Abraham’s peace treaty with Abimelech, the king of the land where he was staying, the land of the Philistines.

When Abraham was old and still childless, God had promised him a son. In fact he had told him that his offspring would be so numerous that they couldn’t be counted—as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky—and that he would make Abraham into a great nation.

But, Sarah was old and beyond child-bearing years; so she persuaded Abraham to take her slave Hagar as a second wife and try to have children through her. Any children they had would be considered Sarah’s. Abraham agreed and Ishmael was born.

But the Lord told Abraham that it was not through Ishmael that his offspring would be traced and his covenant confirmed, but through a son that his wife Sarah would bear. Sarah gave birth to Isaac. (Isaac means laughter.) When Isaac was weaned, Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away. It was a difficult thing for Abraham to do, but God told him to do it because it was through Isaac that his offspring would be traced. He also told Abraham that he would make Ishmael into a great nation; but it would be through Isaac that his offspring would be traced.

At the end chapter 21, just before today’s passage, we are told that Abimelech, the king of the land where Abraham was staying, came to Abraham and asked him to swear to ‘keep faith’ with him and with his country. He told Abraham that he knew that God was with him in everything he did. He had seen God’s power and he was afraid. (This is the highly condensed version, but if you go back and read chapters 20 and 21, you will see what actually happened.) Abraham swore to keep faith with Abimelech. At the end of chapter 21, it says that after Abimelech left, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and worshipped “the Lord, the Everlasting God.” Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days—a long time.

Now let’s look at chapter 22 verses 1 and 2, today’s passage. I’ll read them:

1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Gen. 22:1,2)

This is a shock! It’s a shock for us to read it! God forbade a man to take another man’s life: “I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life. Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his image.” (Gen. 9:5b, 6) And we read later and all the way through the Old Testament that human sacrifice is an abomination to God!

How could Abraham have felt? This was his son that God was asking him—not asking him, but telling him—to offer as a burnt offering. And to make it even more severe, God said “your only son Isaac, whom you love.” Your only son: Isaac was Abraham’s only son! He had had a son Ishmael, but God had told him to send Ishmael away. According to the lexicons, the word translated only can mean very special, unique, priceless. And God referred to Isaac—to Abraham’s laughter—as his son that he loved: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering…” And this was the son that God had told him that all his offspring, his offspring that would be as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars of the sky, would be traced through. What could Abraham have thought!? How could he have felt!?

Verse 1 says that God tested Abraham. God said to him, “Abraham!” and Abraham responded, “Here I am.” Abraham was ready to do whatever God wanted him to do.

When God tests you, he is not trying to see if you will fail. Do you think God knew whether or not Abraham would fail? David said in Psalm 139, “Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord.” The Lord knew exactly what David was going to say before he even opened his mouth. He knew that Job’s faith would not fail when he allowed Satan to test him, too.

If the Lord tests you, it is so that you will know how strong or how weak you are. If you are weaker than you thought you were, the results of the test will be a rebuke to you and an exhortation to trust the Lord more fully than you have been—to depend on him for strength. If you are stronger than you thought you were, it will be an encouragement and will teach you that it is the Lord’s strength and not yours that gives the victory. The purpose of the Lord’s testing is for your faith to grow and for you to learn to persevere. The Lord was telling Abraham to give up the thing that was most precious to him, his one and only son Isaac whom he loved.

What are you willing to give up? Are you willing to give up the most precious thing that is yours—your most precious possession? How about your next most precious possession? Where do you draw the line? Are you willing to give up anything and everything that the Lord tells you to give up? Do you trust that what he has for you is better than anything you consider yours (that really isn’t anyway)? Verse 3 says that Abraham got up early the next morning—it may be that God appeared to him in a vision at night—and set out with Isaac and two other young men for the place God had told him about. I wonder what was going on in his mind and heart at that time.

On the third day out Abraham saw the place where God was leading him in the distance and told the two young men to wait there while he went on alone with Isaac. He told the men that he and Isaac would go and worship and then they would come back. He put the wood for the fire on Isaac for him to carry, while he carried the sacrificial knife and the fire, the hot coals to start the fire. (verses 4, 5)

Before I go on, does all of this seem a little familiar? Who is it that was willing to sacrifice his one and only Son whom he loved and with whom he was well pleased? “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) And did you notice the three days? They traveled three days. Jesus was in the tomb three days. Jesus also carried the cross, the instrument of his death.  Isaac carried the wood for his sacrificial fire. Also, even the area, the mountains of Moriah, is the area where Jesus was crucified. As we read about God’s test for Abraham, I believe he wants us to think about what Abraham must have felt and gone through—and then get just a small idea about how he felt when he sacrificed his one and only Son for our sin.
While they were walking along, Isaac asked Abraham—he called him father. He said, “My father.” Abraham said, “Here I am my son.” Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” What do you think Abraham thought then? Could you have said to your son, “You are the sacrifice. You are the lamb?”   Abraham told Isaac, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

Abraham said, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” Do you think he was lying when he said what he did—that he said it so that Isaac would not panic? I don’t think Abraham was lying. The way it turned out, Abraham didn’t sacrifice Isaac. The Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews, speaking by the Holy Spirit, says:

17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; he who had received the promises was offering up his unique son, 18about whom it had been said, In Isaac your seed will be called. 19He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead, from which he also got him back as an illustration. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Notice first that what Abraham did, he did by faith—by faith he offered up Isaac. Also, it was his unique son, his one and only son. And although he had received the promises, the promises that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, he was offering up his unique son Isaac through whom God had said he would fulfill those promises. And according to verse 19, Abraham considered God able even to raise someone from the dead. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is that Abraham knew that Isaac would have to come back from that place of sacrifice alive! Do you remember that when Abraham left the two young men that came with them, he told them, “The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” Abraham said, “We will come back to you.” Not, “I will come back to you,” but, “We will come back to you.” I believe he was honest in saying that.

Now let’s look at what happened when Abraham and Isaac arrived at the place where the sacrifice was to take place. It says (v 9) that Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood for the sacrifice and then tied Isaac up and placed him on the wood. Then (v 10) he took the knife to slaughter his son. (Remember, again, how you might feel in Abraham’s situation—what would be going through your mind as you raised the knife. I know that I would have said right from the beginning, “That can’t have been God who was speaking to me,” and I would never even have started for the mountain. But Abraham knew that it was God!)

Now I want you to think about what might have been going through Isaac’s mind at the time. Isaac was almost certainly not a young child. He was strong enough to carry the wood to the place of sacrifice. Also, in chapter 23 immediately following this chapter, we are told about Sarah’s death. Sarah was 90 years old when Isaac was born and 127 years old when she died. Isaac could have been in his thirties by the time Abraham took him to the place of sacrifice. The point is that there is not even a hint that Isaac resisted Abraham. He let Abraham tie him up.

Do you remember what the Lord told the angels that were with him before the destruction of Sodom? He said that he had chosen Abraham so that he would command his children and his house to keep the way of the Lord by doing what was right and just. (Gen. 18:19) What is right and just, what is the way of the Lord, always starts with faith—with trusting him. Abraham had taught Isaac to trust the Lord. It’s also apparent that Isaac trusted Abraham when he let him tie him up. Isaac was being tested as well as Abraham. Remember, testing is not to see whether you will pass or fail, it to strengthen your faith. Isaac would have to carry on after Abraham was gone.

Now let’s look at verses 11 and 12. Listen while I read them:

11But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
12Then He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” (Genesis 22:11,12)

It says the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven. Do you know who the Angel of the Lord is? If you look at the HCSB translation that I’m quoting from, Angel is capitalized. The Angel of the Lord is a title. [Who is the Angel of the Lord?] The Angel of the Lord is Jesus. Jesus was there (although he wasn’t called Jesus yet). He knew that he would in time be in the position of Isaac, only he would really die—and he would die a very cruel death! He would die to save both Abraham and Isaac and for us as well—for everyone who would believe in him! And he would rise from the dead! Isaac figuratively rose from the dead. Verse 13 says that Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket and took it and sacrificed it in the place of his son.

You know, Abraham had told Isaac that God himself would provide the lamb for the burnt offering; but it was a ram that Abraham sacrificed, not a lamb. But God has provided a Sacrificial Lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! According to verse 14, Abraham named the place where he took Isaac to be sacrifice “The Lord Will Provide,” so today it was said: “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.” Remember that the mountains of Moriah is the same area where Jesus was crucified. The Lord has provided for our salvation!

Now let’s look at verses 15 through 19. Here’s what they say:

15Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, 17I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies. 18And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed My command.”
19Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba. (Genesis 22:15-19)

After the testing was over, the Lord swore that, because Abraham had not withheld his son, all the things he had said would happen. Abraham would have numerous offspring, they would conquer their enemies and all nations on earth would be blessed through his offspring. We were blessed to receive the word of God through the nation of Israel. And grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. “The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) Our salvation is through Abraham’s offspring Jesus. Pretty neat that Jesus was there making that promise too, isn’t it?

Let me ask you this. Do you think there was any chance that Abraham could have failed the test? Consider this: In Genesis 12:2 and 3 the Lord said to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Could the Lord have said these things if he hadn’t known that Abraham would pass the final test? The Lord knows us perfectly!

Now let’s look at the last 5 verses of the chapter, verses 20 through 24. The HCSB says that this is about Rebekah’s family. Here’s what they say:

Rebekah’s Family
20Now after these things Abraham was told, “Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23And Bethuel fathered Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. (Genesis 22:20-24)

Rebekah was Abraham’s great niece (I think. In any case, Abraham was her great uncle—I think.) These people were all in Haran, where, if you remember, Abraham had settled for a while on his way to Canaan. (That was back in chapters 11 and 12.) When the Lord called Abraham to move on to Canaan, all of his family except for Lot stayed in Haran. Abraham apparently hadn’t been in contact with them for a long time, so he was told about his relatives. We’ll hear a lot more about Rebekah in a couple of weeks, the Lord willing.

That’s all for today. But I want to remind you that what this is all about is Jesus. He is our hope and our salvation.  It is he through whom all nations are blessed. Sometimes we don’t think Jesus really was there in the Old Testament (except maybe in prophecy). But he was there from Creation and will be there for all eternity!

[Prayer]



END NOTES
1 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible ®, Holman CSB ® and HCSB ® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.