The Abraham Story Part 21: Abraham's Ultimate Test

Abraham’s Ultimate Test

Genesis 22 NASB95

1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 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.” 3 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. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 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.” 6 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. 7 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?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 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 stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba. 20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

"Now it came about after these things," so just don't forget everything you just read.

"Elohim tested Avraham.

And he said to him, 'Avraham.' And he said," in Hebrew, it's hinneni, which means, look me.

Behold me. Or look, it's me.

It's usually translated, "Here I am," is the way the King James did it. That's fine. Or behold, behold.

"And he said, 'Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitskhaq, and get yourself going to the land of Moriah,'" which is also a Hebrew noun built off of the Hebrew root ra'ah, to see.

"And make him go up there as a going up offering on one of the mountains that I will say to you."

So now he's by a well in a sacred tree and he is being told to make a journey to a mountain.

And the mountain is called Moriah.

there's gonna be a sacrifice, an offering up to God on the altar. 

And the journey from the tree and the well at Be'er Sheva, he's gonna go on a journey from the desert to the mountain, and it's gonna take him a journey of three days. It's the first time the three-day time phrase appears in the Bible. And it represents a journey, a journey through death.

Up to a place where you think you're gonna die, or at least you think everything is going the way of death, and there's a surprise reversal on the third day.

So it's this interesting arc where, on just the local level, you go from a little Eden spot through a period of testing, three days, up to the high place where there's gonna be a reversal of death. 

But then you back up to the whole and you realize, oh man, this is a bookend moment. Now the Avraham story is not over. There's three more chapters after this. But at this moment in the story, when you're looking back from Moriah, you see the whole thing has been leading up to this moment,

there's another little clue here. The opening words are this Hebrew phrase, get yourself going, it's the Hebrew phrase, "lek leka." The phrase appears only one other time in the entirety of the Hebrew Bible. And it's the opening word, God's first words to Avraham, get yourself going, lek leka.

Genesis 12:1 NASB95

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;

So truly, someone wants us to see this as what began with the journey to Moreh, lek leka, get yourself going, which was his first test, wasn't it? His first test of obedience. And he responded to the call. And now here we are at the bookend with the ultimate test, lek leka.

And what we're told is one key piece of information that usually the biblical authors save for the end, but here you've been given it in just a couple words right here at the beginning. "Elohim tested Avraham." This is a test. 

So tests mean different things to different people, don't they? It depends on your temperament, your family of origins, right? Tests are, so, what's funny is, over the years, in different teaching environments, I've, at least when teaching this kind of content, I've come to find tests really useless.

So when I think of test, it's not positive. It's certainly not always enjoyable. So let's kind of, let's check our own personal experiences at the door. 

The Hebrew word is "nissah," and at its most basic it means to prove, to make public, and to demonstrate the truth about something.

It's often used, it's used in some unique instances where Yahweh says, he proved himself through the exodus of Egypt, which means he showed himself for who he really was, to be Israel's liberator and deliverer and so on. 

So it's to show the truth about something, which is, and that really was what tests at school were all about anyway, but somehow they're just the shame and the pressure and the you have 10 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR4AT0LMJ5c - Why God Tests Your Faith

You can have somebody who loves you. And when somebody who loves you gives you a test, it's an opportunity to show loyalty, to show that you're ready, that you're prepared.

However, if somebody has ill intent or doesn't have your best in mind, the same kind of test is something much more like a temptation or a trap.

And so we boiled all this, even though the word "test" isn't used in the garden of Eden narrative, what else are the two trees in the garden but this kind of test?

And it's not mean to tell somebody like, "Hey, I want this for you. You won't be able to have this if you do this, so choose this." And it's a way of demonstrating, like, okay, I'll trust you. So it's not malicious. But then there's another tester, yeah, there in the garden. And so it's a great example of the two meanings of a test.

And we even have two different English words for it. We have kind of this test, which is maybe neutral, depending on how you did in school. But then we have another English word, which is tempt. Which is luring someone into a trap because you expect them or want them to fail. 

And so what's interesting is when many readers come to this story right here, and they see God testing Avraham and then saying, you have to kill your child. It just strikes many, many people as malicious, mean, unnecessary, right? And so maybe that's been your journey with this very story too. And I'm like, don't discount that. That's important. But it is also important that when we want to hear the story first on its own terms, that we have to say,

there's a bigger picture and maybe my concept of test, you know, is different than what's being communicated here."

So that's what I'm after, at least here, but I'm not trying to say that your personal experience with the story doesn't matter. But let's let the story's intent inform our experience of the story because maybe there's some new layers of understanding here. 

So it's a test. So think about what that, what does that do to the reader?

You, the reader, know that this is a test. 

Does Avraham know that? 

Does Avraham hear the narrator say from the clouds, dear reader? no. 

in literary terms it's called dramatic irony. And you can do this in movies, novels, stories, where the reader is given inside information that the people in the story world are not ever given. The book of Job is both a repetition of this very thing, and a deepening of it where the conversation between God and the Satan is never told to the characters in the story. And so what it does is for you the reader, is the drama and the tension is about the lack of knowledge. And you know what the characters don't know, and so now you wonder what they're gonna do 'cause you have superior knowledge to them. 

What’s the Test?

Well, the test involves the son.

The giving up of the son.

Genesis 22:2 NASB95

2 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.”

In verse 2, it's awkward English, but it's great Hebrew in English. Most English translations translate the going up offering as a burnt offering. That's the standard translation in the English tradition, a burnt offering. 

So there's multiple kinds of offerings. 

Because you love the book of Leviticus, you know all about them, don't you? 

There's some offerings where the animal is slaughtered, and the animal is cleaned, and the innards removed, it's skinned. And then some of it is offered on the altar, but then some of it is given to the priest. And then some of it is given back to the one giving the offering, and you go throw a party. And these are thank you offerings or communion offerings. And you eat in your home celebrating the great harvest God gave you, and you commune with God over the meal. It's an Eden image.

So then there is another type of offering where you don't keep anything, and the whole animal is surrendered and given over. 

the whole offering or the burnt offering is the total surrender. It's the most costly.

What's interesting is the word "burn" isn't what the Hebrew word means. It's called the "‘olah," which is the Hebrew word for "go up." It's the going up because the whole animal is translated into smoke that goes up into God's realm.  It goes up on your behalf. It's a blameless, righteous animal that goes up and communes with God on your behalf. 

And so Avraham is being asked to give back to God the thing that he has received from God. 

Think of how long we've journeyed with this couple and how long they've waited for this one child.

That's one layer.

Think of what this couple has done to other people to try and get a child.

So it doesn't say that here, but what, why is this story where it is?

Abraham Test

Genesis 12 is where Avraham is called to leave and Go into the land

With this story, God’s journey with Avraham comes to a culminating point. The opening of this story contains multiple hyperlinks back to God’s first “test” of Avraham’s faithfulness. The fact that it recalls God’s call to Avraham in Genesis 12:1-6 leads us to think that the entirety of God’s blessing (introduced in Gen. 12:1-3) hangs in the balance. As we read through to the end of this episode, this hunch is confirmed (see 22:18).

“Just as Abraham had to leave all that he held dear to go to the land prescribed by the Lord (see 12:1), so he has to offer to the Lord what he holds most dear and worship where God chooses (see Deut. 12:5).” Waltke, Bruce K. and Cathi J. Fredricks (2001). Genesis: A Commentary. Zondervan. 305.

This “test” (Heb. nissah / הסנ) is the culmination of God’s relationship with Avraham and of Avraham and Sarah’s sinful abuse of Hagar and Yishmael. Recall the tight parallel relationships between this story and Avraham’s loss of Yishmael in Genesis 21:1-21.

This clear set of hyperlinks between Avraham’s loss and Yishmael and Yitskhaq make it clear that they are interrelated. This provides the crucial narrative context for God’s test of Avraham. He and Sarah were willing to sacrifice their moral integrity and abuse a slave in order to gain the promised son by their own wisdom. That sin resulted in the expulsion of the slave and her son, and here another result comes about. If Avraham is going to be God’s vehicle of blessing to the nations, God requires his faithfulness and total surrender: Will Avraham hand over the life of his son to God, trusting that God will be able to fulfill his promises, even in the face of death?

Force his chosen one to give it all back, to surrender it all, as the ultimate act of trust.

Avraham and Sarah have been willing to oppress, to sexually abuse, to banish and give over to death a slave and her son.

And so that's another layer of offering up a going up offering, which is an offering that atones for sins. 

There's surrender and there's trust and there's grave sins that Avraham and Sarah have done. And surrendering up the thing that they were trying to get through those sins. 

God’s intent is actually for Avraham and Sarah’s good. The reader has the information that God is testing Avraham. Whatever terrible thing we think will happen, it’s a test, and God is working out a bigger plan. - Tim Mackie

From Avraham's point of view, the threat to God's promises right now is God's word.

What is God's promise? 

I'm gonna bless you, give you a family, bless the nations through you. 

And Avraham's been the one putting that at risk up until now. 

But now, God is the one who's putting God's own purposes at risk, which is just fascinating to think about. That God is so willing to self-limit his purposes to work through his partners that he will allow his own plan to be put at risk. 

Yitshaq and Jesus

Mark 1:10–11 CSB

10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

There's John the baptizer. And when Jesus shows up, he goes into the waters. This is Mark chapter 1 verse 10. He comes up. He goes into, he comes up out of the waters. Into the waters. Out of the waters. And as soon as he comes out of the waters, the heavens are split.

And the Spirit comes down over the waters. The Spirit over the waters.

And a voice from the skies saying, "You are the Son that I love. You are the Son that I love. With you I'm well pleased."

This is the wording of Psalm 2, "You are my son." The wording of Genesis 22, my, "the son that is loved." And then this comes from Isaiah 42, which is the first of the suffering servant poems.

So Jesus in this little scriptural blend is being designated as the son of David, the beloved son of Avraham who is offered up on the high place, and as the suffering servant where all these images come together.

John 3:16 LEB

16 For in this way God loved the world, so that he gave his one and only Son, in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life.

"you are my beloved son," it's a very unique phrase, and this is a very clear echo of those very words. And so right throughout the New Testament, John will pick up on this. He'll call Jesus "the one and only Son." That's "your only son" from Genesis 22. That's John's way of picking up and using that phrase that was used of Isaac, now of Jesus.

Matthew 26:20–41 CSB

20 When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl—he will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” “You have said it,” he told him. 26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. 32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 33 Peter told him, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 “Even if I have to die with you,” Peter told him, “I will never deny you,” and all the disciples said the same thing. 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? 41 Stay awake and pray, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Actually, all four Gospels have this. The garden of Gethsemane. Night.

The night of, when Jesus goes into the garden.

This is in Matthew, yeah, 26 verse 30.

Jesus talks about how, "Listen, you guys, you're actually all gonna fail the test tonight.

You're all gonna fail.

But I'm not gonna fail.

I tell you," he tells Peter, "before the rooster crows three times, you're gonna fail tonight." And Peter says, no, no. 

So they go away to a little garden called Gethsemane, means the threshing floor of the olives. And he's super troubled. And what he asks his father, "Let this cup pass from me, not my desire, but your desire." And then he says to the disciples, "Watch and pray so that you are not led into the test." The test.

So we have the one and only beloved Son in a garden.

Facing his test. And he knows that his followers are gonna fail, but then we're watching Jesus work through it. This is his moment. This is his moment at the tree. This is his moment approaching the hilltop, Mount Moriah.

And he says this is a formidable test. And it's the same Greek word that's used in the Septuagint to translate the word here, the test. So it gets translated temptation, but it's the test.

We could do more, Genesis 22, it's a big deal in the New Testament. It gets brought up a lot. But I love this. It's in a garden. Avraham's test began in a little Eden spring in the desert.

And Jesus' test takes place in a garden, and both are gonna ascend the same hilltop.

Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, and the Temple

Mount Moriah (הירמ = “Mount Vision”) links back to the “oak of Moreh” (הרומ) from Genesis 12:6, creating an inclusion around all of Genesis 12-22. Also, Mount Moriah has clear hyperlinks forward to the temple mount where David will later establish the site for the temple

The phrase “mountain of Yahweh” (הוהי רה) in Genesis 22:14 is used once for Mount Sinai (Num. 10:33) but elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible always refers to Mount Zion, the temple mount in Jerusalem (see 30:29; Mic. 4:2; Zech. 8:3; Ps. 24:3).

“Mount Moriah” only appears one more time in the Hebrew Bible, as the location where the events of David’s great test take place in 2 Samuel 24.

2 Chronicles 3:1 CSB

1 Then Solomon began to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

when the narrator is telling us about where Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, he built it on the hilltop that he called Mount Moriah.

So in other words, in biblical memory, the place where this whole drama is happening is the place where the temple and the altar that offers up ‘olah offerings morning and evening, it happens here.

in other words, this story is even designed with an eye towards where there'll be a memorial ‘olah offering going, offered day and night as a symbol of God's desire to commune and be one and reconciled with his people. 

And so think from Abraham's point of view, he doesn't know, but from the biblical author's point of view and the exiles, so to speak, and the people reading the TaNaK, this is the foundation of the altar. This is the story that explains why the altar is sitting on that place where you've been going since you were a little kid every Passover. 

Abraham Silence

Now another question has come up in recent years. and i recomend a

Middleton, J. Richard. Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021.

for more information

This book discusses the Aqedah, or the Binding of Isaac, and presents a critical interpretation of Abraham's actions in Genesis 22.

Initially, the author reflects on their acceptance of Abraham's obedience as a model of faithfulness, but over time, they question this traditional view.

The author argues that a loving God would not demand such a sacrifice and highlights the biblical precedent for questioning divine commands, as seen in the intercessions of figures like Moses and Job.

The author contrasts Abraham's silence during the Aqedah with his earlier boldness in challenging God regarding Sodom's fate.

They note that Abraham's lack of protest for Isaac raises questions about his understanding of God's character.

The text also examines the implications of Abraham's actions on his family dynamics, suggesting that the trauma of the Aqedah may have led to a fractured family life, particularly affecting Isaac and his relationship with God.

The author critiques the angel's affirmations of Abraham's faithfulness, suggesting that these may not represent divine approval but rather highlight Abraham's failure to discern God's merciful nature.

They propose that the Aqedah serves as a teaching moment for Abraham, emphasizing the need for discernment and intercession rather than blind obedience.

Ultimately, the text calls for a reevaluation of the traditional interpretations of the Aqedah, advocating for a reading that acknowledges the complexities of Abraham's character and the consequences of his actions.

Ultimately, the text advocates for a fresh interpretation of the Aqedah, emphasizing the need for discernment of God's character and the importance of intercession and protest in the face of divine commands.

The author imagines an alternative ending where Abraham's protest could have fostered a healthier relationship with Isaac and a more positive legacy regarding the understanding of God.

SO in this view he may have passed the test on one hand trusting God, but he failed to see God’s character and be bold in the face of God.

So he passed and failed at the same time

Abraham Surrenders Isaac

Bibliography

https://bibleproject.com/classroom/abraham

Middleton, J. Richard. Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021.

Cotter, David W. Genesis. Edited by Jerome T. Walsh, Chris Franke, and David W. Cotter. Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2003.

Josephus, Flavius, and William Whiston. The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987.

Richard N. Longenecker, “The Melchizedek Argument of Hebrews: A Study in the Development and Circumstantial Expression of New Testament Thought,” in Unity and Diversity in New Testament Theology: Essays in Honor of George E. Ladd (ed. Robert Guelich, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), 161.

https://bible.org/article/melchizedek-covenantal-figure-biblical-theology-eschatological-royal-priesthood#P8_421

Anders Aschim, “Melchizedek and Jesus: 11QMelchizedek and the Epistle to the Hebrews,” in The Jewish Roots of Christological Monotheism: Papers from the St. Andrews Conferences on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus (eds. Carey Newman, James Davila, and Gladys Lewis, JSJSup. 63; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 130.

Paul J. Kobelski, Melchizedek and Melchiresa (CBQMS 10; Washington DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1981), 126-7.

https://bible.ca/manuscripts/Septuagint-LXX-Shem-was-Melchizedek-Masoretic-chronology-Messiah-Jesus-Christ-priesthood.htm

https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/history-circumcision-0010398

https://www.gotquestions.org/city-gate.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/hand-under-thigh.html