The Isaac Test
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The Isaac Test
The Isaac Test
Gen 22:1-
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.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
The Context
The Introduction of Abram and Sarai into Scripture
Gen
And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.
And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.
And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
God Calls Abram in a Special Calling
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Age 75 Years Old
Takes his Nephew Lot (even though God told him to leave all of his father’s family behind).
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
He failed the test.
, Abram and Lot separate due to a disagreement between their herdsmen.
Lot chooses Sodom.
, Neighboring Kings rise against the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies and defeat them. In plundering the cities for spoil, they take Lot and all of his possessions.
Abram arms 318 of his servants, pursues the conquering army, and prevails against them, reclaiming Lot and all of his goods.
God Makes A Covenant With Abram
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
Abram tries to produce the promise in his own understanding.
Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Character Change
Abram to Abraham
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Gen 17
Sarai to Sarah
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Gen 17:1
, A renewed promise of Isaac comes.
Sarah Laughs at the thought of such a miraculous event happening at her old age.
, Abraham begs for God not to destroy Sodom.
God agrees to spare it if there were only 10 people there who could be found living Righteously.
, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s family issues surface. 2 ungodly nations (Moabites and Ammonites) are birthed as a result of the wickedness in Lot’s children.
, The promise of Isaac is almost tainted.
Abraham journeys to Gerar and in fear of the king, gives Sarah over to him to be as a concubine of sorts.
God does not want anyone being confused on who’s boy the promised child will be. So, He shows the kind through a dream that Sarah is Abrahams Husband and the King does not touch her in any sexual manner.
, Isaac is Born!
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
Gen 21:1-
, Abraham has to force out Hagar and Ishmael.
God promises to establish them as a nation as well.
, Abraham Makes an Agreement with Abimelech about a well of water. And there Abraham calls upon the Name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. (v33)
And that Brings us to our main text in .
The Isaac Test
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.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.
1 - the nature of the test (burnt offering). Absolute Sacrifice. Absolute Trust.
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.
God led Abraham to absolute surrender by testing him within his environment.
Genesis-II (Chapters 12–50) (King James Version) R. Abraham Sacrificed Isaac: Supreme, Sacrificial Faith—The Steps to Absolute Surrender, 22:1–24
God led Abraham to absolute surrender by testing him within his environment. God always has to use the language and the things of a man’s environment if He wishes His message to be communicated and understood. In Abraham’s day the sacrifice of human beings was the supreme act of worship by some heathen religions, for example Canaanite religions. A worshipper who offered his own flesh and blood was thought to be offering the supreme sacrifice. He was proving that he loved his god supremely, above all else.
When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham knew exactly what God was saying to him. He was to make the supreme sacrifice, prove that he loved the only true and living God above all else. Abraham knew that God was after the absolute surrender of his heart, his will, his spirit
God always has to use the language and the things of a man’s environment if He wishes His message to be communicated and understood.
In Abraham’s day the sacrifice of human beings was the supreme act of worship by some heathen religions, for example Canaanite religions.
A worshipper who offered his own flesh and blood was thought to be offering the supreme sacrifice.
He was proving that he loved his god supremely, above all else.
When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham knew exactly what God was saying to him.
He was to make the supreme sacrifice, prove that he loved the only true and living God above all else.
Abraham had time to
Abraham knew that God was after the absolute surrender of his heart, his will, his spirit.
- the age of Isaac (most scholars believe he was anywhere between 25-37 years old)
1. facing God’s demand for absolute sacrifice, His highest demand (vv. 1–2).
2. thinking through the sacrifice
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
3. trusting God and His power to raise up and use the sacrifice
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Gen 22:5-8
4. following through with the sacrifice
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
The age of Isaac (most scholars believe he was anywhere between 25-37 years old)
5. experiencing God in a Brand New Way. The root of the Test.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
Gen
6. a promise renewal
And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
This remarkable episode brings together the events in the Abraham narrative to a pinnacle moment.
This is the Test that Abraham was created for.
This is the Test that Abraham was called for.
This is the Climax of Abraham’s life.
Genesis-II (Chapters 12–50) (King James Version) R. Abraham Sacrificed Isaac: Supreme, Sacrificial Faith—The Steps to Absolute Surrender, 22:1–24
1. Step 1: facing God’s demand for absolute sacrifice, His highest demand (vv. 1–2).
2. Step 2: thinking through the sacrifice (vv. 3–4).
3. Step 3: trusting God and His power to raise up and use the sacrifice (vv. 5–8).
4. Step 4: following through with the sacrifice (vv. 9–10).
5. Step 5: experiencing God’s acceptance and provision (vv. 11–14).
6. Step 6: having God’s promises renewed to one’s heart (vv. 15–18).
We see the striking connections between and are the twin commands, lit., “Go by yourself from your country … to the land I will show you” (12:1) and lit., “go by yourself to the land of Moriah … I will tell you about” (22:2).
The New American Commentary: Genesis 11:27–50:26 13. Abraham’s Test (22:1–19)
This remarkable episode brings together the foregoing events in the Abraham narrative by means of allusion. Among the striking connections between 12:1–9 and 22:1–19 are the twin commands, lit., “Go by yourself [lek lĕkā] from your country … to the land I will show you” (12:1) and lit., “go by yourself [lek lĕkā] to the land of Moriah … I will tell you about” (22:2). Both episodes share in many features: (1) the patriarch is commanded to separate from family, “[from] your country, your people and your father’s household” (12:1), and “take your son, your only son, Isaac (22:2)”; (2) he faithfully carries out the divine instructions, which ends in promise of blessing and in the patriarch’s worship (“built an altar,” 12:7; 22:9).558
Both episodes share in many features: (1) the patriarch is commanded to separate from family, “[from] your country, your people and your father’s household” (12:1), and “take your son, your only son, Isaac (22:2)”;
Abraham faithfully carries out the divine instructions, which ends in promise of blessing and in the patriarch’s worship (“built an altar,” 12:7; 22:9).
But, in chapter 12, he only carried out part of the command. He brought Lot when God asked him to leave him behind.
In , Abraham takes the test again...
but this time..
He Passed the Test
He Passed the Test
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Sometimes the Test seems to ask too much, even once it seems past.
Abraham and Isaac didn’t see Sarah alive again.