Genesis 22

Genesis 22:1 HCSB

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.

After these things

Following the incredible stress and tension Abraham faced in his family, he entered a period of unprecedented tranquility. He experienced harmony in his family, and he was at peace with his neighbors. More importantly, his relationship with God grew deeper and more meaningful than ever before. He had no greater friend than the One he had come to know and love as the Almighty and Everlasting God (Gen. 17:1; 21:33).

At the human level, Abraham's greatest source of fulfillment focused on his young son, Isaac. As they climbed the gently rolling hills surrounding Beersheba and together viewed the beautiful and productive country to the north, I am confident they often reflected on God's promise to give Abraham and his descendants that land. Isaac's youthful and expectant spirit certainly ignited the old man's heart with incredible joy and excitement. Memories must have often flooded Abraham's soul reminding him of God's faithfulness.

From Genesis 21, we find Abraham in peaceful prosperity and in treaty with his neighbors, the Philistines. Abraham was also a very rich man with great wealth in cattle in a well-watered and fertile land. Isaac was growing up to young manhood and was his chief comfort and hope in the world. But times of prosperity are often times when trial is needed for us, and so we find that God brought Abraham to this supreme test of his life through his son Isaac.

God tested Abraham

First was the “family test,” when he had to leave his loved ones and step out by faith to go to a new land (11:27–12:5).

the “famine test,” which Abraham failed because he doubted God and went down to Egypt for help (12:10–13:4).

Once back in the land, Abraham passed the “fellowship test” when he gave Lot first choice in using the pastureland (13:5–18).

He also passed the “fight test” when he defeated the kings (14:1–16)

and the “fortune test” when he said no to Sodom’s wealth (14:17–24).

But he failed the “fatherhood test” when Sarah got impatient with God and suggested that Abraham have a child by Hagar (Gen. 16).

When the time came to send Ishmael away, Abraham passed the “farewell test” even though it broke his heart (21:14–21).

Abraham’s Failures

Sometimes we tend to idealize Bible people. We forget that, while they were giants in many ways, they were also all too human. In fact, before we look at the faith of a man like Abraham, we need to realize that he was, like all believers, far from perfect!

We have an early indication of Abram’s flaws in Genesis 12. Abram had been called by God to go to a land which the Lord Himself chose. He had obeyed in an act that required real faith. But once in the land, Abram’s faith was shaken by a famine. Rather than trust God or wait for further direction, he went to Egypt. There he continued to show lack of trust by getting Sarah to tell a half-truth about their relationship, to deny she was his wife. Fear that he might be killed outweighed his commitment to his wife! Even when she was taken in Pharaoh’s household, Abram did not reveal their relationship. Instead he profited in silence from the favor extended to the supposed brother!

Abraham’s tendency to rely on his wits rather than on God also is shown in the events leading up to the birth of Ishmael. Some 10 years passed while Abraham waited for God to send the son He had promised. Finally Sarah began urging him to take her maid as a secondary wife. Even though this was a custom of the land, it took Sarah’s nagging to make him take action. He “hearkened to [obeyed] the voice of Sarai” (16:2, kjv). Perhaps Abram thought he would “help” God keep His promises! Perhaps he felt that 86 was just too old to wait any longer. In any case Abram did not consult God. He simply went ahead, without direction, relying on his own plan to fulfill God’s purposes. Self reliance and self-effort took the place of trust in God.

And Then, how stunning. Abraham repeated the sin he did in Egypt! Again Abraham misrepresented Sarah as only his sister, and she was placed in the harem of a king named Abimelech. God protected Sarah even though her husband was not willing to, and before Abimelech came to her God spoke to him in a vision. Abimelech, fearful at the divine visit, complained to Abraham that he might have led the king into unknowing sin! Abram’s reply was weak (20:11–12). Abraham was worried, afraid that the people of the foreign land they visited might not fear God, and thus might kill him for Sarah. Abraham feared for his life—but not for his wife!

Abraham apparently had not stopped to think that though a particular people might not know God, God knew them! There was no place that Abraham could go to be beyond the protection of the Lord. Yet, even after an earlier rebuke in Egypt, Abraham repeated the same sin and let fear and selfishness control his choices.

No, the Abraham we meet on the pages of the Bible is no idealized man. He is a man we need to see both as weak, and as a willful sinner.

Life Application :

We can find many things to praise in Abraham. In this too Abraham is like each of us. We’re not totally bad—not totally good. We are a strange mixture of admirable traits, and traits that in all honesty must be labeled despicable. Abraham was a man whose best traits are flawed by the mark of Adam’s sin. In him as well as in all believers lie weakness and willfulness. God’s image is there, but so is the unmistakable stamp of Adam’s Fall.

It is just this fact that makes Abram such an important illustration of Bible truth. No, he cannot be held up as an illustration of the goodness of man. He is, instead, an example of the fact that God cares for, and gives His salvation to, the unworthy!

The understanding that this is a test alerts us to the truth that growth in faith involves testing. As God tests our faith, it is stretched and thereby grows. Here Abraham's faith was going to be stretched to the utter limit, and because he held firm, his faith has become the grand faith-example in history. We see from this that the way to increase faith is to exercise faith.

Trust God as you can, and he will give you so much more than you expected—and then you will trust him even more! It is also important to see that this test came after substantial spiritual growth and blessing. Abraham's recent success and growth was the ground for greater testing and growth.

said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.

As such Abraham responds, “Here am I,” placing himself completely at God’s disposal.

Three times Abraham is addressed and three times he answers, “Behold, here I am.”

(1). v. 1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

(2). v.7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

(3). V. 11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He replied, “Here I am.”

That is the most we know about the location of Abraham. He stands before a word. He is addressed. He answers immediately and faithfully. His response to Isaac in the second speech is the same as his response to God in the first and third speeches.

Life Application:

What we learn here is when we stand before The Word there should be no:

Delay

Dispute

Disobeying

Now that God has told Abraham to send Ishmael away, the stage is set for the supreme test of his faith. We must keep this passage in context:

Abraham is going to be tested in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, his only son of promise. Sending Ishmael away is preparation for the supreme test of Abraham’s faith. If Abraham still has Ishmael when it is time to offer Isaac, he might think even if he lost Isaac, he would still have a son in Ishmael. Thus, the offering of Isaac would require much less faith and have much less meaning.

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham (22:1a).

The word tempt (nacah, naw-saw) means "to test," so this story is a test of Abraham's faith. It reminds us a growing faith requires testing. When God tests our faith, it stretches and grows. God is now going to stretch Abraham's faith to the limit.

The Bible tells us: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience (James 1:3).

What is the result of patience finishing its work in us, according to James 1:4?

“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.”

1. Take

Three Expressions:

Your Son- Special Offering

Emphasizes the special relationship between Abraham and Isaac and underlines the harshness of the demand to sacrifice Isaac.

Only Son - Sacrificial Offering

The expression your only son is emphatic and means the only son you have, which reb translates “your one and only son.” Ishmael, of course, is also Abraham’s son, but Isaac is the heir to the promise made to Abraham. Now that Ishmael has been sent away, Isaac is the only son.

Whom You Love -

Whom you love is a second expression added to son. This is the first occurrence of the word love in Genesis. The term or expression used to translate love in this context must be appropriate for love of children. In some languages the word for love toward a person’s relatives or children is different than love in a general sense or love for objects. It may be that a figurative expression is most appropriate; for example, “your only son for whom your heart is warm,” or “your son who makes your innermost to be at ease.”

In some languages the whole expression your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, in which four different items of information are linked with the simple term son, is altogether too heavy to be included in a longer sentence. It may therefore need to be made a separate sentence leading up to the main command; for example, “You have only one son, Isaac, and you love him very much. Take this boy.…”

Abraham is reminded of the dearest possession of his life, and is asked to give to God his best.

2. Go

It was a personal test for Abraham, who was called by name. It was also a lonely test, for God’s command was not one to share with the mother of an only son. Abraham therefore bore the full force of the instruction to offer up as a burnt offering ‘your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love’. The threefold description rules out any possibility of misunderstanding. Abraham stifles all questions and comments, and simply does as he is told. It is about 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Beersheba to Mount Moriah, if the traditional identification of Mount Moriah with the Jerusalem temple site is correct. Even with an early start it would indeed be the third day before their destination came in sight. Abraham sustained himself by counting on the Lord’s statement, ‘through Isaac shall your descendants be named’ (21:12), believing ‘that God was able to raise men even from the dead’ (Heb. 11:19).

3. Offer

It Didn't Make Sense

What God asked Abraham to do It Didn't Make Sense . From every human point of view, it was contradictory and inconsistent with the Lord's prior communication. God had promised Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Isaac. It was to be "an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him" (Gen. 17:19). But suddenly and without warning, God spoke to Abraham and said: "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about" (22:2). What made God's command not make sence is that Isaac was the promised seed, the product of a miraculous conception. All of Abraham's future children were to come from this son. It didn't make sense by any stretch of the imagination for God to ask Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, to take his life, to literally cut the lifeline that would be the channel through whom God had said He would carry out His promise. There was no earthly way to harmonize God's previous promise with His present command. Try to put yourself in Abraham's sandals. From his perspective, every detail of God's command was clear. There was no escape route. There were only two alternatives for Abraham: obedience or disobedience. If Abraham chose to obey, it could not be partial obedience. This meant following through on every detail in God's command. It's a choice Abraham made.

I. The Painful Cloud of Abraham 3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, 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.

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

The scriptures tell us that Abraham rose up early the next morning. He did not delay his decision; he did not set the alarm clock to ring latter in the day. He willingly and obediently arose for the coming task. The aged old father boldly arose; he goes and prepares the wood that he would sacrifice his son upon. He saddles the beast of burden that will help carry the load. He requires that two of his servants take the journey along with himself and his son. I see him embracing the commission from his God, but how thick was the cloud surrounding him?

Focus on promises, not explanations (Gen. 22:3–5)

Our faith is not really tested until God asks us to bear what seems unbearable, do what seems unreasonable, and expect what seems impossible.

Whether you look at Joseph in prison, Moses and Israel at the Red Sea, David in the cave, or Jesus at Calvary, the lesson is the same: We live by promises, not by explanations.

Consider how unreasonable God’s request was. Isaac was Abraham’s only son, and the future of the covenant rested in him. Isaac was a miracle child, the gift of God to Abraham and Sarah in response to their faith. Abraham and Sarah loved Isaac very much and had built their whole future around him. When God asked Abraham to offer his son, He was testing Abraham’s faith, hope, and love; and it looked like God was wiping out everything Abraham and Sarah had lived for.

II. The Powerful Courage of Abraham

5 Then 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.”

In this passage we see inside the heart and the mind of one of God's most cherished servants. He allows the servants to go only so far in this journey. In obeying God, sometimes we have to walk alone. The courage of this father is unique and awesome. He tells the servants that they must wait; he and the boy are going to yonder mountain to worship. He was not going to yonder mountain to cry, he was not going to bargain, he was going there to worship. In his ultimate surrender, in this most crucial hour, he would be found worshipping.

III. The Precious Commitment of Abraham 6 Abraham 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.

7 Then 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?”

8 Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.

9 When 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.

10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He replied, “Here I am.”

12 Then 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.”

As they come to the foot of this mountain, the young son proposes this question to his dad, where is the sacrifice? The young man understood that something great was about to occur, but he had no perception of all that was to be involved. The loving father tenderly took the wood off of the donkey and laid it upon the shoulders of Isaac. He took the fire and handed it to his son; he gripes the knife, the knife that would take the life from his precious son's body. I can see the two walking up this mountain, the mountain that was chosen of God. This would be the mountain that God would allow his only son to travel up in the ages to come. If we look real close we should see a glimpse of glory as the two of them climb this mountain, hand in hand, hip to hip, heart to heart. The love of this dad for his son had never been greater than on this day. In this challenging crisis one must look beyond the love of a father for his son and see the love a man for his God. In each step of this journey, Isaac was a dead man walking. The moment Abraham had left the home front, his son; his only son was a dead man. In this we see the most precious loyalty and love that any man could have for his God. Abraham laid the boy down, the fire was ready, and the wood was ready. In the shadows of this mount was the God of Abraham, he was watching, he was smiling. The God of Abraham had a front row seat in the penultimate arena of human history. Abraham had told the servants that he and the lad were going to the mount to worship, but they would return. In facing the ultimate crisis of his life, Abraham had no idea how God would live up to his part of the deal, but he knew how he would was going to respond. He was going to sacrifice his son and he was going to pick up the knife. The moment Abraham picked up the knife, at that very moment God accepted that Isaac was a dead son. At this very moment God accepted the full surrender and ultimate loyalty of his servant. As the most critical crisis evolves in our lives, we can rest be assured that it is possible to maintain our faith and find resolve to worship God. As the two walk up this mountain, I can see the hand of God beckoning the ram to come up the other side of this same mountain. I don't know exactly how Abraham felt as he went up the mountain, but I can have assurance in how he went down that mountain. He went down worshipping and praising his Lord and Maker. The dawning of this day had been dark, but the darkness had now been defeated upon the top of heartbreak hill.

Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Obedient, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1991), 108.

The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Ge 22:2.

William David Reyburn and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998), 487.

Genesis: A Devotional Commentary - Genesis, Volume 1: Chapter 1 to Chapter 25 and Verse 10.

Men of Character - Abraham: Standing Firm for God.

The Bible Speaks Today - The Message of Genesis 12-50: From Abraham to Joseph.

Crisis Worship—Is It Possible?.