Genesis
22:1-18
Abraham
Sacrifices Isaac as Burnt Offering
After much ordeal,
Abraham finally received God’s promise of a descendent through Sarah at the age
of hundred. The son’s name was Isaac. But what was about to happen proved to be
the greatest test of his life.
Genesis chapter 22
records the event that God tested
Abraham by giving him a command, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you
love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on
one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Gen. 22:2).
This echoes the
first-time God called Abraham, “Go from your country and your kindred and your
father's house to the land that I will show you.” (12:1)
In the first call, God
requested that Abraham gave up his old identity and culture so that he would
embrace a new identity—father of many nations and the promise of possessing land.
Fast forward
twenty-five years to our present story, God wanted Abraham to give up that very
promise. Abraham was now being asked to give up his blessed future.
Dear brothers and
sisters, following God is not just a matter of one-time commitment. For Abraham
it means life-long commitment with more than a few unexpected demands along the
way.
How could Abraham be
the father of many nations if he sacrificed Isaac? In the past, Abraham
experienced God as just, loving, and faithful. Has God changed? The pagans of
Canaan did sacrifice their sons to the gods. Could Abraham’s devotion to the
LORD match the pagan’s devotion to the gods? Would Abraham let go of his God-given
precious son?
Has Abraham’s faith
been motivated by personal gain, that is his God-given precious son, or simply
by his love for God? We are eager to know the answer too.
God does test people
so that they can become stronger in faith and the depth of their reverence and
obedience to Him can be shown (Exod. 16:4; 20:20; Deut. 8:2).
Scripture does not
indicate whether Abraham had an internal struggle. It only documented his
actions. We will try to see his internal condition through his actions.
Abraham “rose early in
the morning” (22:3).
This shows that
Abraham was determined to act promptly. But, at the same time, his past hurt
was brought back to mind, because he also “rose early in the morning”
previously to send Ishmael away into the wilderness (21:14).
Now, what should
Abraham tell his wife and son regarding this unreasonable request from God?
Abraham was all alone as he faced such a sad and tragic moment!
Abraham cut the wood
for sacrifice, gathered two servants and his son, saddled his donkey and set
out on the journey.
The narrator details
each action here, slowing down the narrative pace. The “slowing down” heightens
the tension of the scene and alludes to the internal struggle of Abraham.
Father and son travelled
for three days.
“Three days” is ample
time for Abraham to consider all the consequences of what he has been asked to
do. What kind of conversations did Abraham have with his son? Along the way,
did Abraham waver and think of turning back? This was a desperate journey!
On third day, Abraham
saw Mount Moriah from afar. He told his servants, “I and the boy will go over
there and worship and come again to you.” (v.5)
Apparently, Abraham’s
resolve does not weaken!
“We will come again to
you” reveals Abraham’s extraordinary faith—a faith that believes to the end, a
faith that is unafraid of death. Hebrews 11:19 says, “Abraham considered that
God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead.”
I think, Abraham
believed that God had a way to honor His promises that he would anyhow have
many descendants through Isaac. He accepted that the future is in the safe
hands of God, even though God’s decisions and requests do not always make
sense.
And then Abraham
placed the wood of the burnt offering upon Isaac and held the fire and the
knife in his own hands. Isaac carrying the wood up the mountain as the
sacrifice typifies Jesus carrying the cross up the hills of Golgotha. The
difference is that Jesus knew His mission but Isaac was ignorant of it.
“Behold, the fire and
the wood,” said Isaac to his father. “But where is the lamb for a burnt
offering?”
Abraham could not tell
Isaac what he was told by God but he showed great faith. He said, “God will
provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (v. 8).
The word “provide”
means “see” in the Hebrew original. On the dark road toward sacrificing his own
son in response to God’s call, Abraham used the eyes of faith to “see” that God
will “see” him. He is a man of great faith!
When they finally came
to Mount Moriah, Abraham built an altar, set the wood in place, tied up Isaac,
and placed him on the wood of the altar. He was willing to forgo every aspect
of the promised blessing for the sake of his obedience to God.
So, he raised his arm,
ready to plunge the knife into his son…
At that instant, an angel
of the LORD called out to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham! Do not
harm your own son!”
Abraham said, “Here am
I.” And he lifted up his eyes and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.
He took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of Isaac.
Abraham named that
place “Jehovah-Jireh”—the LORD will provide, as a memorial to the God who
“sees” humanity so that humanity may see Him, experience Him, and truly know
Him.
Abraham’s action of
taking up the knife to plunge into Isaac shows that he was ready to offer the
sacrifice. In fact, the sacrifice was already made and God had accepted it. The
reader also understands that God was not at all interested in the practice of
child sacrifice of the Canaanites.
God said to Abraham,
“Now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only
son, from Me.” (v. 12) This echo verse two, “Take your son, your only son
Isaac, whom you love.” This forms an inclusio.
The tension of the narrative is finally resolved here.
For the faith and
obedience of Abraham shown through this test, not only did God prepare for
Abraham a ram, He also proclaimed blessings upon Abraham, and renewed his
promise to Abraham.
In that, Abraham is
assured that his descendants will be as “numerous as the stars in the sky and
as the sand on the seashore”, and through them all nations of the earth will be
blessed (vv.17-18).
Pay Any Price to Cling
on God
The story of Abraham
sacrificing Isaac tells us that the greatest test in life does not come from
difficulties in life, adversities, loss, and pain.
The greatest test
comes from paying a great price in order to carry out the word of God although
all that we can see is a gloomy and grim future.
Or put it in another
way: God often leads
us into risky, incomprehensible or impossible situations. Do we then submit to
God’s leading or run away?
One who passes such a
test is worthy to be called a “God fearer” and meets the requirement of loving
the LORD with all his or her heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Abraham’s sacrificing
of Isaac is akin to sacrificing himself and his own future because Isaac was
his only legacy. He is ever ready to “let go, and let God” in doing God’s will.
But this story does
not suggest that we can test God by putting our own or someone else’s life at
risk to prove a point.
Actually, if we truly
believe that God is love, just, and dependable, we will resolutely obey his
command. Abraham told his servants, “I and the boy will go over there and
worship and come again to you.” (v. 5)
Abraham believed that
Isaac might not necessarily be killed. Or, perhaps, God might raise Isaac from
the dead. He believed that God had a way to honor His promises, which was that
Abraham would have many descendants through Isaac.
“We will come again to
you” reveals his extraordinary faith – a faith that believes to the end, a
faith that is unafraid of death, and a faith that even transcends death.
The instructions that
God gave to Abraham may seem unreasonable and appear to contradict His
promises. How could Abraham become the father of many nations through Isaac if he died?
Abraham must now
decide between God’s promises and God Himself. The LORD is both hidden and
majestic. Abraham did not try to solve the mystery. Instead, he strove to
accomplish God’s command, because allegiance to God is the highest
manifestation of faith.
Abraham was loyal to
God and decided that offering everything up to God was more important than
insisting upon God’s promises. He revered God and was therefore not fearful of
losing his most beloved Isaac.
Today, God is also
calling us to obey His command. He wants us to worship and serve Him
reverentially and sacrificially. Are we willing even if what He wants us to
give up includes money, ambitions, the things we love, and our direction in
life? Are you willing to pay the cost of faith?
Let’s cling on to God,
revere Him, and be unafraid to lose our beloved “Isaacs.”
The NT authors
emphasize the point that Jesus is the descendant of Abraham. Indeed, the
Abrahamic promise in Genesis 12:1-3, which states that “all nations are blessed
through Abraham’s descendants” is fulfilled through Jesus Christ’s salvation
accomplished on the cross.
Romans 8:32 alludes to
this story of sacrificing Isaac, “God who did not spare His Own Son but gave
Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all
things?”
God unreservedly
sacrificed His Only Son Jesus on the cross for us. And Jesus is perfectly
obedient to the Father, to die on the cross, to bear the penalty for our sins
so that we can be delivered from sin and death. When we place our faith in
Christ, and persevere through in Christ, we will be saved and receive bountiful
blessing from God.
In response to such
great love of God to us, we ought to cling on God, and offer ourselves up to be
used by God even at a great price!
A grace that is taken for granted or that is not treated seriously is a
cheap grace! The salvation of Christ is not a cheap grace. The precious life of
the Son of God deserves our allegiance
and service at any cost.
Let Go and Let God, Then
Experience Jehovah-Jireh
When Abraham once
again dived into the deep ocean of faith, he experienced the marvelous grace of
God – he “saw” the substitutionary burnt offering ram. God will provide! “Jehovah-Jireh” shifts the focus from
Abraham’s obedience to God’s action.
The emphasis is, first
of all, God provides for those who obey Him with what is needed to fulfill
those demands. He also will bless them with so much more than what they have
lost.
And through God’s
providence and blessings, He reveals Himself so that human beings may meet Him;
know how true and gracious He is.
2 Chronicle 3:1,
records that the Temple was built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. For God’s
people, the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac was the prototype of Temple
offerings.
“Abraham offers Isaac”
reminds the people that they should come to offer sacrifices to God, to serve
Him, and to worship Him.
The lives of those who
come to worship and serve God are characterized by continual obedience to God
as they overcome unreasonable encounters in life. They believe that God will
certainly “see” them through the adversaries and finally reveal Himself to
them.
Faith and obedience
are inseparable.
James 2:21-23 says,
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac
on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was
completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham
believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’ —and he was called a
friend of God.”
Today, let’s trust
God and obey his will in our lives as he directs us, and also be committed in
worshipping, serving and giving to the Lord.
What is your struggle
now?
It could be: entering
full time seminary study or full time ministry; choosing a field of study;
taking up or stepping down from a ministry; marrying a life-long partner;
changing new job; migrating overseas; receiving baptism or not; giving to the
church (tithes or pledge) and etc.
God is truly loving,
faithful and gracious. Let’s submit to his leading. Doing God’s will require us
to pay a great price or venture into, or remain in a risky, uncertain or
incomprehensible situation.
But don’t run away
from him; “let go and let God” of our “beloved Isaac”, i.e.: parting with loved
ones, sacrificing our time, energy and money, or even our preferred plan for
the future.
In this way, we will
be set free from the chains and burdens in our lives, and experience
Jehovah-Jireh! This is the promise given by God to every worshiper: you will
see God’s work and bountiful blessing pouring onto your lives.
