Genesis 22

Verse 1,2,  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.

I.    In 12:1 - God commanded Abraham to leave his father and mother.

A.  When Abraham obeyed - it showed that he loved God more than his mother and father.

B.   When Abraham obeys in offering Isaac, it shows that he loves God more than his only son, Isaac.

C.   Luke 9:57-62 - God expects us to leave all and serve Him.

II.   After these things.

A.  After all the previous trials are ended.

B.   You would think that after such severe trials are over, Abraham could "take it easy".

1.   We should never expect to "take it easy" during this life.

2.   The trials we have had before or are facing now may (and probably are) preparing us for greater trials (and victories) in the future.

III. God tempted (tested) Abraham - Nobody else (Even Sarah or Isaac).

A.  James 1:12-15 - Satan always tempts to evil.

1.      This is not God's purpose in Abraham.

2.      Note the word "temptation " (testing) in verse 12.

B.   I Peter 1:7 - God is testing Abraham for good, not to sin.

1.   God is testing Abraham's obedience. (For Abraham's sake, not His sake!)

a.   We need to learn to obey God even if there is no apparent reason for obedience.

b.   We need to obey all of God's commands even if we think very little of the plan...

c.   Even if we think the opposite is true.

2.   God is testing Abraham to give up all he has

a.   God did not want Abraham to kill Isaac.

b.   God wanted Abraham to be willing to give up Isaac for Him.

c.   There is a lot of time, God wants us to be willing to give up things for Him.

d.   God may not want the object of our affection if we are willing to give it to Him.

IV. This trial is necessary.

A.  It's necessary because God saw that it was.  God also sees that we need testing in our lives to cause us to be strengthened.

B.   To cause Abraham to look to God, not Isaac.

1.   We all tend to look at the physical evidence instead of continuing to look at God.

2.      Isaac means "laughter".  Abraham's laughter will not be directed toward Isaac, but toward God who fulfills the promises in Isaac.

3.      Abraham will also trust God for future generations instead of trusting Isaac.

V.  Why would God ask for a human sacrifice when this is against His own laws??

A.     Scriptures

1.       Leviticus 18:21 – “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.” 

2.       Leviticus 20:2 – “Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.” 

3.       Deuteronomy 12:31 – “Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.” 

4.       Deuteronomy 18:10-11 – “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.” 

B.            Because (Prov. 23:7 - As a man thinketh in his heart so is he) God knows that if Abraham will offer an acceptable physical sacrifice, he must do so from the heart, and God desires all sacrifices to come from the heart.

1.   The only way we can see the belief in Abraham's heart is by his actions.

2.   God always expects us to show in our bodies what we believe in our hearts.

C.   In future years, God will use the "heart" faith of Abraham as a comparison against the "head" faith of those that say they follow Abraham. - John 8:39,40.

D.  We must remember that God knows He will not allow Isaac to be sacrificed.  By these events we can learn of Abraham's love for God, and Abraham can learn of God's love for him.

E.   God asks for "thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest."

1.      Doesn't ask for: bullocks or lambs, or servants, or the steward of his house, or Ishmael.

2.      Ishmael has been cast out to the grief of Abraham, only Isaac is left and now he must go!!

VI. People's reactions.

A.            Servants - no reaction for Abraham didn't tell them.

B.   Sarah - no reaction, for Abraham didn't tell her.

C.   Isaac - no reaction at first, Abraham didn't tell him anything yet. We will cover Isaac's reactions in verse 7-10.

D.            Abraham.

1.   Did not rebel at this command.

2.   The Bible did not say anywhere that he wept in sorrow for his son, or that he even shed a tear.

3.      Some say the phrase "lifted up his eyes" in verse 4 shows Abraham sorrowfully approached the "fatal" mountain.  If this is so the phrase "lifted up his eyes" in verse 13 also shows sorrow. I believe the phrase means just what it says with no thought of sorrow or joy.

4.   I believe Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac believing that he would bring him back with him. (verse 5).

D.  Why didn't Abraham tell anybody?  (This is Abraham's trial only.)

1.   God didn't tell him to!  So he didn't.

2.      This is an act of faith, and to some people it would seem ridiculous.

3.      Sarah and the servants would try to stop him from obeying God.  God didn't speak to anybody except Abraham.  Abraham doesn't need to follow anybody except God.

4.   His neighbors would think him crazy to wait so long for the promised son, then kill him when Isaac is supposed to become a mighty nation.  (Even today, many people can't understand why Israel killed Christ)

5.   I believe Abraham believed (verse 5) Isaac would return with him and (verse 8) God will provide himself (through Isaac) a sacrifice.

6.   I believe Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead and he would return home with the promised seed (Messiah {King} and Saviour).

7.      Note: I believe Abraham believed in a Saviour who would be killed for the sins of mankind and raise from the dead to show His power, and this Saviour would dwell with them eternally.

8.   To those that object to this thought (because Abraham was wrong) let it be remembered that even the apostles didn't fully understand the death, burial, and resurrection until after it was all over.

a.   John 13:36-38 - Peter doesn't understand about the crucifixion.

b.   John 20:9 - They didn't know the scripture that Christ must rise from the dead.

c.   Luke 24:11 - The resurrection seemed as idle tales.

d.   Luke 24:13-35 - The two disciples on the way to Emmaus, but didn't know Christ talked with them.

e.   Luke 24:36-43 - When the disciples saw the risen Christ, they could hardly believe it.

VII.      To the land of Moriah (means "Jah Provides").

A.  II Chron. 3:1 - Solomon build the temple on the land purchased by King David in I Chron. 19:18-27.

B.   It was in this place that Abraham offered his son Isaac as a type of Christ.

1.   It was in this place that many blood offerings were made for many years as a type of the suffering Saviour.

2.   The trust shown by Abraham was the kind of trust God wanted from each person who offered a burnt offering in Moriah.  (or anywhere else.)

C.   This ought to teach us to obey God in every detail of His commands.

1.      When we say that some of God's commands don't matter, we are revealing that we are stubborn and only do that which we can fully understand.  This means we are not walking by faith, but are walking by sight.

2.      Some of those "little" commands we don't follow may very well make a big difference in years to come.

3.      Matt. 5:17-20 - It's the breaking of those "little" commands that cause us to be least in the kingdom of God.

4.      Abraham could have disobeyed the command, making the offering in another place, but this would have ruined the type and without doubt, Abraham wouldn't have received the blessings he did.

Verse 3-4, 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.

IX. Steps in obedience.

A.  Got up early the next day.

1.   Do not delay in obeying God's commands.

2.      Didn't dispute with God about the command, but started out immediately.

B.            Immediate preparation for the journey.

1.      He'll take everything needed with him.

2.      Take no chances of missing a needed item.

3.   We need to prepare for worship.

a.   We can seldom suddenly stop worldly activities and just as suddenly enter sacred worship.

b.   We need time to settle down and get the world out of our mind and our mind upon God.

c.   The three day trip to Moriah will give Abraham time to get everything straight in his mind, and he doesn't change his mind.

Verse 5, 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.

C.            Separating from the servants - only Isaac and Abraham continue.

Verse 6, 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.

D.  Isaac carrying the wood has been compared to Jesus carrying the cross.  Except there is no scripture in all the Bible that says that Jesus carried His own cross!!

1.      Matt. 27:31,32 - Simon carrying the cross.

2.      Mark 15:20-21 - Simon carrying the cross.

3.      Luke 23:26 - Simon bearing the cross after Jesus.  The word "after" has been interpreted by many to mean Simon bore the cross after Jesus bore it.  If we let scripture interpret scripture, it means that Simon, carrying the cross, walked behind Jesus.

4.      John 19:16,17 - He, bearing the cross.  There is no name mentioned here at all.  If we let the other scriptures interpret this scripture, we will know that the "he" is Simon.

5.      There is no scripture in all the Bible that says that Jesus fell with the cross and they got somebody else to carry it.

6.      They commonly say Jesus ran out of strength and fell.  But they forget John 19:30 - Jesus was holding his head up and deliberately bowed his head and gave up the ghost. He still had plenty of strength left.

7.      Isaac carried the wood and another was sacrificed for him.  Simon carried the cross and another was sacrificed for him and all mankind.

Verse 7,8, 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.

X.   Isaac's question - Abraham's answer.

A.  Where is the lamb?

1.   He could see that detailed preparations had been made in everything.

2.   He had asked no question until this final phase of the journey.

B.            Abraham's answer

1.   A combination of love for his son and anticipating faith in God.

2.      Abraham has left the entire situation and its outcome to God.

3.   A prophetic answer showing that God will provide Jesus (himself) as the final blood offering.

C.   The answer satisfied Isaac.

1.   I don't suppose there is anything in Abraham's answer to lead Isaac to expect that he is the sacrifice.

2.      Isaac goes forth n complete trust in God and his dad.

3.      May God help young people to trust their parents faith and follow God as their parents direct.

Verse 9, 10, 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.

XI. The sacrifice.

A.  Built the altar - of earth (as was commanded).

B.   Laid the wood in order.

C.   Bound Isaac and laid him on the wood.

1.      Isaac does not rebel or ask any questions.  Isaiah 53:7 - Jesus opened not his mouth.

2.   The testing is for Abraham, not Isaac - therefore God gave Isaac grace to endure.  Abraham accepted the grace God gave to him.

3.      Isaac reached the same level of loving faith and trust in God as did Abraham, for he willingly offered himself to God.

4.      Matt. 26:42 - Jesus prayed for the fathers will to be done in the crucifixion.

D.            Abraham took the knife with the purpose in his heart to slay his son as a burnt offering to the Lord.

1.   A man looking on the scene would have to see the entire physical act and then would not know the man's heart.

2.   God looked on Abraham's heart and knew he would carry through the slaying as he (and Isaac) worshipped God.

Verse 11-14, And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. {12} 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. {13} 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. {14} And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

XII.      The Rescue of Isaac.

A.  The angel of the Lord.

1.      This is evidently Jesus Christ, not a "messenger", or an angel as we commonly think.

2.   The latter part of verse 12 "tine only son from me".

3.      This shows the sacrifices we give to God are given to Jesus.

4.      Today many people claim to worship Jesus and make no claim of worshipping God.  This is impossible.

5.   I Peter 1:2 - We worship God according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, through the blood of Jesus Christ.  All other worship is false worship.

B.   Called out of heaven.

1.   Phil 2:5-8 - Jesus was in heaven in the form of God before He came in the form of sinful man.

2.   God (Jesus) is everywhere, but He watches everything on this earth from heaven.

C.            Abraham, Abraham.

1.      Says his name twice to show urgency.

2.      Abraham recognizes the voice as the same in verse 1 and immediately obeys.

3.      John 20:27 - "My sheep hear my voice and follow me."

D.            Abraham is not to harm Isaac in any way.

E.   I know that thou fearest God.

1.      This does not mean that God didn't know before.

2.      Such a statement undermines the very nature of God and His knowledge, and foreknowledge.

3.      This means now God knows as a result of Abraham's actions.  God always expects us to act out in our bodies what we believe in our hearts.

4.      Now it is fully known to Abraham and Isaac.

5.   All the angels of heaven now know and are amazed at this great love, for they have all been watching.

6.      Now we know of the love of Abraham.  If this scripture hadn't been written, we would not know how much Abraham loved and trusted God.  We might read that Abraham loved and trusted God, but we can see by his actions that he loved God more than anything else.  This gives us a "measuring rod" for our love for God.

7.   I suppose Abraham and Isaac told this marvelous story when they got back home.  History tells us that the early history of the Jews was carried by word of mouth until they were written down by Moses.  Or, Abraham and Isaac told no one and God told Moses by inspiration and he wrote it down.

F.   God provided the burnt offering.

1.      Verse 8 - God would provide Himself (Jesus) as a burnt offering.

2.   God provided His own son (typified in the Ram) for our sins.

3.   II Sam. 24:24 - David bought Araunah's threshing floor because he wouldn't offer a burnt offering of that which cost him nothing.

4.   Our service to the Lord will cost us something.

5.   The Ram didn't cost Abraham or Isaac anything - and Christ suffering for us on Calvary didn't cost us anything.

G.   Jehovah jireh - The Lord will provide.  I shall not lack anything I want.

1.      Moriah means "Jah Provides".

2.      The name is still the same and Jehovah still provides.

H.    I have heard it preached that Abraham believed God would raise his slain son up as the redeemer of the world.

1.      I don’t believe this is the case.

2.      According to the verse 12, God declared that Abraham believed he was really going to kill his son, and that he would not be raised again.

3.      This verse is not saying that Abraham had an ulterior motive in killing his son - that he would be raised again.

4.      Abraham was simply doing what God commanded him to do, and he did not make any kind of rationalization about it, regardless of what men say about it.

5.      There is no scripture anywhere that remotely suggests that Abraham believed Isaac would rise from the dead and be the redeemer of the world.

6.      Abraham was showing great faith by killing his only heir - the one they had waited so long for.

7.      Abraham’s actions state that God is able to raise up an heir to him again - that God has shown him and that he believes that it is a small thing for God to cause children to be born, according to promise, when the physical body is completely incapacitated.

I.       Why did God say, “,,,for now I know that thou fearest God…” if God knows everything there is to know about there is to know about?

1.       Romans 4:1-3 records that Abram is justified by faith when he believes the promise of God.

2.       The time of Abram being justified by faith is found in Genesis 15:6, approximately 1913 BC.

3.       James 2:21 reveals that Abraham is justified by works after Genesis 15:6, in Genesis 22:1-1-14, approximately 1872 BC.

4.       At salvation, we are justified by faith before God.

5.       At the time of faithfulness, we are justified by works before God.

6.       God is saying to Abraham that his works are come before him and Abraham’s works show to God that he has been justified by faith.

7.       It is before God that people come to be saved, and it is to God that all our works are done.

8.       We do not come before people to be saved, nor do we do our works before people (to be seen of them).

9.       All works are done before God, who sees all.

Verse 15-19, And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, {16} 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: {17} 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; {18} And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. {19} So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

I.    The angel of the LORD called the second time - apparently the second time while Abraham and Isaac are on the mountain.

II.   The additional blessings.

A.  This blessing is similar to Gen. 12:1-3 and Gen. 15:4,5.

B.   This blessing today is more joyful and abundant.

III. The covenant.

A.  God swore by Himself.

1.      Heb. 6:13 - God swore by Himself to Abraham because He could swear by no greater.

2.      Continue reading in Heb. 6:13-18 (17,18) - God confirming the unchangeable-ness of His covenant, made the oath upon Himself.

3.      Num. 14:28 (26-29) - God swearing that rebels would fall in the wilderness. ("As I live").

4.      This is the only two times it appears that God swore by Himself.

5.   As sure as rebels died in the wilderness, God would bless Isaac.

6.      Note that the blessing came upon Abraham for obedience and ruin came upon Israel for disobedience.

B.            Because of Abraham's obedience.

1.   God always gives the best to those that leave the choice with Him.

2.   We must be willing to give up the thing (or person) we love most.  God starts with small things, and gives us grace until we can give up the thing most precious to us.

3.      There is always a greater blessing in giving up our loved ones to God than in trying to keep them for ourselves.

C.   In blessing I will bless thee.

1.      Abraham has assurance that the promised Messiah will come from him.

2.      Luke 1:73 (67-79) Zacharias, by the Holy Spirit, said that Jesus is the answer to the covenant given to Abraham.

3.   Gal. 3:14 - Jesus Christ is cursed that we might be saved from the curse.

4.   The ram (like Jesus Christ) is under the curse instead of Isaac (like sinners).

5.   We have salvation by faith.  Abraham was going to offer Isaac through faith.

D.            Multiplying I will multiply thee.

1.      Abraham was willing to give up his one son at God's command and God provided him with millions and millions of seed.

2.      Matt. 19:27-30 - God shall give us 100 times more in this life if we give up what He wants us to.  (This is not considering things He hasn't asked for.)

E.   Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

1.      Matt. 5:3-11 - (The Beatitudes).  Believers shall finally totally possess the earth (and new earth).

2.      Acts 1:6 - Israel desired Christ to establish His kingdom and put down all enemies (especially the Roman Government).

3.      Rev. 2:27 - God's faithful shall one day rule in the 1,000 year reign over the evil nations.

4.      Rev. 19:15,16 - Christ will rule in eternity with a rod of iron and be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

F.   A reconfirmation that God is giving additional blessings because of willing obedience.  Compare Abraham's willing obedience and consequent blessings to Jonah's forced obedience and consequent "blessings".

IV. Their return.

A.            Everything is going back as it was before except for the joy in their hearts and the additional blessing they will now receive.

B.   The outward appearance may be the same, but the inward appearance is different.

1.      When a person is first saved, his outward appearance will be unaltered, the change in inward.

2.      When a church is revived, the outward appearance of the people and its schedule of services may be the same - the change is inward.

C.   There is no evidence Sarah ever knew (or the servants, for that matter) what went on concerning the sacrifice of Isaac.

Verse 20-24, And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor; {21} Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, {22} And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. {23} And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother. {24} And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

I.    The genealogy:

II.   We don't know who told Abraham about Nahor and Milcah's children.  This must not have been important or God would have told us who it was.

A.  Twelve sons - Do you suppose Satan is trying to confuse the issue about who God is blessing?  If a person was looking for 12 sons as a sign of God's blessings, he would see them in Nahor, but it would be the wrong sign.

B.   Gen. 25:12-16 - Ishmael also had 12 sons.

1.      Ishmael is a type of the law.

2.      There is no doubt in my mind that Satan is copying God's plan and even doing it before God fulfills His plan.  this makes God look like the copy cat!

3.      Faith (plus following God's Word) will prove whose 12 sons belong to God's plan.