A bride for Isaac, Genesis 24

In our ongoing study of Genesis, we come today to one of the greatest love stories found in the Bible.  It is the story of Abraham finding a bride for his son Isaac. And though this is an actual history, there is also contained in it an allegory of God the Father finding a bride for his son, Jesus Christ.

The church is the bride of Christ.  Paul said in 2 Cor. 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.”  And God has appointed a bride for Christ, which is the church. 

We see the church as the bride of Christ as spoken of in Eph 5:25-27 which says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,  that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

We saw last week in our study of how Abraham offered up Isaac as a sacrifice, that Isaac was a type of Christ. Isaac was a type of Christ, in that both were were promised before their coming. Both Isaac and Christ appeared at the appointed time.  Both were conceived and born miraculously. Both were given a special name before birth. Both were offered up in sacrifice by the father. Both were brought back from the dead. Both were head of a great company to bless all people. And both prepared a place for their bride.

Now let’s look at the story of how this bride for Isaac comes about, bearing in the back of our minds that in many respects this serves as an illustration of the church being chosen as the bride for Christ.

And we find that this search for a bride is initiated by Abraham, Issac’s father. Genesis 24:1-4 “Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way.  Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, "Please place your hand under my thigh,  and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live,  but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Abraham has lived a life of faith in the promises that God had made to him, primarily concerning his seed who would live in the land of Canaan, and whose descendants would be a great nation through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed.  On the strength of that promise, Abraham had been willing to slay his own son, because he believed so strongly in God’s word concerning Isaac, that he believed that God was able to raise him from the dead.

But part of that promise was that Isaac would have descendants.  And at this time, Abraham is 140 years old, and Isaac is 40, and yet Isaac has not found a wife.  So I don’t suggest that Abraham is getting worried about God keeping his promises, but at the same time, Abraham would like to see it fulfilled in his lifetime concerning  Isaac finding a wife. Abraham and Isaac are living in tents in the wilderness, raising sheep, and there probably weren’t a lot of good prospects for a godly woman running around out there. So based on the promise of God, Abraham calls his servant to commission him to go find a wife for his son.

Now there has been some debate among Bible scholars as to who this servant is. It’s possible that it is Eliezer who he mentions in  Genesis 15:2, who he described as the oldest servant of his house.  But others see some significance in the fact that in this passage, he is unnamed.  As the unnamed servant, some see a type here of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit being a title, not a name, and thus might fit in this picture or type of the unnamed servant who carries out the Father’s will and seeks the bride.  And so in this passage you can see a picture of the work of the Trinity, Abraham being a picture of the Father, Isaac being a picture of the Son, Jesus, and the servant being a picture of the Holy Spirit.

That may be true.  But some Bible scholars see in the servant a type of the faithful messenger, or minister, who represents the Lord and faithfully delivers His word. I’m not sure which one I see there.  But the faithful minister by nature must also be empowered by the Holy Spirit if he is to be effective.  And so perhaps both are represented by the servant, who may or may not be Eliezer.

But notice the following about the servant.  He truly represented his master, not himself. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will testify of Me. So He told them that his master was great. He told them his master’s son was the heir. He sought out one who would leave her old home and live with the master’s son. And He pressed for a reply.

This oath that Abraham pressed upon the servant was to have him put his hand under his thigh.  This may seem indelicate to expand upon, but it was a rite that required that he put his hand under the area where the circumcision takes place, so that there might be a reminder of the covenant of circumcision and the promise to his descendants which would come from his loins. 

And notice that Abraham commissions the servant to go to his relatives to find him a wife. As I said, the land that they lived in was a land that was sparsely populated except in the cities, and they were pagan cities.  Abraham knows the value of finding a godly wife.  And the land of Haran is the place where some of his relatives lived.  We saw at the end of chapter 22 that his brother Nahor had married and had eight children, and so by this time there was undoubtedly another generation born unto them who still lived in Haran. And they would seem to be believers in the Most High God.  So Abraham has some confidence that there might be a suitable wife to be found there who was a believer.  In fact, out of all the possible characteristics that Abraham could be concerned that the wife of his son would have, this seems to be the only one that he mentions. Not that she be beautiful, not that she be able to cook.  But that she must be from the people of God.

It’s so important to find a mate that is a believer.  A marriage in which one is a believer and one is not, is a marriage that has little chance to survive.  Marriage in most cases has little chance to survive all the stress and difficulties of life, and without the Lord as the cornerstone for that marriage, there is very little chance for success.  The scripture says in 2 Cor. 6:14-15  “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?  And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?”

So this reference to finding a wife from Abraham’s family is a reminder that the bride of Christ must be of the family of God.  The passage in 2 Cor. 6 continues, saying, As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among [them]. I will be their God, And they shall be My people. Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

So in vs 5 The servant said to him, "Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?"  Then Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there!  The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there."  So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

It’s possible that Abraham is concerned that he might not live long enough to see his servant carry out his commission, and so he gives him very detailed instructions.  And one main concern that Abraham has is that if things don’t go as hoped, that he might take Isaac back to the land of Haran to find a wife.  And Abraham knows that would not be according to God’s plan.  God has promised to bless Isaac in this land, and if he should go back to Haran there is a good chance that he will stay there.  That’s a picture of those who have been chosen by God for salvation going back to the world.  As the scripture we just read in 2 Cor. 6 indicates, God says come out from among them and by separate. Do not touch what is unclean. It is a terrible thing to go back to the defilements of the world once you have been cleansed of it.

Vs10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master's in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.  He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water.  He said, "O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham.  Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;  now may it be that the girl to whom I say, 'Please let down your jar so that I may drink,' and who answers, 'Drink, and I will water your camels also'--[may] she [be the one] whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”

First notice that ten camels bearing gifts would have been a sign of a very wealthy man.  Abraham was very rich in the world’s goods. So the servant takes this very long trip, perhaps 900 miles, and which would have taken many days, bearing the gifts of his master.  He goes to the town designated by Abraham and stops on the outskirts  where the women would go to the spring to get water. In that culture, it was the women’s job to fetch water. 

And so the servant prays to God, and presents to Him a sign that the woman who gives him water and also offers to water his camels would be the one that God had appointed for Isaac. There is an argument for election there for those that would want to press it.  The servant is not choosing, nor is the woman choosing Isaac, but God has appointed  a woman who will believe and respond. And the servant recognizing this fact, presents a sign for God to show him who it is.

It can be dangerous for us to judge God’s will based on circumstances. Because we tend to see circumstances in the light we want to see them, as they may or may not be in agreement with our desires.  But there is a difference in the servant’s approach in that he is not interpreting circumstances as they happen, but he presents them to God before they happen so that he may discern God’s will when and if they happen.

It’s also noteworthy that this is not some slight thing to expect of this young woman.  I read that a camel drinks about 20 gallons of water.  So this was going to take some time and a lot of energy.  I also read in the same place that since there were 10 camels and each drank 20 gallons, then it would have been a good hours worth of work. I take it that person who wrote that has never drawn water out of a well. This isn’t like turning on your tap and watching the buckets fill up.  This is hauling buckets from a well, probably one gallon at a time. 200 times. This woman would have to have forearms like Popeye to draw 200 gallons in one hour.  It would have taken quite a while, and a lot of strength.

I think that is a pretty good assessment of one of the most important assets in a good wife.  She needs to be strong.  Able to do a lot of hard work and not get tired. Now it also turns out that Rebecca is beautiful.  And that’s also very important.  But maybe being strong is more important. 

But seriously, I think this test reveals the servant’s idea of the most important quality in a wife. And that is she must have a servant’s heart. That is certainly a desirable character trait for the bride of Christ.  And I suppose it’s also an important characteristic of a good wife. That doesn’t mean that she is your slave, however.  But that she has a heart to serve, that is humble, and wants to satisfy the needs of her husband and family. That quality is a good thing to find.  And it’s interesting that the servant choses this characteristic of a servant’s heart to be the defining thing to show him who God has appointed.  Abraham’s servant cared nothing about the woman’s appearance. He wanted a woman of character, a woman whom God had chosen.

Vs 15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder.  The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.  Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar."  She said, "Drink, my lord"; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink.  Now when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking."  So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.  Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her in silence, to know whether the LORD had made his journey successful or not.

So it turns out that Rebecca is not only strong, not only has a servant’s heart, but is very beautiful. That’s a pretty rare combination, isn’t it? You might find one trait or another, but never usually all three together in one person. And when the Bible tells us that she is very beautiful, we should believe she was very beautiful. But that wasn’t the primary characteristic that God was looking for, nor what the servant was looking for.  That was icing on the cake.

But how is the church beautiful to Christ? In the Song of Solomon, the bride is said to be beautiful by the king over 15 times.  I would remind you of the scripture in Ephesians 5 we read earlier, which says, vs 25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,  that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. “ So the idea is spiritually beautiful, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless.  That’s the beauty that God finds attractive. 

Vs 22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, ($5000)  and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father's house?"  She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."  Again she said to him, "We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in."  Then the man bowed low and worshiped the LORD. He said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the LORD has guided me in the way to the house of my master's brothers.”

So it turns out that this is exactly the family that Abraham had wanted his servant to find.  And God providentially brought this young woman to him.  So he gives here the gifts of jewelry, showing the riches of his master.  And as the messenger of God, we should reveal the riches of God to those to whom we present the gospel. 

There is an interesting statement that the servant makes which is best known in the KJV.  “As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”  The statement of interest is “being on the way, the Lord led me.”  Someone has said that it’s hard to steer a parked car.  Being on the way indicates that before you know the final destination, or how it will all work out,  you go where the Lord has told you to go, and then as you are going, the Lord will lead you.  We step out in faith, and the Lord will lead us where we are to go.

So vs 29 through 49 the servant is invited to dinner with the family, the head of the family being the brother of Rebekah whose name is Laban.  The servant basically retells the entire story to Laban of how Abraham sent him, how he prayed to God about specific details concerning the woman, and how she responded.  He concludes in vs48 "And I bowed low and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. So now if you are going to deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, let me know, that I may turn to the right hand or the left." 

Vs 50, Then Laban and Bethuel replied, "The matter comes from the LORD; [so] we cannot speak to you bad or good.  "Here is Rebekah before you, take [her] and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."  When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the LORD.  The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

It was obvious from the account the servant gave, that the matter had been decided by the Lord.  They wisely said that they could not speak against it. But that didn’t mean that they were totally without guile. But I think that they were unable to argue against the wisdom of God.  And so the servant showed gifts of silver and gold and fine things upon her and her family.  And the church as well has received great riches as the bride of Christ, and an inheritance that is beyond our imagination.  As Paul said to the church in Ephesus, “[I pray that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,  and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18,19

Vs 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master."  But her brother and her mother said, "Let the girl stay with us [a few] days, say ten; afterward she may go."  He said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master."  And they said, "We will call the girl and consult her wishes."  Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go."  Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse with Abraham's servant and his men.  They blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, Become thousands of ten thousands, And may your descendants possess The gate of those who hate them."  Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Rebekah showed a remarkable willingness to leave everything she knew in order to be with a bridegroom she had never seen. Her words “I will go” were worthy words of faith.  I might even suggest that “I will go” could be interpreted as saying the modern marriage equivalent, “I do.” As the scripture says, “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.  Rebekah consented to join Isaac as his wife, a man she had never seen.  She committed to love him, a man she had never seen, but only heard about though the word of his servant.

What a picture of our commitment to Christ, whom we have not seen. As it says in 1 Peter 1:8-9 “whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see [Him], yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of [your] souls.”

Vs 62 Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the Negev.  Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.  Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel.  She said to the servant, "Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?" And the servant said, "He is my master." Then she took her veil and covered herself.  The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.  Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

I would point out that Isaac was out meditating in the field towards evening. I think that indicates that He was rehearsing the promises of God and praying about God’s fulfillment of those promises.  And the promise was fulfilled by the arrival of his bride. 

In all this, we see the coming together of Isaac and Rebekah as a remarkable picture of the coming together of Jesus and His church. A father desired a bride for his son. The son was reckoned as dead and raised from the dead. A nameless servant was sent forth to get a bride for the son. The beautiful bride was divinely met, chosen, and called, and then lavished with riches. She was entrusted to the care of the servant until she met her bridegroom.

Isaac loved his bride, and Jesus loves His Church. Both Rebekah and the Church: Were chosen for marriage before they knew it (Ephesians 1:3-4). Were necessary for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose (Ephesians 3:10-11). Were destined to share in the inheritance of the son (John 17:22-23). Learned of the son through his representative. Must leave all  to be with the son. Were loved and cared for by the son.

If you are here today and you have not responded to the call of God to become the bride of Christ, then I trust that today you will simply say, “I do.”  And be joined to Christ as His bride through the riches of salvation that He freely gives and to live with Him forever and share in the inheritance that He has prepared for you.  

The sacrifice of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-19

 

Faith is the most desirable characteristic of a person that would be approved by God. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. The most exceptional attribute of the life of Abraham was his faith.  Abraham is presented in chapter 11 of Hebrews as perhaps the greatest champion of faith in all of the Bible.  The apostle Paul in his writings gives Abraham as the supreme illustration of salvation, saying four times, that Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.  Abraham believed God. Not Abraham believed in God.  The devils believe in God and tremble, but they are not saved.  Abraham believed God.  He believed God’s word.  And it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 

So Hebrews lists three examples of the faith of Abraham as exemplary.  The first was when God told Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to a land that He show him. And Abraham believed God and went out, not knowing where he was going, but believing what God had promised him. 

The second example of faith was the birth of Isaac.  God had promised that from his seed would come a nation, from whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.  And so Abraham believed God and waited for 25 years for the son of promise to come.  He waited beyond the normal childbearing years of both his wife himself, until Hebrews says his body was as good as dead. And when all natural hope was gone, then God supernaturally caused Sarah to give birth to a son whom He named Isaac.

The third example of faith presented in Hebrews was Abraham offering up Isaac to God as a sacrifice, according to the word of God.  Hebrews summarizes it this way, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten [son;]  [it was he] to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED."  He considered that God is able to raise [people] even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”

Now it is to this third example of faith that we look at today, and in so doing we learn much about the nature of faith, the nature of worship, and the nature of atonement.  

As we begin chapter 22, many years have transpired since the birth of Isaac.  Some commentators believe that Isaac would have been a teenager about 17 years of age.  Some think that Isaac might have been as old as 25 years. I don’t know the correct answer, but let’s take an average and say he is about 21 years old.  He is a young man.  Abraham is about 120 years old by this point. Nothing is mentioned in this chapter about Sarah, but she would have been about 110 years old.  But the thing that should be especially noted is that Isaac was physically equal to or stronger than Abraham would have been at this time in his life, and well able to resist Abraham physically if he would have wanted to.

It’s also noteworthy that there has been over 20 years of God’s silence up to this point.  Prior the Isaac’s birth, God had been silent for 13 years.  I find that significant in light of many Christians that seem to hear a special message from God every other day.  They are always wanting to tell people what God said to them, as if they are so important that God speaks to them all the time in an audible voice, and with much more regularity than He ever spoke to Abraham or Moses.  I would suggest to you that in our times God has spoken fully and completely in HIs word, and He speaks primarily through His word. So if you are hearing voices then you probably should go see someone about that.  Abraham and Moses did not have the written word of God.  We do, and it is sufficient for every need, that we may be fully equipped for every good work.

Now let’s read the word, starting in chapter 22, vs 1.  “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."  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.”  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.”

First note that the scripture says that God tested Abraham. God didn’t tempt Abraham, he tested him.  A test is not designed to make one fail, but to make one grow. It is meant to reveal. And in this case, God means to test Abraham’s faith, to stretch it, to grow his faith, and to reveal his faith. And I would suggest that this test wasn’t just for Abraham’s sake, but for Isaac’s sake, and for Sarah’s sake, and for our sakes. 1Cor. 10:11 says, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

The soteriological implications of this test are indicated in Hebrews, as it says Isaac was a type.  That means that Isaac was a type of Christ.  And while that aspect of this test are very important, and we will get to that, it’s also important to learn some principles from Abraham’s response.

So notice Abraham’s response to God’s call of “Abraham.”  He says “here I am.”. That indicates a willingness to serve the Lord. It’s like roll call.  The teacher would call your name and you would say, “present.” Or “here.” I remember when my youngest daughter Melissa was very young.  She was very high spirited, to say the least.  And I would sometimes reprimand her in a very stern voice, “Melissa, stop that!” That often had no effect, and so I would say with an even harsher tone, and at a much higher decibel, “Melissa! Do you hear me?” And her lip would start to quiver, and she would answer, “Hear me.” I don’t think God was calling Abraham to reprimand him.  But Abraham showed by his immediate and submissive reply a willingness to obey the voice of the Lord.

God 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.”  There is a principle of hermeneutics which is known as the principle of first mention. That is, that the first time a word is used in scripture gives us some sense of the definition of that word. And there are a few words in this section that we find for the first time.  For instance, this is the first time that the word “love” is used in scripture.  And we learn here that Biblical love has in it the element of sacrifice.  The Greek word in the NT we often find used for love is agape.  And agape means sacrificial love.  Love in this instance in Genesis is used for the love of a father for his son.  But again, it’s a sacrificial love.

Interestingly, God uses this statement to speak of Isaac as Abraham’s only son, even though Ishmael was also Abraham’s son.  Perhaps because Ishmael was not the son that God had promised.  And also by this time Ishmael had been sent away, and so he was not the son of the covenant that God had made concerning his seed. It also is a picture of God sending His only begotten Son to die on the cross.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

However, what God was asking Abraham to do must have seemed completely contrary to the promise that He had given Abraham.  God had specifically said to Abraham that he would have a son from his own body, by His wife Sarah, that he should call his name Isaac, and that from Isaac would come a nation of descendants, though whom all the nations would be blessed.  So God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son was counter to what God had said would happen.  

However, that knowledge did not mean that Abraham was free to disobey. In those dark hours before the dawn, Abraham must have wrestled with this dilemma. And the only answer that he must have come up with was that if God wanted him to sacrifice his son, then God had to raise him from the dead.  Because the promise of God was irrevocable.  And Abraham knew that God could not lie.  God would keep His word.  Though this command seemed contrary to every thing that Abraham believed to be true, yet somehow God would be able to accomplish His word in spite of what seemed like the exact opposite.

God also told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah, on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.  This mountain is none other than the same mount that Solomon would one day build the temple on.  And so on that mountain in the future there would be thousands of lambs slain for the atonement of the sins of the people.  That mountain, by the way, was a three day journey for Abraham and Isaac.  One Bible scholar suggested that in Abraham’s mind, Isaac was already dead those three days, as he considered the terrible fate that lay in store for Isaac. 

Vs 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. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.  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.”

Notice that the scripture does not say that Abraham said anything to God after His command.  Abraham’s obedience was not by giving lip service, but getting up early in the morning and going to the mountain as God had said. I think if I would have been in Abraham’s place, I would have argued with God, pleaded with God, and then when that failed, I would have tried to delay going for as long as possible.  But Abraham does none of those things.  He gets up early. Abraham probably had not slept any more that night after God spoke with him, and so as soon as it was feasible, he got up and started his journey.  And notice that there is no record of how Abraham felt about this whole deal. His feelings are not taken into consideration.  Rather, in faith, he obeyed.

On the third day of traveling Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from a distance.  Little did he realize that what he saw what would one day be Jerusalem, the capital of the nation that he was promised, and he saw the mountain that the temple would be erected upon. But he did recognize the site for the sacrifice that he had been told he must make.

However,  the comment Abraham made to his servants is one that I do not want you to gloss over.  First of all, this is another first mention.  This time it is the word worship.  Worship means something very different to modern Christian congregations today.  If you ask people today what worship means, they might singing praise songs, or seeking God’s presence, or seeking God’s power.  But for Abraham, worship meant sacrificing his son.  Worship is loving God, and loving God is being obedient to God.  The prophet Samuel said, ““Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” 

But there is another element of Abraham’s statement to his servants which bears mentioning.  He says “ I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”  Abraham believes that both he and Isaac will return to them.  And I believe that Abraham believed this with all his heart.  Otherwise, no parent could do what he did.  Even the most devout man could not take his son to a mountain and slay him and then burn his body unless he believed with all his heart and soul that God would provide a way to sustain his life, or raise him up again to life. Abraham had faith in God.  He believed God. He believed what God had promised. And so he has confidence that they both will return.

Heb 11:1-2 “Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it the men of old gained approval.”

After leaving the servants we read in vs 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.  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?"  Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.”

Isaac as a type of Christ is also shown by the fact that Abraham laid the wood for the altar upon Isaac’s back.  And Jesus also carried the cross on which he was crucified.  Abraham carried the fire and the knife.  In Isaiah we are told that it pleased God to crush Him, putting Him to grief.  God slew Jesus upon the cross as a sacrifice for sinners, even as Abraham carried the instruments of the death of his son in his hand.

In this passage we hear from Isaac, who has a faith of his own to be tested.  He asks, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” I suppose we must take this to mean that up to this point, Isaac still had no clue that God has chosen him to be the offering. But I think the realization must have come soon afterwards, as he considers his father’s demeanor.  Abraham had unquenchable faith, but that doesn’t mean that he had an unflenchable countenance.  I am sure that it would have been all that Abraham could do to keep from sobbing as he heard Isaac’s question.  And the text says the two of them walked on together.  That statement is repeated twice.  Some commentator say that indicates agreement between them.  I don’t know.  I think it is just measuring out heartbreak one step at a time.

But Abraham’s answer to Isaac is prophetic, in more ways than one.  He says, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  I don’t think Abraham expected God to provide a ram stuck in a thicket. I think Abraham fully expected to have to slay his son, and that God would raise him from the dead. But one way or another God would provide, and ultimately, God provided through Abraham’s seed the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Jesus was the Lamb of God that died in our place, so that we might have life, even as the ram would be a substitute for Isaac that he might live.

What we see here a remarkable picture of the work of Jesus at the cross, thousands of years before it happened. The son of promise willingly went to be sacrificed in obedience to his father, carrying the wood of his sacrifice up the hill,  with full confidence in the promise of the resurrection.

Vs 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.  Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."  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."  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.”

It’s really remarkable to notice the unsung faith of Isaac.  Somewhere between the walk up the mountain and the building of the altar, Isaac must have recognized that he was to be the sacrifice.  And yet we are not told of Isaac resisting, or of him arguing with Abraham.  We are not told this, but it must be that Abraham finally explained to Isaac God’s command for him to sacrifice his son.  And yet obviously Isaac believed God and submitted his life to God’s will. God had not spoken directly to Isaac.  God had promised Abraham, and Abraham relayed God’s promises to Isaac.  And yet still Isaac believes.

That’s a similar faith to what we are supposed to have, isn’t it?  We have not personally heard Jesus teaching in Galilee.  We did not personally see His miracles.  We were not eyewitnesses to His majesty.  But we believe the testimony of eyewitnesses.  We believe their word which they wrote,  and we believe it as being inspired by the Holy Spirit.  So we risk our lives, we put our very lives at stake based on their word as being the word of God.

So much is made of Abraham’s faith, and as it should be.  But we should also consider Isaac’s faith, who submitted his life to his father’s word as the word of God.  Jesus also seemed to give much credit to those who would believe afterwards, saying to Thomas in John 20:29  "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed [are] they who did not see, and [yet] believed.”

 I’m sure Isaac helped build the altar, laid the wood upon it, and then climbed up on it, submitting himself as a sacrifice.  Amazing submission and obedience on the part of Isaac.  I’m sure he could have easily escaped. I’m sure that most men would have tried.  But Isaac submitted to the will of God and believed that God would raise him from the dead.

So Abraham lifts the knife up in the air, readying the downward plunge into Isaac’s chest, and suddenly God calls out, “Abraham! Abraham! “ God waited until the very last moment to arrest Abraham’s intention.  God is rarely early, and He is never late.  But we must be sure to wait for the timing of God.  

God 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.”  When God asked Abraham for the ultimate demonstration of love and obedience, He asked for Abraham’s son. When God the Father wanted to show us the ultimate demonstration of His love for us, He gave us His Son. We can in effect say to the LORD, “Now I know that You love me, seeing You have not withheld Your Son, Your only Son from me.”

1John 4:9-10 says, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.”

So God provided a substitute sacrifice for Isaac. “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.”  God still required a sacrifice, but He provided a substitute to die in Isaac's place.  God was showing Abraham how He would one day bless the nations of the world through Abraham’s seed, who was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  And I think that God was showing Abraham and us, the terrible cost of such a sacrifice.  We tend to think too lightly of what it took for God to send His Son to the cross than we should.  But Abraham having to slay his own son revealed the reality of the tremendous price of that sacrifice.

Vs14 Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh, The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”  As the scripture says repeatedly, salvation is of the LORD. He is the author and finisher of our salvation. God will provide the means for our salvation, through the substitution of His Son in our place.

Vs 15 Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven,  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,  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. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba.

The angel of the LORD s a reference to the pre Incarnate Jesus Messiah.  He who was speaking is the One who would be the substitute provided by God in place of sinners. And because He was able to fulfill that prophecy perfectly, He was able to confirm the prior promises made to Abraham concerning his seed who would bless all the nations of the earth. Jesus swears to the irrevocability of this promise, because He is the One who will carry it out.