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.
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