Genesis 22
BBCGenesis 22:1
- The Offering of Isaac (Chap. 22)22:1-10 Perhaps no scene in the Bible except Calvary itself is more poignant than this one, and none gives a clearer foreshadowing of the death of God’s only, well-beloved Son on the cross. The supreme test of Abraham’s faith came when God ordered him to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah. Actually God had no intention of allowing Abraham to go through with it; He has always been opposed to human sacrifice. Moriah is the mountain range where Jerusalem is situated (2Ch_3:1) and also where Calvary stood. God’s words, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,” must have pierced Abraham’s heart like ever-deepening wounds. Isaac was Abraham’s only son in the sense that he was the only son of promisethe unique son, the son of miraculous birth. The first occurrence of a word in the Bible often sets the pattern for its usage throughout Scripture. Love (v. 2) and “worship” (v. 5) are first found here. Abraham’s love for his son is a faint picture of God’s love for the Lord Jesus. The sacrifice of Isaac was a picture of the greatest act of worshipthe Savior’s self-sacrifice to accomplish the will of God. 22:11, 12 “Abraham, Abraham” is the first of ten name duplications found in the Bible. Seven are spoken by God to man (Gen_22:11; Gen_46:2; Exo_3:4; 1Sa_3:10; Luk_10:41; Luk_22:31; Act_9:4). The other three are Mat_7:21-22; Mat_23:37; Mar_15:34. They introduce matters of special importance. The Angel of the LORD (v. 11) was God (v. 12). 22:13-15 To offer Isaac was surely the supreme test of Abraham’s faith. God had promised to give Abraham a numberless posterity through his son. Isaac could have been as much as twenty-five at this time, and he was unmarried. If Abraham slew him, how could the promise be fulfilled? According to Heb_11:19, Abraham believed that even if he slew his son, God would raise him from the dead. This faith was remarkable because there was no recorded case of resurrection up to this time in the world’s history.
Notice his faith also in Gen_22:5 : “the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” Abraham was first justified by faith (Gen_15:6), then justified (vindicated) by works here (see Jam_2:21). His faith was the means of his salvation, while his works were the proof of the reality of his faith. When Isaac asked, “Where is the lamb?”, his father replied, “God will provide for Himself the lamb.” This promise was not ultimately fulfilled by the ram of verse 13 but by the Lamb of God (Joh_1:29). There are two outstanding symbols of Christ in this chapter. Isaac is the first: an only son, loved by his father, willing to do his father’s will, received back from the dead in a figure. The ram is the second: an innocent victim died as a substitute for another, its blood was shed, and it was a burnt offering wholly consumed for God. Someone has said that, in providing the ram as a substitute for Isaac, “God spared Abraham’s heart a pang He would not spare His own.” The Angel of the LORD in verses 11 and 15, as in all the OT, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham named the place The-LORD-Will-Provide (Jehovah-jireh) (v. 14). This is one of the seven compound names for God in the OT. The others are: Jehovah-Rophekha “The LORD who heals you” (Exo_15:26). Jehovah-Nissi “The LORD my banner” (Exo_17:8-15). Jehovah-Shalom “The LORD our peace” (Jdg_6:24). Jehovah-Roi “The LORD my Shepherd” (Psa_23:1). Jehovah-Tsidkenu “The LORD our righteousness” (Jer_23:6). Jehovah-Shammah “The LORD is present” (Eze_48:35). 22:16-19 The LORD swore by Himself because He couldn’t swear by anyone greater (Heb_6:13). God’s promise here, confirmed by His oath, includes the blessing of the Gentile nations through Christ (see Gal_3:16). In verse 17c God adds to the already vast blessing promised: Abraham’s seed would possess the gate of his enemies. This means that his descendants would “occupy the place of authority over those who would oppose them. The capture of the city gate meant the fall of the city itself.” 22:20-24 Abraham’s brother Nahor had twelve sons, whereas Abraham had only twoIshmael and Isaac. How this must have tested Abraham’s faith concerning God’s promise of descendants as the stars of the sky! It may have prompted him to send Eliezer in search of a wife for Isaac (chap. 24). Notice the name Rebekah in Gen_22:23.