Genesis 22B (2011) As Abraham stands at the tp f Mt. Mriah preparing t sacrifice his nly sn, he must have been warring with his wn fears and dubts Did Gd really expect him t take such an unthinkable step? Hw will it feel t watch his sn die? We remember that the Father in Heaven experienced similar thughts in sme way we can t understand as He put His wn Sn t death But Abraham is perating in faith, nt by sight, and s he prepares t cmplete the cmmand Gd has given Gen. 22:9 Then they came t the place f which Gd had tld him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wd, and bund his sn Isaac and laid him n the altar, n tp f the wd. Gen. 22:10 Abraham stretched ut his hand and tk the knife t slay his sn. Gen. 22:11 But the angel f the LORD called t him frm heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. Gen. 22:12 He said, D nt stretch ut yur hand against the lad, and d nthing t him; fr nw I knw that yu fear Gd, since yu have nt withheld yur sn, yur nly sn, frm Me. Abraham has bund his grwn sn and placed him n tp f the wd n tp f the altar And he has stretched ut his hand with the knife in rder t take his sn s life as Gd has cmmanded We nted last week that it was remarkable t think his grwn sn, Isaac, hasn t resisted his father thrugh all f this Even thugh sner r later he must have figured ut what dad was planning t d Certainly he knew smething was amiss when he was bund And thugh Scripture desn t recrd any cnversatin in the mment, I suspect smething was prbably said 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 2 S we marvel at Isaac submitting t his father s authrity under these circumstances Thugh we typically fcus n Abraham s bedience t the Father in chapter 22, let s nt lse sight f Isaac s bedience t his father But in reality, Isaac s bedience is yet anther reflectin n the faith and strength f Abraham Abraham raised a sn wh respected his authrity s much that he wuld submit t such a mment And we understand that Isaac s bedience f his father was a reflectin f Isaac s understanding that dad was fllwing the Lrd This is hw all strng parental-child relatinships are frmed The bedience f the child shuld be mdeled after the parent s bedience t the Lrd Submissin t authrity and respect fr authrity is a learned behavir It must be taught and mdeled and reinfrced And ultimately, it must draw a cnnectin t ur relatinship t the Lrd and ur wn walk f bedience One f the reasns Scriptures teaches that elders and pastrs shuld have bedient, believing children is fr the way it reflects n their wn walk f bedience There are n guarantees in life, least f all in raising kids But Scripture tells us t anticipate that bedient, submitted relatinships will be cntagius If the father is submitted and bedient t the Lrd, then the wife will be mre likely t fllw in submissin and bedience t bth the Lrd and the husband (in that rder) If the parents are bedient and submitted t the Lrd and demnstrate that pattern t the children, then the children will mre likely fllw in their ftsteps 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 3 Isaac s extrardinary bedience and submissin t Abraham was nt the result f a mment f clarity It was the result f an upbringing in the family f a man wh has taken t heart the wrds f the Lrd back in chapter 18 Gen. 18:17 The LORD said, Shall I hide frm Abraham what I am abut t d, Gen. 18:18 since Abraham will surely becme a great and mighty natin, and in him all the natins f the earth will be blessed? Gen. 18:19 Fr I have chsen him, s that he may cmmand his children and his husehld after him t keep the way f the LORD by ding righteusness and justice, s that the LORD may bring upn Abraham what He has spken abut him. The Lrd revealed Himself t Abraham s that Abraham culd understand Gd s expectatin fr hliness in Abraham s wn life And s that Abraham wuld cmmand his children t keep the way f the Lrd Abraham was tld t cmmand his children in this respect T make hliness an imperative, a nn-negtiable frm the earliest years Clearly, he has dne this very thing, and Isaac is nw demnstrating the effect f that upbringing But there is always an element f Gd s grace in the lives f ur children N child is perfect, nt even Isaac Later we ll see that Isaac makes sme f the same mistakes that dad made But n ur judgment day, ur test will nt be what ur children did with their lives It will be what did we d t mdel bedience and submissin t the Lrd And did we cmmand them t keep the way f the Lrd S just Abraham is ready t bring the knife against Isaac s thrat, and then the Lrd intervenes The Lrd calls Abraham s name frm Heaven, repeating it twice 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 4 The repeating f the name marks an emphatic call And Abraham s respnse is equally emphatic...here I am! We prbably can t appreciate hw relieve Abraham felt in that mment Faith in Gd ntwithstanding, Abraham must have rejiced at the prspect f being spared frm killing Isaac This call is said t cme frm the Angel f the Lrd As we nticed earlier in ur study, this is a phrase describing the Secnd Persn f the Gdhead, the Sn, Jesus Christ Ntice in v.12 the angel f the Lrd says yu have nt withheld yur sn frm Me which equates the angel with Gd Clearly, this persn is identifying Himself as the Lrd wh cmmanded Abraham t make this sacrifice in the first place S this is the Lrd, Christ, speaking t Abraham The Lrd stps Abraham at the mment f truth, and He rders Abraham nt t g thrugh with the sacrifice His reasn fr stpping the sacrifice is that nw the Lrd knws that Abraham fears Gd Since Abraham has cme this far and was prepared t sacrifice Isaac This answer raises a few questins fr us t cnsider First, why did the Lrd ask fr this sacrifice nly t have Abraham stp shrt? First, we remember that this was called a test frm the beginning Gd wasn t seeking a human sacrifice frm Abraham In fact, in all histry there has nly been ne time that Gd has required a human sacrifice: His wn Sn 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 5 He required the sacrifice f His Sn t stand in ur place fr sin, since nly a man can stand in the place f anther man But sacrificing Isaac wuldn t have accmplished anything fr sin Since Isaac had his wn sin, his death wuldn t have been an acceptable sacrifice fr the sin f Abraham r anyne else He wuld have been dying nly fr his wn sin S Gd stps the unnecessary sacrifice when it had met its purpse as a test That leads us t the secnd questin: hw did Abraham pass the test? Since he didn t actually cmplete the sacrifice, hw des the Lrd knw he wuld have gne thrugh with it? The Lrd says He knew that Abraham fears Gd The Lrd is saying He knew Abraham s heart And Abraham was acting ut f fear f the Lrd in bringing Isaac t this pint Fear f the Lrd is a special term in scripture All at nce it cnveys reverence, bedience and genuine fear Abraham shws his reverence fr Gd by his willingness t give his wrship t the Lrd And he shws his bedience fr Gd s wrd in his willingness t cme t this place and prepare the sacrifice and draw the knife, just as the Lrd instructed But there is als a place fr fear in ur relatinship with the Lrd Fear shuld be a natural and apprpriate respnse as we cme t knw and fllw the Lrd Jesus Himself used the wrd fear in giving us cunsel n hw we shuld view the Father 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 6 Luke 12:4 I say t yu, My friends, d nt be afraid f thse wh kill the bdy and after that have n mre that they can d. Luke 12:5 But I will warn yu whm t fear: fear the One wh, after He has killed, has authrity t cast int hell; yes, I tell yu, fear Him! Jesus calls upn believers nt t fear the wrld and thse enemies f Gd wh might wish t harm us They can d nthing mre than harm a bdy that was destined t die anyway But Gd is nt nly the One Wh determines the curse f ur earthly life, but mre imprtantly He hlds judgment ver ur sul On the day f judgment we fall int His hands and are at His mercy Heb. 10:30 Fr we knw Him wh said, VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY. And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE. Heb. 10:31 It is a terrifying thing t fall int the hands f the living Gd. We will have n pwer, n appeal, n higher authrity As believers ur judgment will nt be fr the purpse f cndemning us It will be an assessment f ur wrk and an assignment f reward But in that mment we will understand fear f the Lrd If we marvel at Abraham and wnder if we culd have acted with s much faith, perhaps the difference between Abraham and us is that Abraham knew the fear f the Lrd while we dn t Reverence and bedience and fear cmbined t prduce a prper perspective n the hliness f Gd And it was that understanding that brught Abraham thrugh this test successfully 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 7 Gen. 22:13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and lked, and behld, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his hrns; and Abraham went and tk the ram and ffered him up fr a burnt ffering in the place f his sn. Gen. 22:14 Abraham called the name f that place The LORD Will Prvide, as it is said t this day, In the munt f the LORD it will be prvided. At this pint, Abraham ntices that there was a ram caught in the thicket by his hrns The Lrd never directs Abraham t the ram; Abraham just ntices it We understand the ram was a supernatural prvisins But neither did Gd direct Abraham t cnduct a sacrifice with the ram Nevertheless, Abraham had cme t this pint t wrship Gd in sacrifice And since the Lrd had made the prvisin available, Abraham gladly used it instead t cnduct the sacrifice Ntice Abraham declares that this ram wuld be sacrificed instead f his wn sn Abraham is saying that Isaac was cndemned t die He had walked up that muntain expecting t witness the death f his sn But nw his sn wuld nt have t die Because the Lrd had prvided an alternative Gd made anther available in Isaac s place s that Isaac wuldn t need t die But it des deeper than that In his heart, Abraham cnsidered Isaac dead He had been preparing fr this mment during the three-days walk S that by the time he reached this pint, Isaac was as gd as dead t Abraham 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 8 Then suddenly Isaac was spared and returned t Abraham And it culd be said that Abraham received Isaac back frm the dead, as if he had died and was resurrected Here we see anther parallel t Christ, anther way in which Isaac pictures Christ Jesus was dead and the wrld thught Him gne fr a time But then He returned frm the dead Hebrews makes this pint in describing Isaac as a picture f Christ Heb. 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, ffered up Isaac, and he wh had received the prmises was ffering up his nly begtten sn; Heb. 11:18 it was he t whm it was said, IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED. Heb. 11:19 He cnsidered that Gd is able t raise peple even frm the dead, frm which he als received him back as a type. Abraham received him that is Isaac back frm the dead And s Abraham names this munt the place where the Lrd made a prvisin This place is Mt. Mriah It will later becme the muntain upn which Slmn will build the temple f Gd It will becme the place f Jerusalem And it will becme the muntain upn which the Lrd will be crucified Indeed, it is the place where the Lrd made a prvisin fr all mankind And what was a test f persnal faith fr Abraham became an pprtunity fr the Lrd t create a pwerful testimny thrugh Abraham s bedience What testimny will Gd create thrugh ur bedience? 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 9 Abraham and Isaac gave the wrld a beautiful example f Gd at wrk thrugh Christ t prvide a sacrifice in ur place But that testimny was nly pssible because Abraham feared the Lrd and beyed His vice Gen. 22:15 Then the angel f the LORD called t Abraham a secnd time frm heaven, Gen. 22:16 and said, By Myself I have swrn, declares the LORD, because yu have dne this thing and have nt withheld yur sn, yur nly sn, Gen. 22:17 indeed I will greatly bless yu, and I will greatly multiply yur seed as the stars f the heavens and as the sand which is n the seashre; and yur seed shall pssess the gate f their enemies. Gen. 22:18 In yur seed all the natins f the earth shall be blessed, because yu have beyed My vice. Gen. 22:19 S Abraham returned t his yung men, and they arse and went tgether t Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba. Here the Lrd appears befre Abraham fr a ninth time and a secnd time in this same mment And the again we see the angel f the Lrd declaring Himself t be Gd As He swears by Himself, that is by His wn name, that He will indeed bless Abraham as the Lrd has stated befrehand Each f the majr tenets f the Abrahamic cvenant are repeated in this prmise Including that all natins f the Earth will be blessed thrugh Abraham s seed The prmises aren t different than Abraham had heard befre, but this is the first time the Lrd had swrn the ath t Abraham In ancient times a man might take an ath in the curse f entering int a cvenant An ath was a slemn binding statement that invked the name f a greater authrity as witness Mre imprtantly, by invking the name f the higher authrity, the persn taking the ath was saying that if they failed t keep this agreement, they wuld be at the mercy f the greater 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 10 The higher authrity was usually a king r judge wh had the pwer t cndemn the individual t death if they failed t keep their cvenant S as Gd makes this ath, He swears by His wn name, since there is n higher authrity He is saying that Gd Himself will be bund t put Himself t death t ensure He keep His wrd t Abraham The writer f Hebrews explains this passage in this way Heb. 6:13 Fr when Gd made the prmise t Abraham, since He culd swear by n ne greater, He swre by Himself, Heb. 6:14 saying, I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU. Heb. 6:15 And s, having patiently waited, he btained the prmise. Heb. 6:16 Fr men swear by ne greater than themselves, and with them an ath given as cnfirmatin is an end f every dispute. Heb. 6:17 In the same way Gd, desiring even mre t shw t the heirs f the prmise the unchangeableness f His purpse, interpsed with an ath, Heb. 6:18 s that by tw unchangeable things in which it is impssible fr Gd t lie, we wh have taken refuge wuld have strng encuragement t take hld f the hpe set befre us. Hebrews explains that when Gd wanted t leave Abraham with abslute assurance that Gd wuld keep His wrd, He swre by Himself And by this ath Gd cmmitted t keep His prmises t the death The death, f curse, was the death Gd experienced in the Sn Jesus Literally, Gd went t death t ensure He wuld keep the ath He is swearing here And Gd made such a cmmitment t Abraham - and the writer f Hebrews adds that it was als fr us - s that we wuld have strng encuragement t take hld f the hpe set befre us Abraham had great reasn fr hpe in the prmises f Gd Thse prmises had brught him a sn and wuld bring him an even larger family 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 11 They have given him prsperity in the land, but they will eventually give him an even greater inheritance in the kingdm And they have led t the blessing f thers arund Abraham, but even nw they are blessing far mre peple in the wrld thrugh the pprtunity t believe in Gd s prmises These were hpes that Gd delivered t Abraham by way f His prmises These hpes were set befre Abraham But Abraham had t take hld f them He had t accept that Gd was trustwrthy and that Gd wuld keep His wrd And Gd delivered an ath s that Abraham wuld have n mre dubts We are like Abraham in this way By His bedience t Gd s cmmand and his willingness t sacrifice his sn, Abraham put an end t any dubts cncerning his faith in Gd s wrd And likewise, Gd takes an ath t put t end any dubts that He will bring the blessings He has prmised We have faith and by that faith we have been saved frm the penalty f ur sin and with that salvatin came hpe fr resurrectin and fr blessing in eternity But we have t take hld f that hpe That s why the writer says that Gd used tw unchangeable things t give us reasn t take refuge And what shuld be ur expected respnse? We wh have taken refuge (been saved) must take hld f the hpe that is set befre us We take hld f the same hpe f reward and blessing knwing Gd keeps His wrd 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 22B 12 Cnsider the difference between having taken refuge and taking hld f the hpe set befre us? Taking refuge is accmplished by faith alne The hpe (f blessing and reward) is nly available t thse wh have taken refuge Therefre, taking refuge is independent f the hpe that makes it available We can have a hpe sitting in frnt f us but nt take hld f it We can live withut realizing the hpe that is available As a result, it just sits there But nce it s explained t us and we understand it And then set ur mind upn it like Paul running the race, everything in ur lives changes We run fr that prize and nt earthly prizes 2012 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.