We will begin this lesson in Genesis 22:1 “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].”
One thing about Abraham, he knew God’s voice and was always willing to
obey God.
Genesis 22:2 “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.”
You must remember what this son meant to Abraham. There was a very
close to worship situation. Abraham had lost his son of the flesh. Notice
here, that in God’s sight, Isaac was his only son. God knew how much Abraham
loved this son. That was the very reason this son was what he had to give
up. Whatever, or whomever, we put ahead of God has to be sacrificed (given
up), if we are to truly be in right fellowship with God. This spot, Moriah,
is in Jerusalem today. The custom of the false gods in the area was to do
human sacrifice on the mountains. God would allow this greatest of all
temptations to Abraham to see, if in the face of the worst odds possible,
Abraham would still worship Him. This is almost beyond comprehension to us.
Genesis 22:3 “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.”
There are a number of symbolisms we need to see in this Scripture
above.
God sacrificing His only son.
Abraham sacrificing his son.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an ass.
The provisions for this sacrifice were carried on an ass.
Jesus died between two men on the cross.
Abraham took two men with them.
Jesus carried a wooden cross.
Isaac carried wood for the sacrifice. (wood means worldliness).
Jesus went to Golgatha on orders from God.
Abraham and Isaac went to Moriah in Jerusalem on orders from God.
Jesus obeyed His Father and said “nevertheless not my will, but
thine.”
Isaac obeyed Abraham without question.
Genesis 22:4 “Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw
the place afar off.”
There are all kinds of implications, here. Isaac was as good as dead
these three days. His dad, Abraham, grieved for him as the disciples grieved
for Jesus three days, Jesus’ body, of course, was in the grave three days.
Resurrection was on its way.
Genesis 22:5 “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.”
Jesus said I will come again, just as this Scripture says the same
thing. All of this is a parallel to the cross. At one point, Jesus left the
two on the cross, just as Abraham left these two behind. At some point,
Isaac had to realize something strange was going on. Where was the
sacrifice?
Genesis 22:6 “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.” Genesis 22:7 “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?”
Here, it appears that Isaac had become aware, as Jesus did at
Gethsemene. Both a little reluctant to go through with this, but, still
obedient. the lamb, as always, stood for the innocence.
Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb
for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” Genesis 22:9 “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.”
After Jesus had carried the cross to the hill, they laid it down, and
Jesus was nailed to the cross. Jesus was on the altar of sacrifice for us.
Isaac, also, was bound to this wood and laid on the altar.
Genesis 22:10 “And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife
to slay his son.” Genesis 22:11 “And the angel of the LORD called unto him
out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.”
This is where all similarity ends. When Abraham was about to sacrifice
his son, there was Someone higher to say don’t do this. He had passed the
test. He was willing to sacrifice the one thing (his son) that meant
everything here on this earth to him. He had withheld nothing from God. God
was satisfied. When Jesus was sacrificed, there was no higher power than His
Father.
Genesis 22:12 “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.”
This was a grievous test that Abraham went through. We can understand
better the grief that Father God went through at the sacrifice of His Son.
The sun darkened and the earth quaked in sorrow.
Genesis 22:13 “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.”
This is the greatest symbolism of Jesus’ sacrifice of all. Jesus is our
substitute. We should have suffered and died on that cross, but Jesus God’s
Son, took our place. God has always provided a substitute.
Genesis 22:14 “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-
jireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be
seen.”
You see, names meant something special in the Old Testament. “Jehovah
jireh” means God my provider. How wonderful, that is what He really is.
Genesis 22:15 “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of
heaven the second time,” Genesis 22:16 “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]:” Genesis 22:17 “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;” Genesis 22:18 “And in thy seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
The ministering spirit of the Lord, Himself, spoke to Abraham; and the
Lord swore by Himself, because there was no greater. He reiterated the
blessing again on Abraham. Abraham had passed the test. All believers,
throughout the ages, would be blessed, because of the faithfulness of
Abraham.
Genesis 22:19 “So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up
and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.”
Genesis 22:20 “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;” Genesis 22:21 “Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and
Kemuel the father of Aram,” Genesis 22:22 “And Chesed, and Hazo, and
Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” Genesis 22:23 “And Bethuel begat
Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.”
Genesis 22:24 “And his concubine, whose name [was] Reumah, she bare also
Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.”
“Kemuel” means Assembly of God. “Bethuel” means the abode of God.
Rebekah was actually what all the above was about, because she would become
the wife of Isaac. She was a cousin actually, but in those days (as now), it
was very important not to marry a heathen.
Study chapter 23 of Genesis for the next lesson.