Genesis 22 - The Offering of Isaac

God Tests Abraham https://www.casualenglishbible.com/genesis-22/

Near-sacrifice of Isaac https://www.casualenglishbible.com/genesis-22/

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2019/10/genesis.html
"God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on a mountain in the land of Moriah.  The Angel of the Lord prevents Abraham from sacrificing his son just in the nick of time.  The Angel said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him.  For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me."  Abraham sacrifices a ram in place of his son.  Abraham names that place "the Lord Will Provide" or Yahweh-yireh.
Abraham's brother Nahor father's eight sons by Milcah and four sons by his concubine, Reumah.  His youngest son from Milcah is Bethuel.  Bethuel fathers Rebekah."

Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..

• "Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Take now your son, your only son [of promise], whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

• "Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on [the shoulders of] Isaac his son, and he took the fire (firepot) in his own hand and the [sacrificial] knife; and the two of them walked on together." v.6

• "Isaac said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself a lamb for the burnt offering.” So the two walked on together." v.7-8

• "Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He answered, “Here I am.” The Lord said, “Do not reach out [with the knife in] your hand against the boy, and do nothing to [harm] him; for now I know that you fear God [with reverence and profound respect], since you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son [of promise].” v.10-12

• "Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering (ascending sacrifice) instead of his son. So Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide." v.13-14

• "The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “By Myself (on the basis of Who I Am) I have sworn [an oath], declares the Lord, that since you have done this thing and have not withheld [from Me] your son, your only son [of promise], indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies [as conquerors]. Through your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.” v.15-18

My personal observations and reflections...

• ULTIMATE TEST OF FAITH. Many years have passed, and now we read a very dramatic turn of events in Abraham's life. God has spoken to Abraham, and told him to sacrifice Isaac, the long-awaited promised son, on one of the mountains near the region of Moriah. Wait, what? We see that Abraham did not ask "why" and just followed and obeyed God. I wonder what he was thinking that time, how he felt about it.. 

This is such a great act of faith. To me, it seems Abraham acknowledge that God owns Isaac, and He owns everything.. Isaac was born out of God's power, when Abraham was 100 y/o and Sarah is 90 y/o already.. When I think about it, everything in my life is out of God's great power, love and mercy.. I don't deserve anything, yet He blesses me. He gives, and He can also take away.. What Abraham showed here is really a remarkable, godly character-- a level of faith and a condition of the heart that I would also want to have. God has the AUTHORITY, after all. I am not yet a parent, but if ever I will have a child, I know that they are not my possession, they are God's, He is the HEAVENLY FATHER. I am just merely a steward whom God will call to raise up and help a child grow in the love and fear of the Lord.

* Bible Footnotes: Genesis 22:5 At this time Isaac would probably be about twenty years old.
Genesis 22:2 This area later was to become Jerusalem and the site of Solomon’s temple.

• 3 DAYS TRAVEL. That must have been exhausting! Living by faith and following what God wants us to do will require time, energy, work, effort in our part, but I know that it is always worth it. In the process, in the journey, we will see God's glory, that is unlike anything that this world can ever offer. We will also realize that it is not by our own strength, but by God's grace, and might! :)

• WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU. Abraham told this to his servants when he and Isaac left. This is faith!

• ISAAC CARRYING THE WOOD. There is an interesting Bible Footnote regarding this: "Genesis 22:6, As Jesus carried the crossbar for His own crucifixion, so here Isaac carried the wood for his own execution by fire, but God had mercy on him." Wow, that is an awesome similarity, and foreshadowing!

• GOD WILL PROVIDE. We then read an interesting conversation between the father and son. Isaac innocently asked his father where is the "lamb" that will be offered, not knowing that it is him.. I love how Abraham answered with determined faith, that God will provide it. It's like, surely, God will not allow it to happen; surely, God has a plan. I would like to talk to my child like that one day! That we can trust God, and that He will always provide.

*Bible Footnotes: Genesis 22:8 Abraham had complete faith and trust in God. Because God’s covenant with him depended on Isaac, Abraham may have anticipated that God would reveal to him an alternative to the sacrifice of Isaac, as He in fact did (vv 11-13). But Abraham was determined to carry out what God had commanded him to do, because of his faith in God’s promise.

• ABRAHAM STOP! When Abraham is ready to accomplish the act, we see God's intervention through an Angel of the Lord calling him from heaven. Abraham passed the test of faith, but what is the significance and deeper meaning of this? It is a picture of God our Father in heaven, and how He will selflessly offer His own Son to save everyone from the wages of sin and to give us eternal life. The ULTIMATE PLAN OF SALVATION. Isaac does not need to die, he is not the perfect lamb that can pay all the penalty of our sin. But out of his family lineage, will come the Messiah, Savior and King Jesus Christ who will "die" for us, and who will arise and be resurrected, defeating the enemy and trampling sin once and for all.

*Bible Footnotes: Genesis 22:14 This is a prophetic statement which looks ahead to the fact that the Messiah, the Son of God, would be the ultimate sacrifice, chosen and provided by the Father.

*WOW! "At this time, Abraham was more than 100 years old, and Isaac would have been able to get away had he chosen to.  Yet he submits to his father perfectly.  As an obedient son, Isaac laid down on the wood, ready to be sacrificed.  In remembering Abraham’s faith, we should never forget Isaac’s faith.  Jewish commentators think Isaac was in his thirties at the time of this event." –David Guzik
https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/1413-genesis-22/

* "In this context, faith is spoken of as fearing God.  Fear of the Lord is not just a feeling but is a combination of feelings, attitudes, and habits that govern a person’s relationship to God.  Fear includes reverence, trust, love, and an awesome respect and wonder at God’s great and mysterious power.  Fear and love of God always go together, for an absolute love of God demands undivided loyalty and total surrender of oneself to God.  This is what Abraham has been willing to do." –Linda B. Hinton https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/1413-genesis-22/

• RAM. All of sudden, there it is. A ram caught in a thicket by his horns. Indeed, God provided, in the physical, temporarily, a burnt offering.. But the greatest news is that one day, the Lamb of God will be provided.

* The naming of the place is significant. Abraham called it, The Lord Will Provide (Jehovah Jireh); In this mount, it shall be provided. Abraham didn’t name the place in reference to what he went through. He didn’t name it “trial hill” or “agony hill” or “obedience hill.” Instead, he named the hill in reference to what God did; he named it “provision hill.” He named it knowing God would provide the ultimate sacrifice for salvation on that hill someday." –David Guzik
https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/1413-genesis-22/

• ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED. A re-affirmation of God's promise! It's like, we needed to hear that again, Abraham needs to hear that again, we needed to be refreshed by that! Praise God for all His people who had tremendous faith, like Abraham the patriarch. Just as sin brings curses, faith brings blessings from God!

Hebrews 11:17-19 (New Living Translation)
"It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,  even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”  Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead."

• BROTHER NAHOR'S FAMILY. We then read a shift from the story line, wherein Abraham's brother and his family/household was introduced; focusing on Bethuel and her daughter Rebekah. The next chapters will reveal why.. Everything is the Bible is written for a purpose.

Genealogy of Terah https://infograph.venngage.com/p/12580/new-report-title

Read the Bible here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+22&version=AMP