This chapter begins (v1,2) with God testing Abraham. Testing is not to be confused with temptation. God never tempts anyone; it’s the devil who does that as it is to get us to do wrong. Testing is used by God to make us better. God knew that Abraham had faith, it was to show how great his faith was and what a test this was! For twenty-five years Abraham had waited for God to fulfil His promise of a son and heir. Some writers believe that Isaac was around thirty years of age by this time, certainly more than twenty, making Abraham around one hundred and thirty years old.
God called to Abraham and Abraham answered, “Here I am.” It seems as if Abraham answered promptly, eager to listen to what God would say, though I’m sure he was not expecting what God would ask him. Then the bombshell! “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah.” Well, that wasn’t bad, just going on a day out, but there was more to come, and this was the shock – “…. offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Interesting that God referred to Isaac as his only son. Of course, he had another son Ishmael, but Isaac was the son of promise and Ishmael had been sent away with God’s promise that he would father a great nation. God recognised that Abraham loved his son. I believe this is the first mention of love in the Bible. The crunch came when he was told to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. A burnt offering was killed beforehand, and the body burnt. This was normal for pagans to offer human sacrifice, but surely not Almighty God, Yahweh. Surely, God would never ask Abraham to do this. This seemed to contradict what God had promised him that Isaac, his promised seed would be a great nation, and God did not want a sacrifice like this. Remember this was a test.
Early in the morning Abraham got ready and saddled his donkey, taking Isaac and two of his young men (v3). Abraham was obedient and trusted God without question. I’m sure he was confused but his faith was strong in his God. Notice that he saddled his donkey, and he chopped the wood. Perhaps his servants might have questioned it, but it seems that he did it himself. He went to the place God had told him to.
This was no afternoon walk. It was quite a journey because on the third day of travelling, the place was still a way off in the distance. (v4,5) he told the men to stay with the donkey and, “…. the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
Mount Moriah is one of the mountains on which Jerusalem is situated and became a very special place. In 2 Chronicles 3:1 we read that, “…. Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” We see that sometime later the temple was built on this very spot. In 2 Samuel 24 (1 Chronicles 21) we read of David that he sinned in taking a census to see how big his army was. He should have trusted in God rather than the numerical strength of his army, so God sent a plague on the people and 70,000 died. David confessed his sin and offered to buy the threshing floor of Ornan (or Araunah) and the animals and the wood to make a sacrifice to God. Ornan offered it for free, but David said that he would not offer to God that which cost him nothing. God accepted David’s confession and offering, and the plague was stayed.
When Abraham told the men to stay and he and Isaac would go to the place indicated by God, he also said, ‘We will come back to you.’ Note carefully, ‘WE.’ He had faith in God, that even if he offered Isaac, that God would raise him from the dead, and they would both come back. This is confirmed to us in Hebrews 11:17-19 where we read, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” Abraham trusted God to do the impossible if necessary. God had promised and he could not lie.
“So, Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So, the two of them went together.” (v6-8)
Isaac was carrying the wood for his own sacrifice; Abraham took the knife and the fire. They went together. It doesn’t appear that Isaac was forced to go on. I guess curiosity could wait no longer so Isaac stated the obvious, ‘we’ve got the wood and the fire, but where is the lamb?’ Abraham spoke gently to him and stated firmly that God would provide the lamb even though he didn’t know how, where and when. He was willing to offer Isaac but even more willing to trust God. Isaac seemed content to trust his father as we again read that they went on together. Abraham’s faith had ‘rubbed off’ on his son. I’ve no doubts that Isaac was a man of faith too.
In verse 9 we read, “Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.”
My previous comment about Isaac’s faith seemed justified in that he allowed his father to bind him on the altar. I often imagine Isaac saying, “What do you think you are doing”. Remember, he was not a child but a young man of probably at least twenty years old (in view of chapter 25:26 when he was sixty years old) and I’m sure he could physically fight his old father, but he submits. It was one thing to carry the wood, help in the building of the altar, but to be put on it as the sacrifice, that was something else.
We then come to the ‘crunch’, “Abraham …. took the knife to slay his son” (v10). Again, I imagine Isaac, possibly squirming and wriggling and wondering what was going on as he was about to die at the hands of his father. Just at the right time, (v11-14) “…. the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So, he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now, I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So, Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided.””
It is clear that Abraham was about to kill his son, but God was satisfied at his willingness to obey and stopped him right at the last moment. Some may think that this was cruel on God’s part, but this was the ultimate test of Abraham’s faith. God does not require this of us all, but it is essential that we would be prepared to give up the thing dearest to us for Him. Abraham’s faith was so strong that he believed that if he went through with this there would be a resurrection, although I’m sure he was relieved when God stopped him. I believe that what God required was not Isaac’s life but Abraham’s loyalty and trust. True faith is taking God at His word.
Abraham had failed previously to trust God, but this time his faith was strong. God said that He knew Abraham’s faith was strong and that he was prepared to give up his only son. God not only stopped him from killing Isaac but provided the substitute. God provided a ram for the sacrifice and Abraham named the place Jehovah-Jireh which means The-LORD-Will-Provide.
This is a remarkable picture of God sending His Only Son to be the sacrifice for our sin. God did not withhold His Son and it was at the very same place, Mount Calvary just outside the city of Jerusalem. Abraham said, “in the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided.” God’s Son was the substitute for us just as the ram was the substitute for Isaac. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. We also see a prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus.
In verses 15-19 God sends His Angel to reconfirm His promise, “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants 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 rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.”
God promised His blessing to all the nations on the earth, the multiplying of his descendants through Isaac as the grains of sand and the stars in the heavens and it was all because Abraham had obeyed God.
In the following verses 20-24 we have an interlude giving some family history and events. Nahor, Abraham’s brother who he had left in Ur, and his wife Milcah had given birth to eight children. Nahor also had a concubine who had borne him four further children. One son of Milcah was named Bethuel who had a daughter named Rebekah. This is mentioned particularly because she would become the wife of Isaac.
One writer explains that “A concubine was an inferior kind of wife, taken according to the common practice of those times, subject to the authority of the principal wife, and whose children had no right of inheritance, but were endowed with gifts.” Concubines were never intended by God. Whenever a man had more than one wife, or even a concubine, trouble ensued.
