Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Bible study on Genesis 22 – Abraham’s faith confirmed. According to Bible scholars, the events of Genesis 22 took place approximately in 2054 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Genesis 22 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Genesis 22 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Genesis 21, we read about Isaac’s birth, Hagar and Ishmael’s exile and the treaty at Beersheba. In today’s Bible study on Genesis 22, we will read about how Abraham was tested by God and how his faith was confirmed.
Without any further delay, let us study together Genesis Chapter 22, shall we?
Abraham’s Test
1Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Verses 1-2 of Genesis 22, tells us how God tested Abraham’s faith in Him. He instructed Abraham to take his beloved son Isaac and go to Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice on one of the mountains.
Abraham Prepares To Sacrifice His Son, Isaac
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
6 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.
Verses 3-6 of Genesis 22, describe that Abraham journeyed early in the morning by donkey and took two of his young men and Isaac. He also split the wood for the altar and took it with him to Moriah, which was a three-day journey from Beersheba (the land of Philistines) where Abraham dwelt (Refer Genesis 21). Abraham had waited for years for the birth of Isaac. Now, the Lord was asking Abraham to sacrifice the promised son. Nevertheless, he obeyed the Lord with no questions asked. Talk about faith of that level!
When Abraham saw the sacrificial place, he instructed his men to stay behind with the donkey. He told them that he and Isaac would go further to worship the Lord and would return to them. The servants had no clue on what Abraham intended to do with Isaac. Abraham made Isaac carry the wood whereas he took fire in his hand and a knife and they went together to the place which God had showed Abraham.
Where Is The Lamb For The Burnt Offering?
7 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?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
At this point, it was clear also to Isaac that there was supposed to be an offering to the Lord. Otherwise, his father Abraham wouldn’t have split woods and carried fire and a knife in his hand. However, Isaac didn’t know that he was the sacrifice. It didn’t once occur to him that his father Abraham was willing to offer him to the Lord, if that is what the Lord desired. No child would! Therefore, in Verses 7-8 of Genesis 22, we see Isaac asking his father about the lamb for the burnt offering. Abraham replied that God would provide the lamb for the burnt offering and they continued walking.
Abraham Prepares The Sacrificial Altar
9 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.
In Verse 9 of Genesis 22, we see that Abraham prepared the sacrificial altar. He prepared the altar by arranging the wood in order. He bound Isaac and laid him upon the wood, ready to kill him and offer him up to the Lord. We must remember that it was not Abraham’s will or desire. The Lord surely wouldn’t ask anyone to kill their own child asking them as a sacrifice. This was a test and Abraham didn’t know that it was a test. He simply obeyed the Lord and trusted Him so much. He esteemed the Lord more than he loved his son Isaac.
Abraham’s Faith Confirmed
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 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.”
Verses 11-12 of Genesis 22, record how Abraham stretched out his hand to slay Isaac and the Angel of the Lord (The Lord Himself) called out to Abraham and stopped him. He said that He now knew that Abraham feared God because he did not withhold his one and only son from God.
The Lord Will Provide
13 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. 14 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.”
Verses 13-14, tell us that Abraham caught sight of a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. The Lord had miraculously provided a substitute for Isaac. Therefore, Abraham offered the ram as a burnt offering instead of Isaac. Abraham called the mountain on the land of Moriah as YHWH-yireh, which means ‘The Lord will Provide‘ and it is said to this day – ‘In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’
It is from this phrase, one of the many aspects of God is derived – Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will Provide.
Must-Read, Interesting facts about Moriah
The mount of Moriah where Abraham bound Isaac and prepared to sacrifice Isaac was the place where King Solomon had built the temple of the Lord – the temple of Jerusalem. (Refer 2 Chronicles 3:1). This is the same place where the Lord had previously appeard to King David where he had brought and prepared the threshing floor from a Jebusite. Interestingly enough, when Jesus The Messiah, was on the earth the temple that He cleansed and drove away the merchants was the same temple in Jersusalem (which King Solomon had built) which some scholars say is the present-day location of the Temple Mount.
Observation and Notes
The Lord provided a substitute for Isaac -a ram. Now, a ram is a male sheep which is not under 12 months old. The sheep which is less than 12 months old is called a lamb. This whole scenario of Abraham binding and preparing Isaac for a sacrifice was a foretelling prophecy of the coming Messiah – Jesus. There is so much significance here.
Abraham and Isaac journeyed 3 days – God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac, whom he loved so much. He was the promised son. In the same way, God sacrificed His one and only beloved son Jesus, whom He loved so much, for us. And, Jesus was the promised Messiah.
Jesus is often referred to as the sacrificial lamb and the lamb of God. Look at the substitute that God provided for Isaac. A ram was provided by God to substitute Isaac’s place on the sacrificial altar, just as, God provided Jesus (His lamb) to die as our substitute for our sins. As I had already mentioned before, Mount Moriah is the same location of the Temple Mount (according to many scholars). This mount is the supposed place where Jesus was crucified and offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the mankind. Do you see the picture here, as I see? It is, indeed, all connected.
Points to Ponder
What is it that the Lord has given you that you are willing to surrender to Him if He asks it back? Are you ready to give up your wealth if He asks it back? What about your job or your house that you took years to build? I would have to ask myself, if I am willing to let go of this platform if the Lord requires it back from me. These are some tough questions to ask ourselves and it makes it difficult to think about parting ways with things that we have prayed for and waited for and built upon only for it to be required of the Lord.
We must remember, just like Abraham and Job did, that everything on the earth belongs to the Lord. Everything that we see around us, the things that we have, wear, eat, drink were created by God. He is the owner of all things on the earth. We may buy it or have it but that does not mean it all belongs to us, forever. God is the owner and everything belongs to Him. We must leave it all and go when we leave the earth. Therefore, when God gave Isaac to Abraham and asked him as an offering, Abraham didn’t hesiste or tarry. Instead, he immediately obeyed the Lord. He recognized the Lord as the Master.
Our answer to the Lord must be yes when He requires something from us. For, we can be sure that the Lord would always provide a substitute. He wouldn’t ask for something from you without having a better replacement for that very thing. Also, God is a good God. He didn’t really mean to kill Isaac. He was merely testing Abraham’s faith in Him.
The Lord Blessed Abraham Because Of His Obedience
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 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. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
In Verses 15-19 of Genesis 22, we read that the Angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven and He promised to bless Abraham and multiply his descendants infinitely. He also said that Abraham’s descendants shall have dominion over their enemies and possess their enemies’ gates. In Abraham’s seed, the Lord promised to bless all the nations of the earth because of Abraham’s obedience. Abraham, then returned to his young men with Isaac and they all returned to Beersheba where Abraham dwelt.
Observation
Through Adam all nations of the earth were cursed because He disobeyed God’s commandment (Refer Genesis 3). Disobedience brings a curse. It was Adam’s disobedience that gave way to the repercussions of sin on the earth. Satan tested Adam and he disobeyed God’s voice. On the other hand, God tested Abraham to see if He could trust Him or would He disobey just like Adam did. However, Abraham was obedient to the Lord and it pleased the Lord so greatly that He blessed not only Abraham but his descendants who were not yet born – including us who believe in Jesus Christ. We are Abraham’s seed in the faith -Refer Galatians 3:29.
Nahor’s Family Tree
20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.
In Verses 20-24 of Genesis 22, we see the family tree of Nahor. Abraham was informed that his niece Milcah had borne children to his brother Nahor. Also, Nahor’s concubine had borne him children.
The backstory
Nahor is Abraham’s brother and he married his niece Milcah. To make things clear, Abraham’s and Nahor’s nieces were Milcah and Iscah and their nephew was Lot. These three were the children of their brother, Haran. I suggest you to refer to Genesis 11 where I had drawn the family chart.
Below is the family tree of Naho,r that I have prepared, so that it is easier for you to understand.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the bible study lesson on Genesis 22. God tested Abraham’s faith and found him to be faithful. I hope you learnt something from this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. If you liked this bible study and found it useful kindly share it with others and subscribe to receive more bible studies like this as and when I release them. If you have any comments or questions for me, kindly leave them in the comments box below. I highly appreciate it. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!