Genesis 22:1-31And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2And 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. 3And 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. (Genesis 22:1‑3)
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abram: and he said, Behold here I am. 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.” vv. 1,2.
This is one of the great chapters of the Old Testament. It tells of the outstanding example of faith shown by Abraham ‘and it also presents a remarkable picture of the love of God in the giving of His only Son in death.
There are many “temptings” (or testings) throughout the Scriptures and numerous examples of those who through faith withstood them, as well as those who failed. But there is no testing to compare with that which is of God Himself—in a sense a special mark that God is confident of the one upon whom such a trial is placed. The experience will usually produce a twofold result—one, blessing and enriching the heart of the one who through faithful obedience suits to and meets the test; secondly, its result upon others who have knowledge of the trial and testimony and draw courage for themselves therefrom. This was the character of Abraham’s trial in the present chapter. Greatly rewarded himself after it was over, his experience and testimony has been an encouragement and help to uncounted numbers of God’s people ever since.
It has been previously noticed how God prepared Abraham for this greatest experience of his life. While it may be said the whole pattern of his walk from the time God first called him, had been part of the presentation, there was a special value to the sequence of events immediately leading up to this point. In chapter 20 the “man of faith” had to correct his mistake of trying to change circumstances through his own wisdom and planning, which had produced only humiliation and failure. But the result had been a complete turning to God and restoration. In chapter 21 Isaac, the heir of promise was born, and Abraham had to learn that he could not compromise the son of promise with the one who spoke of the old nature and activities of the flesh; following which he cast out the bondwoman and Ishmael whose presence interfered with his fully entering into the promises contained in Isaac.
“And it came to pass after these things.” Now Abraham stood wholly reliant upon God and completely free of conflicts that would interfere with communion with Him. The test here presented to him could never have been met while down in Egypt, or while in the company of Abimelech. But the test must come and it was the evidence of God’s pleasure in Abraham’s new uncompromising position that brought it forth. This test of Abraham’s faith was to have a most important aspect as a type of God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who endured the death of the cross.
It is interesting to note that this is the first time in Scripture that love is mentioned: “Take now... thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest”— type of God the Father’s love for His beloved Son. How it must have touched that old father’s heart to hear such a command and be confronted with so great a challenge.
ML 11/28/1965