Genesis 22, Abraham tested

[Helen]

Here it is. THE famous story. Here are some points to note:

1. Abraham obeyed immediately: "Early the next morning..."

2. Abraham may have thought, after God's promise in Genesis 15:4-6, that Isaac was the promised Messiah. Note verse 5, where Abraham tells his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. WE will worship and then WE will come back to you." "We" both times. Abraham had no idea of the impact of his statement when he told Isaac that God would provide the lamb. It appears, then, that there is a good possibility that Abraham thought his son Isaac was the Lamb of God!

3. God refers to Isaac as Abraham's ONLY son! verse 12. Interesting...

It is after this that Abraham received the promise, for the third time, that his descendants will be too numerous to count. In addition, the promise of the Messiah is again referred to, "and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

This reminds me of what Christ told His disciples: If you love me, you will obey me. No wonder Abraham is the father of those in the faith!

The chapter closes with Abraham receiving the news that his brother has had eight sons. One of them, we know, will grow to the the father of Rebekah, who will become Isaac's wife in later years.

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The part of the essay that has to do with this part of Abraham's life is below:

His faith: According to the Bible, Abraham knew the promise of God regarding a Messiah who was to die for the sins of the world and rise again (Galatians 3:6-18). He also knew the Messiah would be one of his descendants through Sarah. It is also possible that Abraham may have thought that Isaac was himself the promised Messiah, not knowing that Messiah was to come from his lineage at a considerably later time, but we cannot be sure. However, when God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, whom he loved so much, and kill him as a sacrifice, Abraham began to obey immediately and was within moments of killing his son when God stopped him. Abraham, however, clearly believed his son would be resurrected if killed, for God had promised the Messianic line would be through Isaac. So when he left his servants behind to wait for him to go up to the mountain with Isaac, where he was planning to sacrifice his son, he nevertheless said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you" (Gen. 22:5). The second 'we' says it all. Abraham’s faith was incredible. In memorial of this event, the high point of Abraham’s walk with God, he named that place “Jehovah-jireh” (“the Lord will provide”).

[ June 22, 2002, 01:59 AM: Message edited by: Helen ]

 

[tyndale1946]

Helen isn't there a type and shadow of Abraham... being a representation of God... Offering Issac a representation of Jesus Christ upon the altar? or would the better illustration be the Ram caught in the thicket by his horns... Brother Glen

[ June 22, 2002, 03:21 AM: Message edited by: tyndale1946 ]

 

[tyndale1946]

Helen I found this in Gill about how the sacrifice was to be performed... and offer him there for a burnt offering; this was dreadful work he was called to, and must be exceeding trying to him as a man, and much more as a parent, and a professor of the true religion, to commit such an action; for by this order he was to cut the throat of his son, then to rip him up, and cut up his quarters, and then to lay every piece in order upon the wood, and then burn all to ashes; and this he was to do as a religious action, with deliberation, seriousness, and devotion:... Brother Glen

 

[Me2]

Hello Helen,

Thank You For reminding me That God always has that Perspective of love hidden away in the details...Only when I Concentrate on this Story Through Christs Eyes Can I See The true mindset and Passion of Abraham..

 

[Helen]

Hi Glen,
Yes, I think there is a general consensus among Bible scholars that the sacrifice of Isaac, or attempted sacrifice of Isaac, is a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ. And both Isaac and the ram are ‘types’ of Christ. Isaac in that he was the son and the ram in that God provided.

On your second post, agghh. I never thought of that before. That is gruesome.

Me2 – you’re welcome. I am the same way. Sometimes when someone tells me what they see in a particular passage, I will find myself saying “I never thought of it that way!” It is really a help. When we operate truly as a body, we learn so much and begin to understand so much more!

God bless you both.

 

[LadyEagle]

Hi, Helen. Just wanted to add my 2 cents (cutting out part of my post from another thread).

You stated earlier about Ur & Nanna (where Abraham had come from). From Woolley's digs,

Nanna, the moon god, was supreme ruler. This image stood in a sanctuary atop a tower (like the one up north at Babel) in the middle of the city. Under this heathen deity were thousands of lesser gods and goddesses. Child sacrifice was practiced in the home city of Abraham. "Ur" meaning "fire" had reference to the unspeakable demonic practice of child sacrifice: literally burning infants to death as a sacrifice to particular gods.

My thoughts:

So then I think about when God called him to sacrifice Isaac. Mt. Moriah is also the Temple Mount, also was a threshing floor (didn't realize for years how "layered" all of the Biblical history is as far as places & events). But anyway Abraham is referred to as a great man of faith, even in the NT. So with this pagan child sacrifice in his background, could he have questioned to himself something like..."Yahweh is the true God. Yet He asks me to sacrifice my son, just as we did back in Ur. So is He really any different?" or something like that. I mean the humanness of him might have had that fleeting thought.

Anyhow, it kind of adds another dimension to what we know about Abraham when we know from whence he came.

In the end, though, we know he had supreme faith, but even more than faith, he was obedient.

And isn't it said, obedience is better than sacrifice?

Just some thoughts.

 

[Helen]

I might have thought that, or wondered that, too, Eagle, except that God Himself had already spoken to Abraham several times. Abraham KNEW God.

I can see where Abraham could have considered Isaac a child of the Promise. After all, Sarah was NINETY when she had him after so many years of barrenness. After so many years of following God already, of seeing Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed, of the Covenant being made -- so many things -- I don't think Abraham wondered about God any longer.

 

[Clint Kritzer]

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January - Reading 8