Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
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.”
Genesis 22:1-2, NKJV
In this blog, we will examine the third and final major statute (חקה chuqqah) that God gave Abraham. This is an incredibly important statute, in that it is a picture of God’s ultimate redemptive plan for mankind! It represents God’s action, on our behalf, to voluntarily pay the price for our salvation – through the shedding of His Son’s blood. This is the statute of the ultimate sacrifice. And it is very likely the statute that Jesus was primarily referring to when He said that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets!
As important as this statute is, we will spend significant time exploring the full nature of God’s requirement, Abraham’s obedience, and the picture that it presents, pointing to Jesus’ ultimate fulfillment. If this is your first introduction to this amazing typological story, hang on and be ready to be incredibly blessed!
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
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.”
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. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 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.”
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.
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. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
But 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.”
Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 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 — 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.”
Genesis 22:1-18, NKJV
Let’s unpack the story. First, it is very important to understand that, to Abraham, God’s requirement (“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.”) represented a clear and certain contrast to His covenant. Remember, God had told Abraham:
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”
Genesis 15:1b-4, NKJV
So Abraham knew that his heir would come from his own body – his son would inherit his reward and be the conduit to God’s ultimate blessing. And at the time that God demanded the sacrifice, Abraham had only two sons – Ishmael, the son of Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar; and Isaac, the son of Sarah. So God’s requirement that Abraham sacrifice Isaac could seemingly mean only one of a small number of possibilities:
- The blessing that God promised would pass through Ishmael, Hagar’s son.
- Abraham would ultimately have another son through Sarah.
- Somehow, God would work out a miraculous solution to keep Isaac in the line of inheritance.
The most likely answer would seem to be Ishmael. Abraham loved Ishmael, and had prayed for God to accept and bless Ishmael:
“Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
Genesis 17:17b-18, NKJV
And God had indeed heard and answered Abraham’s prayer:
“…as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.”
Genesis 17:20b, NKJV
However; God was also very clear about Ishmael’s role, and that of Abraham’s son, Isaac:
“But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
Genesis 17:21, NKJV
While Ishmael would be blessed and ultimately become a great nation, God’s covenant would actually come through Abraham’s son Isaac, to be born through Sarah. So option 1, the covenant and inheritance passing through Ishmael was not possible. By the same token, option 2, that Abraham would have a future son, was also nullified through God’s statement above: “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” So there could be no way around Abraham’s incredibly challenging paradox: Isaac was the covenantal son of the promise, the promise could only pass to a living descendent, and God was now requiring Abraham to kill the son of the promise. In fact, God even highlighted the paradox in His demand of Abraham:
Then [God] 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.”
Genesis 22:2, NKJV
Not only was God requiring something of great difficulty to any parent, He was making it doubly difficult by calling Isaac Abraham’s “only son, the son, whom you love”. What a challenging paradox! And yet, Abraham obeyed.
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.
Genesis 22:3, NKJV
I have brought up, in the past, a point that is worth noting here. In the book of Hebrews, we are told that Abraham believed that God would resurrect Isaac after the sacrifice. I believe that it is this expectation that allowed Abraham to carry through with God’s requirement. Abraham knew that God must be true to His promises; yet, here He was asking Abraham to nullify His own promise. This is not in God’s character, so there had to be another way through the conundrum, and resurrection seemed to be the only way out. What Abraham did not know was that this belief would be one more piece in the panoramic picture that God was painting through this incredible story! We will examine this point later.
Next, God gives very specific instructions for the sacrifice:
“…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.”
Genesis 22:2b NKJV
In order to fulfill the statute, Isaac had to be offered as a burnt offering, and on exactly the right place – on a mountain in the land of Moriah. Today, it is hard for many of us to visualize Abraham’s plight. We simply do not have a contemporary understanding of this requirement. First, a burnt offering had to be slaughtered, and drained of blood. Next, it would be placed in a large fire and the flesh consumed. The smoke would then rise to God as the offering. Can you imagine realizing that God had required this of your child? And that you were the one that must personally slaughter him and subsequently burn his body? This was what was required of Abraham. But it was even worse. God had specifically named the land of Moriah as the spot for the sacrifice – upon a mountaintop of God’s own choosing. And the land of Moriah was a three day journey from Abraham’s abode. Not only did Abraham have to do the unthinkable, but he had to think about it for three long days while making the journey! Who among us would have the stamina to complete this task?
Upon arriving in the land of Moriah, Abraham knew that the time would soon be upon him, as he saw the fateful spot in the distance. Now put yourself in Isaac’s place for a moment. It was an honor to be taken on a long journey in order to help your father with an important God-directed sacrifice. And it would be expected that, prior to arriving at the site of the sacrifice, wood would be gathered, and fire would be started, and carried by torch to the site. But there was the problem of the sacrifice itself. Normally, a lamb, goat, ox, or other beast from the family’s holdings would be brought for the sacrifice. But this time, none was brought. Would they have a hunt for the sacrifice when they arrived? This would only serve to enhance the excitement of the journey! And we know, from later stories regarding Isaac, that he enjoyed a hunt, and was partial to wild game. But somehow, father Abraham’s mood and visage didn’t seem intent upon the excitement of a hunt. In fact, as they approached the mountain of sacrifice, it became apparent that there would be no hunt:
Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 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.”
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.
Genesis 22:4-8, NKJV
At this point, Abraham the father had to be thinking about his coming task of slaughtering his beloved son Isaac and offering him as a burnt offering to God. And Isaac was carrying the very wood upon which his body would soon be slaughtered and burnt. Father and son, offeror and offering. The giver and the gift.
Upon finally arriving at the designated spot, Abraham made everything ready, including his son:
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.
Genesis 22:9, NKJV
With tears in his eyes, it was now time to do what God had required:
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:10, NKJV
There was no way for Abraham or Isaac to know that God would personally stop the sacrifice. He had had three days to stop it. After the long journey, all hope was lost – the father had to slay the son. But then came that sweet voice – at the last possible moment:
… 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.”
Genesis 22:11-12, NKJV
Abraham would not have to sacrifice his son after all! He had been faithful to give the ultimate giver the gift that was required, and the precious gift was restored. Imagine the tears of joy and relief, both from the father and the son! Isaac was unbound and set free, and the same can be said of Abraham’s heart. Isaac had figuratively lay dead in his father’s mind and heart for three days of agony, and now he was made alive again. Praise and thanksgiving must have rained freely from their lips that day! And the sacrifice? Freely provided:
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.”
Genesis 22:13-14, NKJV
A ram caught by its horns in a thicket – ready for catching, slaughtering and offering through fire. God had indeed provided. Praise be to His holy Name!
We have now unpacked the story. God required a heavy statute of His servant Abraham – the freewill offering of his beloved son. Were it to be complete at this point, this would be a wonderful, but intensely mysterious story for future generations. Why did God require the sacrifice in the first place? Why in the land of Moriah? What was the need for such a test? This is a challenging mystery indeed. That is, until we recognize the rest of the story.
In part B of this session, we will look backwards at Jesus’ fulfillment of this amazing story. We will see how the entire mystery is unveiled in the life – and death – of our Lord Jesus. Praise be His Name! May God richly bless you in your own study of the Word! Selah!
YouJi