Genesis 22:1-24: A Test of Faith

Genesis 22:1-24: A Test of Faith

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Genesis, and today the next passage we come to is Genesis 22:1-24 so I’ll be reading a selection of verses from that passage. It says,

¹ After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take 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.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. ⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” ¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, ¹⁸ and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

May God bless the reading of his Word.

 Let’s pray: Father, your Word is more to be desired than gold and sweeter also than honey. So help us to see its value, taste its sweetness, and experience its power this morning through the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

There’s no doubt that what happens in Genesis 22 is memorable. The story of God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and then calling it off at the last moment is so dramatic that it’s rather difficult to forget. Not too long ago, I came across an article speculating, in a rather humorous fashion, about what things must have been like between Abraham and Isaac after the events described in this chapter of Genesis. The title of the article, which was written as satire, was, “Historians Believe Isaac Declined All Father-Son Camping Trip Invitations After 'The Incident.’” The article reads, “Following the publication of an influential paper presented at a…conference exploring Isaac’s troubled relationship with his father Abraham, most historians now believe that Isaac found excuses to avoid hikes, camping trips, and father-son wilderness outings with his Dad after what the family delicately termed ‘the incident.’” The article then goes on to explain that, although some scholars have theorized that “the incident” ruined Abraham and Isaac’s father-son relationship, a deeper archaeological and linguistic analysis shows that Isaac was still warm toward his father but that he did try to avoid any outdoor excursions with his dad from that point on. Scholarly consensus is now that “the patriarch could only convince his son to spend time with him for ‘indoor bonding experiences, or outdoors if Isaac could verify where there would be plenty of witnesses’” present and that “after the incident, Isaac became ‘jumpy’ and took to monitoring his father's moods [very] carefully, keeping a distance of several feet from Abraham when[ever] [the two of them] were on errands together.”

Now, again, all of that’s obviously just written to make us chuckle a little bit, but it does highlight the dramatic nature of the events of Genesis 22. And, in order to fully appreciate just how dramatic these events were, you have to understand a few things about the context.

Ever since Genesis 12, we’ve seen God promising Abraham repeatedly that he would have a son. We find these promises in Genesis 12:2, Genesis 13:15, Genesis 15:4, Genesis 17:4, Genesis 17:16, and Genesis 18:10. All of these verses record specific promises from God that, even in his old age, Abraham would have a son. In fact, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that this promised child is what the entire narrative of Genesis 12-20 focuses on and looks forward to. The suspense gradually builds throughout these chapters. Then, in Genesis 21, we finally read about God fulfilling his promise. At long last, after 25 years of waiting, Abraham’s son Isaac is born, even though Abraham’s wife Sarah is now 90 years old and obviously well beyond the typical age of childbearing. So Isaac’s birth was clearly miraculous and undoubtedly brought immense joy to both Abraham and Sarah.

However, on the heels of all that excitement in Genesis 21, we then read about a shocking turn of events in Genesis 22. At this point, Isaac’s probably around 10 or 12 years old. And we’re told in verses 1-2: ¹ After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take 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, just stop right there and think about how shocking this must have been for Abraham. Can you imagine the sick feeling that must have gripped his stomach as soon as God said this to him? For us today, we might compare it to receiving that dreaded phone call that a loved one has been in a terrible car accident and had to be life-flighted to the hospital and isn’t expected to make it. That’s how Abraham must have felt when God told him this.

On top of that, this command is all the more shocking—both for Abraham and for us as the readers—because it seems to contradict what we know of God’s nature. The God of the Bible isn’t at all the kind of God who would desire human sacrifice. In fact, in Jeremiah 32:35, he even refers to the practice of human sacrifice as an “abomination.” So, how, then, could he possibly be commanding such a thing in Genesis 22?

And to make all of this even more perplexing, remember how central Isaac was to God’s covenant with Abraham. God had made a sacred agreement with Abraham to make of him a great nation and had promised that he’d even be the father of a multitude of nations and that, through him, blessing would flow to the entire world. God then confirmed this covenant several times and made it clear that it would all be accomplished through Isaac specifically. Isaac was the key to it all. But now, God’s telling Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice? How could that be? That would seem to contradict everything God had been promising Abraham throughout the past several decades.

So, how does Abraham respond? Look at verse 3: “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.” So, Abraham doesn’t hesitate or try to negotiate with God or argue with God. Instead, he just obediently sets out on his journey to the place God told him to go.

The story then continues to unfold in verses 4-8: ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

Notice, in these verses, two indications of Abraham’s faith in God, besides the obvious indication of him embarking on this journey in the first place. In verse 5, while they were still a little way off from their destination, Abraham says to the young men who were traveling with him, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” So Abraham seems to be expecting to return to them not by himself but with Isaac. Then, a little later, when Isaac asks him where the lamb is for the burnt offering, Abraham tells him in verse 8, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” It’s not entirely clear from that statement whether Abraham’s speaking figurately and actually referring to Isaac as the lamb or whether he’s expressing confidence that God will provide a literal lamb to take Isaac’s place. But, either way, he has faith that “God will provide.” That’s what he says. “God will provide.”

We then read in verse 9, “When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.” Now, up to that point, I imagine Isaac was probably having a pretty good time with his dad. He was probably thinking this was a pretty cool excursion. But then, when Abraham starts doing the things he does in this verse, I’m sure Isaac was probably like, “Dad…umm…what are you doing? You’re kind of starting to make me a little nervous here.” Yet, incredibly, we have every indication that Isaac was obedient. Presumably, as a teenager, he could have physically overpowered his 100-plus-year-old dad. Yet, instead, he obediently allowed his father to bind him and lay him on the altar. 

After that, verse 10 tells us, “Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.” You’ve gotta give Abraham credit; he was really gonna go through with it. Thankfully, though, at the last possible moment, God stops him from harming his son. Verses 11-12: ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 

So, now, the angel explains to Abraham that it was all a test. I’m sure, at that point, he breathed a huge sign of relief and went and untied Isaac and gave him the biggest hug he’d ever given him in his life. And the angel of the Lord tells Abraham in verse 12, “[N]ow I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” To fear God, in this context, doesn’t mean literally being afraid of God but rather was a common phrase used in the Old Testament to refer to being wholeheartedly devoted to God. For example, in Psalm 130:4, we see that a person’s fear of God is actually bolstered by God’s grace and forgiveness—which wouldn’t make sense if the “fear of God” referred to being afraid of God. So, when Abraham’s told, “[N]ow I know that you fear God,” we can probably interpret that to mean something like, “Now I know that you’re devoted to God and trust God more than anything else.”

So, the main idea of this passage is that Abraham demonstrates remarkable faith in being willing to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Again, Abraham demonstrates remarkable faith in being willing to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Throughout the past ten chapters of Genesis, we’ve seen Abraham do very well spiritually in some instances and also very poorly in other instances. But, without question, this is Abraham at his best. On several previous occasions, Abraham had taken matters into his own hands and behaved deceitfully and shown an unfortunate lack of faith in his conduct. But here in Genesis 22, it seems like Abraham’s grown in his faith exponentially.

Instead of trusting in himself and his own clever schemes, Abraham puts his total trust and confidence in God. And it’s for this reason that he’s commended in what’s often known as the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11:17-19 says, ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ¹⁹ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

So, Abraham didn’t know what was going to happen. He didn’t know if God was going to bring Isaac back from the dead or what. But he had faith that, one way or another, God would show himself faithful. And so, Abraham was willing to surrender the situation into God’s hands.

What about you? Have you been brought to the point, in your spiritual life, of absolute surrender? Have you determined to let God direct your life instead of you directing it? Have you moved over into the passenger seat so that God can take his rightful place in the driver’s seat of your life? And this isn’t just theoretical, either. You can be sure that, from time to time, you’ll find yourself in the midst of real situations that’ll reveal whether or not you’re truly walking in faith and are surrendered to God.

I read a news story a couple of weeks ago about James Reimer, the goalie for the San Jose Sharks hockey team. Like many NHL teams, the Sharks recently hosted a “Pride Night” during one of their games. And this Pride Night, of course, included LGBT-themed jerseys with all of the standard rainbow colors. But James Reimer courageously refused to wear the jersey and instead put out the following statement: “Under the umbrella of the NHL’s ‘Hockey is for everyone” initiative, the San Jose Sharks have chosen to wear jerseys in support of the LGBTQIA+ community tonight. For all 13 years of my NHL career, I have been a Christian—not just in title, but in how I choose to live my life daily. I have a personal faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins and, in response, asks me to love everyone and follow him. I have no hate in my heart for anyone, and I have always strived to treat everyone that I encounter with respect and kindness. In this specific instance, I am choosing not to endorse something that is counter to my personal convictions which are based on the Bible, the highest authority in my life. I strongly believe that every person has value and worth, and the LGBTQIA+ community, like all others, should be welcomed in all aspects of the game of hockey.”

So, there you go. That’s how it’s done. I’m sure James Reimer understood what was at stake and how a lot of people would react to his decision and what it could mean for his career. Yet, in faith, he surrendered the situation to God and acted in accordance with his biblical convictions.

And there are plenty of other kinds of situations as well that reveal whether or not we’re truly walking in faith and are surrendered to God. The vast majority of them aren’t anywhere near as dramatic as the situation James Reimer found himself in, which involved him having to take a stand like that in front of millions of people, but these situations are nevertheless significant.

For example, God calls those of us who are Christians to live as missionaries in the various spheres of influence in which he’s placed us. However, some parts of the gospel message we’re called share are potentially offensive to people. So, sharing the gospel with someone involves a certain level of risk. Now, of course, we should try to share the gospel in a loving and winsome and diplomatic way. But the fact remains that, no matter how loving, winsome, and diplomatic we are, there’s a chance that the person might not respond very well and might want to distance themselves from us from that point on. Sharing the gospel could change our relationship with someone. So, we have a choice to make: will we shrink back from doing what God’s called us to do, or will we surrender the situation and the relationship to God by faithfully sharing the message God calls us to share and leaving the results to him?

Or perhaps we find ourselves in a situation in which we’re put to the test financially. Maybe we sense God leading us to contribute a certain amount of money or percentage of our income to the advance of the gospel. And yet, the thought of giving at that level makes us feel anxious. After all, what if some unexpected bills come up that we’re not able to pay? Or what if we find ourselves in a difficult financial predicament in the future and really need that money? There again, we stand at a crossroads. Will we live lives that are dominated by fear or driven by faith? Will we disobey what God seems to be leading us to do, or will we surrender our financial situation to God with the confidence that he’ll take care of us and provide for our needs?

Or, to give one final example, maybe we’re single and deeply desire to be married. However, our efforts to find a godly spouse seem to be going nowhere. So, we might be tempted to settle for a spouse who just isn’t very devoted to Jesus. At that point, again, we have a decision: will we take things into our own hands and disobediently marry that person, or will we surrender our lives to God and determine to remain single until God brings along someone to be our spouse who’s genuinely devoted to him?

So, hopefully these scenarios are helpful in illustrating the various ways in which, like Abraham, our faith is often put to the test. So, ask yourself, in what way do you need to exhibit faith in your life right now? What situation do you need to surrender to the Lord? 

And I’ll tell you that, in most of these situations, there are idols in our hearts that we’re holding onto. That’s why these kinds of situations are so difficult for us. They’re difficult because there’s something that’s functioning as an idol within our hearts. An idol, in this sense, is anything that’s displaced God from his rightful position of being first in our lives—anything that we love more than we love God, anything that we trust instead of trusting God, anything that we hope will do for us something that, in reality, only God can do.

For Abraham, it seems likely that he was in danger of making an idol out of his son Isaac. Although we’d obviously expect Abraham, as a father, to have a natural and healthy love for his son, it’s not hard at all to see how he might have been tempted to go beyond that and begin idolizing his son and looking to his son to provide the satisfaction that only God can provide. And so, God gives Abraham a not-so-subtle reminder in Genesis 22 that nothing, not even his son Isaac, can be allowed to take the place of God in his life.

So, as we think about this passage, it’s probably a good idea for us to examine our own hearts and ask ourselves what idols might be present within us and might be interfering with our ability to follow God faithfully and live lives that are surrendered to him. Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, helpfully identifies 16 different kinds of idolatry that I think are worth mentioning as we seek to uncover whatever idols we might be worshiping. So, as I go through these, think about which of them might be ruling and driving your life.

1. Power Idolatry: Having power and influence over others
2. Approval Idolatry: Being loved and respected by a certain person
3. Inner Ring Idolatry: Having a particular social grouping or professional grouping or other group letting us in
4. Family Idolatry: Having our children and/or parents happy in general and happy with us
5. Relationship Idolatry: Having Mr. or Ms. “Right” in love with us
6. Comfort Idolatry: Having a certain kind of pleasurable experience or a particular quality of life
7. Control Idolatry: Getting mastery over our lives in a certain area
8. Helping Idolatry: Having people being dependent on us and needing us
9. Dependence Idolatry: Having someone there to protect us and keep us safe
10. Independence Idolatry: Being completely free from obligations or responsibilities to take care of someone
11. Work Idolatry: Being highly productive and getting a lot done
12. Achievement Idolatry: Being recognized for our accomplishments and excelling in our work
13. Materialism Idolatry: Having a certain level of wealth, financial freedom, and very nice possessions
14. Religion Idolatry: Proudly adhering to our religion’s moral codes and feeling accomplished in its activities
15. Irreligion Idolatry: Being totally independent of organized religion and living by a self-made morality
16. Image Idolatry: Having a particular kind of look or body image

So, again, these are the things that get in the way of us living lives of faithful obedience and absolute surrender to God. Which ones are a particular struggle for you? What are the “Isaacs” of your life? And then, once you’ve identified what those are, understand that God calls you to surrender those to him and “demote” them, as it were, to their proper place, so that you’re loving and serving and treasuring God above them all. 

Because the problem with these idols, first of all, is that they never do for us what we want them to do for us. They never satisfy. In Jeremiah 2, God compares them to broken cisterns. Listen to God’s words of rebuke to the Jews in Jeremiah 2:11-13: “Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” A cistern, back in ancient times, was a large hole in the ground that people dug in order to store water for when they needed it. It would typically be lined with rocks and primitive cement to keep the water from draining out. But sometimes, that cement seal would be broken. And that’s what God compares his peoples’ idols to: “broken cisterns that can hold no water.” That’s what our idols are. 

In fact, not only do our idols not satisfy us, they actually end up enslaving us. Therefore, because God loves us so much, he’s determined to rid us of our idols—just as he does with Abraham in Genesis 22. And, thankfully, Abraham responded to that in the right way. Will we do the same? Will we lay our idols on that altar?

In addition, as we think about what Abraham was willing to do, it’s also a wonderful picture for us of what God was not just willing to do but actually did do. In Genesis 22:12, God commends Abraham for the fact that Abraham has “not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Does that language remind you of anything? In Romans 8:32, Paul describes God as “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all….” And John 3:16 famously tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” You know, in Genesis 22, God didn’t ultimately require that Abraham follow through with sacrificing his son Isaac. Yet, what God didn’t require of Abraham, he did, in a manner of speaking, require of himself.

As we look at the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we’re reminded of the incomprehensible love God has for his people that would lead him to give up his own Son even for sinners like you and me. Just as God commended Abraham for not withholding his own son, we can worship God for not withholding his own Son but sending him to the cross to pay for our sins.

Just as Isaac carried the wood of the sacrifice up the mountain, Jesus carried the wood of his own cross on his back. Also, just as Isaac voluntarily submitted to the will of his father Abraham, Jesus likewise obeyed the will of his Father in allowing himself to be crucified on the cross.

In fact, get this: Jesus was even crucified at what basically amounts to the same location at which Isaac was offered up on the altar. You heard that correctly. The site at which Abraham built the altar upon which Isaac would be placed is basically the same geographic site—or at least, no more than a few hundred yards away from the site—at which Pontius Pilate would one day have Jesus crucified. We know this because, according to Genesis 22:2, God told Abraham to go to a mountain in “the land of Moriah” in order to offer up Isaac. We’re then told in 2 Chronicles 3:1 that King Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem “on Mount Moriah.” And, of course, Jesus would later be crucified just a few hundred yards away from the site of that temple. So, could it be any clearer that Isaac prefigures Jesus?

Yet, Isaac isn’t the only element the narrative of Genesis 22 that’s intended to prefigure Jesus. In Genesis 22:13, right after God stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, it says, “And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.” Notice those two words “instead of.” Abraham offered up the ram “instead of” Isaac. And it’s in those two words that we find the concept that’s at the very heart of the gospel—the concept of substitution. Just as the ram was sacrificed in Isaac’s place, Jesus bore God the Father’s judgment in our place. That’s the reason Jesus died on the cross. In reality, we were the ones who deserved to face God’s judgment because of our sins. But, in his love, God the Father sent Jesus the Son to suffer that judgment in our place and as our substitute.

Yet, after Jesus died and was buried, he didn’t stay in the grave. Instead, three days later, he resurrected from the dead with the result that he’s now able to save all who put their faith in him. When we put our trust in Jesus to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, he rescues us from both the penalty of our sins and the power of our sins. So, just as Abraham exhibited faith in God in Genesis 22 and thereby obtained God’s commendation, we likewise are called to put our faith in Jesus in order to obtain salvation. That involves surrendering every aspect of our lives to God so that he can do in us and with us as he sees fit, just as Abraham surrendered his son Isaac. So, have you yet come to that point in your life? Have you put your trust in Jesus and surrendered your life to him and thereby experienced the rescue and redemption he offers? If not, he invites you to do so even today.