Genesis 22:1-18: The Sacrifice of Isaac

The Sacrifice of Isaac: Genesis 22:1-18

Our Scripture reading this morning comes from Genesis 22:1-18. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

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.”

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Today’s passage is a very familiar story if you have spent time growing up in church, as well as being a passage frequently cited by objectors as an example of why they think the God of the Bible is evil or monstrous. How could God call Abraham to sacrifice his child? But as we will see, it is a story in which Abraham is called upon to put his faith in the promises of God, being willing to lay aside the object of his greatest desire and affection and love his God above all else

Main Point – God calls Abraham to offer up Isaac as a test of his affection and loyalty.

This passage begins with being framed as a test by the author, Moses. Verse 1 explains to the reader upfront that this is a test of Abraham. A test of his loyalty or love for God, more than it is a “test of his faith”, as often described. He certainly does put his faith in the promises of God, but the focus should be on what Abraham believed God was able to do, rather than emphasizing anything in the man himself.

-As a test of loyalty, we see God calling Abraham to offer up “his son, his only son, the son whom he loves” (v.2) as a sacrifice to God. His willingness to go through with this request will demonstrate what Abraham ultimately loves most – the God who has called him, or the son he has waited so many years to finally obtain.

-As the narrative progresses (v.3-6), we see Abraham dutifully going forward with his task. Taking Isaac, traveling the 3-day journey, and carrying all of the implements necessary to offer up a burnt offering – nothing in the text seems to indicate there is anything on his mind other than carrying out the task he has been called to perform.

-To his credit, Isaac seems just as willing to go along with the request (v.7-8, 9). Although he is called a boy in v.5 and often depicted as a very young child in art – the Hebrew term is more indicative of at least a teenager, if not a young adult. Abraham is well- advanced, and we can see the compliant attitude of Isaac in allowing himself to be bound
and placed upon the altar. In all of this, we see a father willing to offer up the life of his son and a son willing to lay down his own life – all in obedience to the command of God.

-But as the narrative concludes (v.9-13), we see that God calls a halt to the offering in the last moment and providing Abraham with a substitute to offer up in the place of his son. His faith is found to be true and genuine and the promises that God has made will certainly see their fulfillment through the offspring of Abraham – just as God had said they would. The narrative concludes with Abraham passing his test, demonstrating that his heart has chosen God as
the object of his greatest affection and proves his deep trust in the promises of God and God’s faithfulness
to fulfill them.

What is the significance of the story for the initial reader?
For the Jewish reader, a few things would have been immediately apparent as they heard this story for the first time.

-First, Abraham was called to offer up his son as a “burnt offering”. The burnt offering was an animal, generally costly, entirely offered up to God – holding back nothing. This would have been significant for the Israelites, as the first example of such a sacrifice was found earlier in Genesis 8:21-22, when Noah offers several burnt offerings after the
flood on an altar to God. Additionally, in Leviticus 1:3-4, 9, the regulations for burnt offerings are laid forth. In both instances this type of sacrifice is described as “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (echoing Genesis), as well as being an offering that has to do with removing God’s wrath because of man’s sin (an offering for atonement).

-Second, the promises that God made to Abraham seem to be in jeopardy by his command, but in fact remain sure and certain, as they are reaffirmed by the angel in v.15- 18. What the Israelite would hear, is that no matter the circumstances or cost, God will always ensure that what he speaks and promises will come to pass. Lastly, as later biblical authors write, this story will provide a necessary framework for understanding how God will deal with and ultimately save his people.

-The first way has to do with the location of where Abraham is called to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. In v.2, we are told it is in the land of Moriah. In 2 Chronicles 3:1, we see that it is on a mountain in Moriah where Solomon builds the temple of God. It is “on this mountain where God provides”, that He provides a means of atonement for his people. It is in this temple that generations of Israelites will offer up their own substitutionary sacrifices for sin, sacrifices that turn away God’s righteous wrath and anger toward the sin of his people.

-In Isaiah’s description of the suffering servant, the sin bearing substitute, the prophet describes him as one, who like a lamb is silent before its shearers. This looks back to Isaac’s willingness to be laid upon the altar of sacrifice, raising no objection. The original Jewish audience would have been challenged by this text to examine their own loyalty to and
affection for God – having the text plumb the depths of their faith in and pursuit of God and his promises to provide a means of atonement for his people.

More than being a story about Abraham’s faith, this text actually looks ahead to Christ. As Christian readers, we always want to be mindful of how the OT looks forward in anticipation of Jesus. The author of Hebrews looks back on this text and the statement of Abraham in v.5 and interprets it as understanding that Abraham was willing and able to go forward with the task, because he believed that God was so committed to the promises that he made, that even if Isaac died – God was able to raise him from the dead. But there are deeper connections that point to Christ. 

-In our narrative, Isaac, the son of promise, born by a miraculous working of the Holy Spirit, is taken up a mountain to be offered up as an offering for sin, an offering to turn away God’s wrath towards sin. In like manner, Jesus, the greater Son of Promise, is marched up a hill to die on a mountain as the actual offering for sin, that fully and completely deals with the issue of sin that plagues mankind.

-Isaac has the wood for the burnt offering laid upon him, carrying the means of his “death” to the place where he is to be offered. He carries it willingly and in obedience to the words of his father. In like manner, Jesus will carry his own load of wood, the means of his death, up to the place of his death – carrying it willingly and dutifully in obedience to his father.

-Abraham is prepared to plunge the knife down into his son, to slay him as a sin offering, trusting completely in the God who gives life to the dead, that not one of his certain promises will fail. In like manner, the Father pours out his wrath upon his Son, but unlike Isaac, there will be no substitute – because Jesus Christ is the substitute. He is the sin bearing, suffering servant who faithfully lays down his life that his people may live. Offering his life as an atonement for those who are guilty and deserve the death he dies.

-Instead of offering his son, Abraham is granted the provision of a substitute, receiving Isaac back from the dead and certain to inherit all of the blessings and promises made by God. In like manner, Jesus as the substitute, receives his life back from the dead, securing all of the promised blessings of redemption for his people. Our text reveals to us that Christ is the fulfillment of the notion of God providing a substitute for those who should rightly receive the punishment and death due for their sins. Blessed are those who forsake their sin and trust in Christ as that gracious substitute – resting in his sacrificial death alone and receiving the blessing of new life that he offers.

But we can also come to this text and have the Scriptures shine their light of conviction upon our own hearts and ask the following:

-Have I myself looked to God for the way of peace and atonement he holds forth?

-Are there things, people, or desires that are competing for the affection of my heart – maybe even after I have professed faith in and allegiance to Jesus Christ as lord of all?

-Although God is not calling me to emulate Abraham in sacrificing my child, is there anything that the Holy Spirit is revealing that I need to lay aside, to offer up on the altar of praise to my savior who has purchased me?

- Timothy Keller once said regarding a conversation with a woman from his church: “I asked her what was so scary about unmerited free grace? She replied something like this: "If I was saved by my good works -- then there would be aimit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with rights. I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. But if it is really true that I am a sinner saved by sheer grace -- at God's
infinite cost -- then there's nothing he cannot ask of me.”

-Is there something or some area of life that you are holding back from the lordship of Christ? I would challenge you to consider the price that your savior paid and then consider Abraham and the fact that what God did for him, left him
realizing that there was nothing he could cling to or hold onto other than God andhis perfect faithfulness.

-But in that challenge, also hear the precious gospel truth of all that God has done for you, a sinner, and the life of joy to be found in pursuing him.