1 “And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 2 And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, 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. 3 And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? 8 And Abraham said, God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son; so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.”
Golden Text.—“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.” Heb. 11:17.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What experience did Abraham have after his covenant with Abimelech? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What command did the Lord give him? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) What preparation did Abraham make for the journey? Verse 3. Note 3. (4) How long was he in making the journey? Verse 4. Note 4. (5) When the Lord had shown Abraham the place, what did he say to his servants? Verse 5. Note 5. (6) How were the implements for the sacrifice taken the rest of the way? Verse 6. (7) What, in Isaac’s mind, was lacking for the sacrifice? Verse 7. Note 6. (8) What was Abraham’s reply to his son’s question? Verse 8. (9) When they arrived at the designated spot, what further preparation was made? Verse 9. Note 7. (10) What then did Abraham do? Verse 10. (11) Who then called to him out of heaven? What did the angel say? What was Abraham’s reply? Verse 11. (12) What command did the angel give? What reason did he give? Verse 12. (13) What then did Abraham do? What did he do with the ram? Verse 13. Note 8.
NOTES.
1. “After these things,” refers to the covenant between Abraham and Abimelech made at Beer-sheba (the well of the oath), mentioned in the previous chapter.
2. “Thine only Son.”—By this expression there was an emphatic denial of any other offspring of Abraham as the one through whom the promised seed should come. This made the command to make a burnt-offering of Isaac all the more mysterious. When Abraham and Sarah were at least thirty-five years younger, they had deemed a child of their own out of the question; and now, when he was 120 and she 110 years old, what could the prospects be, if Isaac were put to death? But he went forward in faith of the promise made nearly fifty years before, counting that God could raise Isaac from the dead. See Heb. 11:17-19.
3. Prompt Obedience.—Abraham went about the service early the next morning after receiving the command. The record leaves the impression that he did not even tell Sarah, and there was good reason why he should not. It was her suggestion that had caused him to distrust God’s ability before, and to bring trouble into the family through a polygamous marriage. It is doubtful whether Sarah would have borne the present much harder test of faith.
4. Three days and nights was a long, severe strain on an old man—traveling, meditating, praying, and keeping his secret within his own breast, with such an ordeal confronting him. Only a man inured to a life of faith could have endured.
5. Abraham left his servants behind because he wanted no witnesses to the sacrifice, and no probable hindrances. Servants might have deemed it proper to interfere to prevent such a tragedy, thinking their aged master was becoming demented. However, the promise that Abraham and the lad would return, is evidence of Abraham’s faith in the restoration of his offering.
6. “Where Is the Lamb?”—Up to the time of the offering, Isaac was unaware of the trial that was before him. Abraham had no doubt postponed the revelation to Isaac, in hope that some alternative would be presented. This question of the intended victim must have been like a knife-thrust to the father’s heart.
7. The sacrifice of Isaac was also a voluntary offering on his part. He was a strong young man of about twenty years, and could hardly have been forcibly bound and laid upon the altar by his aged father. Then he was a type of Christ; hence his sacrifice must have been voluntary, and his will must have been submissive to the will of his father. Ps. 40:7, 8. Isaac had been reared in the way of obedience, and in the way of faith in God’s promise to his father Abraham. Gen. 18:19.
8. “In the Stead of His Son.”—Notwithstanding the substitute-offering in the stead of Isaac, the Lord gives Abraham full credit for offering his son. Verse 12; Heb. 11:17; James 2:21. Abraham was “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;” the sacrifice was whole-hearted, and literal as far as the Lord permitted. Let us remember, however, that when Jesus Christ, the antitype of Isaac, came to the altar for sacrifice, there was no substitute. There was no hand to stay the execution. He was Himself the Substitute for us.
