Genesis 22:17, commentary and pictures

On Mount Moriah where Abraham bound Isaac in obedience to offer him, God renewed His covenant to Abraham and confirmed it by an oath sworn by Himself because Abraham did not withhold his son. He promised to bless Abraham and to multiply his descendants beyond counting as the stars of heaven and the sand on the seashore, and that his seed would overcome and prevail with victory over their enemies. With that covenant stood the glorious promise of deliverance for the human race through the sacrifice of the Son of the Most High, for the binding of Isaac prefigured the offering of God's beloved Son to ransom guilty man. Through Abraham's seed all nations of earth would be blessed, making him founder of a great nation in Canaan not for selfish national greatness but to be a separate light-bearer and blessing to the heathen. Abraham trusted God's promises as infallible without hesitation or reasoning even though the command seemed to cut off the promised heir, believing God could raise Isaac from the dead, and his unfaltering obedience put Satan's accusations to shame before heaven and shows that nothing less than perfect obedient faith is accepted and will be rewarded.

Setting and Wording

The promise was spoken on Mount Moriah, the consecrated spot where the temple was later built, where Abraham revealed his willingness to sacrifice his only son Isaac in obedience to Jehovah's command to offer him as a burnt offering, and where Isaac had been bound as that offering.

It renews God's covenant of blessing to Abraham and his descendants after Abraham obeyed and did not withhold his son, confirming it by a solemn oath sworn by God Himself because of that obedience. The oath was sworn by Himself after Abraham's demonstrated faith and obedience, and it belongs to God's covenant which He fulfills for His own glory and for the greatest good of His people.

It promises in blessing to bless Abraham and in multiplying greatly to multiply his descendants beyond counting, using the stars of heaven and the sand upon the seashore as the measure of their number.

It promises that his seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, meaning his descendants shall overcome their enemies and prevail over them with victory.

Covenant Blessing and Mission

The oath confirms the covenant of blessing together with the glorious Messianic promise of deliverance for the human race through the sacrifice of the Son of the Most High. It was confirmed to Abraham, the father of the faithful, at Mount Moriah where Isaac had been bound as an offering. Isaac's binding was an emblem that prefigures the offering of the Son of God. Abraham was permitted to know in his own experience something of the great sacrifice by which fallen, guilty, rebellious man is ransomed through the gift of God's beloved Son. As Abraham gave his son, carrying out the fearful test in heart purpose as fully as if he had taken his son's life with his own hand, so God the Father accepted the death of His Son to save a guilty, rebellious race, giving a glimpse of the great sacrifice made when God gave His Son and suffered with Him.

When Abraham answered that God would provide Himself a lamb, and the ram God provided was offered in the place of Isaac, light was shed upon the mystery of redemption. That substitution gave a glimpse of God's great sacrifice in giving His Son and suffering with Him. Even the angels understood more clearly the wonderful provision God had made for guilty man in the death of the Commander of heaven, the Son of God. The promise also declares that through Abraham's seed all nations of earth will be blessed. It shows God's faithfulness to fulfill His word for His own glory and for the greatest good of His people, and it grounds that God's people can be delivered from their enemies to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness, with Abraham's obedience named as the reason for the oath.

The promised vast posterity, beyond counting, would make Abraham the founder of a great nation in Canaan. It was given for no selfish purpose and not merely for national greatness. Abraham, called out from his kindred to regions beyond, and his descendants as a separate people and an independent nation, were to embrace all nations and be a light-bearer and blessing to the heathen. The promise is linked to Abraham's faithfulness in teaching his children and household to follow God's way. It illustrates true faith as more than belief, as trust in God that produces fruits, spoken by the same voice that told him to leave his country for a land God would show him, by which Abraham was saved by faith in Christ just as the sinner today is saved by faith in Christ.

Faith and Obedience

The command to offer Isaac seemed to clash with the promises already given concerning him, for Isaac was the child of promise through whom a great nation had been promised, yet Abraham knew God's promises were infallible and obeyed without hesitation, without questioning, and without waiting to reason the command out. The oath that followed confirmed the renewed covenant after that obedience, multiplying descendants beyond number as the stars and the sand and granting victory over enemies. That obedience was not blind resignation but reliance on the promise of descendants as numerous as the sand on the shore, and Abraham assured Isaac that the promise concerning him would still stand. He believed God could fulfill it even if Isaac died, by raising him from the dead.

The oath was confirmed before the angels and the intelligences of other worlds, because Satan had accused Abraham before angels and before God of failing to meet the covenant conditions and being unworthy of its blessings through lack of faith. God therefore proved His servant's loyalty before all heaven to show that nothing less than perfect obedience is accepted and to open the plan of salvation more fully. The trial laid on Abraham was far more severe than that brought upon Adam, whose prohibition involved no suffering, while Abraham's command demanded the most agonizing sacrifice. Abraham's unfaltering obedience and Isaac's willing submission were witnessed with wonder and admiration by heavenly beings, all heaven applauded his fidelity, Satan's accusations were shown false, and the oath testifies that obedience will be rewarded.

Abraham's willingness to surrender Isaac showed that nothing is too precious to give to God, for he carried out the purpose in his heart as fully as if he had taken his son's life. That act teaches confidence in God's requirements even when they are painful, and submission to parents and to God, while Isaac's willing submission shows that offering his life to God could be regarded as an honor. This willingness to give up what was most precious stands in contrast to those unwilling to surrender even earthly possessions for God or others. The test was given for Abraham's present and eternal good, and he came off conqueror. The same testing comes to God's people today when the Lord puts His purposes in place of their own devising, often contrary to human desires and inclinations and contrary to the dictates of the flesh.