Genesis 22:2, commentary and pictures

God commanded Abraham alone to take Isaac, his only son of promise through Sarah and the beloved heir in whom his hopes were centered, to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering, a three-day journey from his home. It was his last and most severe test, seeming terrible and impossible because it appeared to leave him childless and to contradict God's promise that his seed through Isaac would be as the sand of the sea. Abraham obeyed promptly without delay, murmur, or reasoning, trusting God's goodness and power to fulfill the promise through Isaac, even believing He could raise him from the dead. The offering was designed to prefigure the sacrifice of God's Son, with the ram offered in Isaac's place representing the Son of God sacrificed in man's stead, yet unlike Isaac Christ was not spared but suffered crucifixion and death for a guilty race. It therefore teaches that nothing possessed is too precious to withhold from God, calling for entire surrender of the will and prompt obedient faith that trusts Him irrespective of consequences.

Words and Historical Setting

“Thine only son” does not deny that Abraham had another son, but identifies Isaac as the only son of promise through Sarah, the one through whom God had said the promise would be fulfilled, with Ishmael left out of account.

Isaac was the tenderly loved, beloved son in whom Abraham’s hopes were centered, the heir of the promised blessing, the light of the home and comfort of his old age, and the joy of his life. To lose him even by accident or disease would have brought deep grief, so the loss was felt with special force because of Abraham’s affectionate attachment.

The startling command was spoken to and heard by Abraham alone, coming in a vision of the night in his home in Beer-sheba when he was about one hundred and twenty years old. He was old and longing for rest, and the call came after he had been made to send Ishmael away, which made the demand to slay the one through whom his name was to be perpetuated deeply felt.

God told him to get to the land of Moriah and offer Isaac there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which God would tell him of, the mountain God would identify, near Salem later chosen as Jerusalem. The obedience involved a three-day journey and walk with Isaac that gave time to reflect, to look away at every step from things seen to things unseen while temptations pressed upon him, hoping each day that God would revoke the command.

What was required was dreadfully specific, that Abraham should shed his son’s blood with his own hand, which seemed impossibly dreadful. He understood the command and that it must be obeyed, yet in his anguish he feared to tell Sarah because her love for Isaac might lead her to hinder the sacrifice.

Nature and Purpose of Test

The command to take Isaac to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering was Abraham's last and most severe and fearful test of faith, obedience, fear of God, and loyalty. It demanded his beloved and only son of promise, and it came to him alone in a night vision at home when he was about one hundred and twenty years old, old and longing for rest, after he had been made to send Ishmael away, followed by a three-day journey that gave time to reflect. More severe than any other, it could not be reasoned out, yet Abraham believed, delighted to obey, stopped reasoning, and came off conqueror, obeying despite anguish without letting feeling or will rebel, until an angel stayed his hand before he harmed Isaac. The trial was intended not only for Abraham but to teach heavenly beings about the plan of salvation, for his obedience showed loyalty and disproved Satan's accusations, and when God stopped him and provided a ram in Isaac's place the substitution shed light on how God provides salvation. God gave the command to teach Abraham a lesson for his present and eternal good, showing how His people will be tested with the Lord putting His purposes in place of their own devising even when contrary to human desire and the dictates of the flesh.

The command seemed terrible, uncalled for, and impossible, appearing to leave Abraham childless and to make the promised descendants impossible. It stood against God's former word heard when called out of Chaldea fifty years before, that his seed through Isaac should be as the sand of the sea for multitude and as the dust of the earth, raising whether the same voice now spoke, whether it was a stranger's voice, whether he was deceived, whether God could contradict Himself, and whether he must cut off the only hope of fulfillment. It also seemed to conflict with God's law which forbids killing, and Abraham struggled with doubt, grieved, prayed for confirmation and further light, recalled that the same God had promised Isaac, yet received none and set out to obey without delay. He could have argued that he was too old and weak or that sacrificing Isaac conflicted with the promises concerning him, holding instead to God's stated promise that it would be fulfilled through Isaac and not concluding it must come through Ishmael. Age and feebleness gave no excuse, and personal feeling, convenience, and apparent contradiction with promise gave no right to question the command's justice, hesitate, delay, murmur, or reproach; he obeyed without complaint in complete trust.

God knew how painful the test would be, for the words naming his only beloved son in the promise make that clear. He has full right to require such experience of His children to give them what they need, and it must not be questioned or excused, for those with perfect confidence never question His dealings. The command required Abraham at every step of the three-day walk to look away from things seen to things unseen while temptations pressed upon him. He trusted God's goodness and power, believing God meant what He said, sees the end from the beginning, and could raise Isaac from the dead to fulfill the promise of descendants through Isaac.

The trial was given to immortalize through all ages the lesson that the Lord who gave can also take away, that all is His, and that nothing is too precious to give to God. Its history was recorded to give strength, courage, and faith to others, teaching that God is the very best friend to be trusted irrespective of consequences. It was meant to show loyalty, disprove Satan's accusations, and help angels understand redemption more clearly through the provided ram.

Abraham's Faith and Obedience

The command tore his soul and filled him with anguish and grief, yet he did not hesitate, delay, murmur, complain, question, or give up, but obeyed promptly and immediately and exactly as commanded, starting at once on the long painful journey. He refused to let feeling or will rebel, and he carried the work through until heaven interposed to stop him before he harmed his son. Age and feebleness, deep affection and love, hardship and difficulty gave no excuse for disobedience, and neither personal feeling nor convenience nor the apparent contradiction with the promise gave any right to question, delay, murmur, or reproach. Genuine faith requires the whole person surrendered to God and produces good works, and age does not excuse anyone from duty.

He did not stop to reason the matter out or to question its justice, but obeyed at once without waiting until he could understand it, looking away at every step from things seen to things unseen while temptations and doubts pressed upon him through the three-day walk. He prayed for confirmation and further light and received none, yet he trusted that God was just and righteous and followed the requirement exactly without using the journey to doubt or to excuse himself. On the third day a cloud of glory resting over Moriah confirmed that the command had come from heaven.

He trusted the goodness, power, justice, and righteousness of God, believing that God meant what He said, sees the end from the beginning, and could raise Isaac from the dead. Though the demand to slay the one through whom his name was to be perpetuated seemed to leave him childless and to cut off the only hope of fulfillment, he held to the former word that his seed should be as the sand of the sea and as the dust of the earth and that the promise would be fulfilled through Isaac and not through Ishmael, for Isaac was the only son of promise through whom God had said it would come. This confidence he taught to Isaac as they walked together.

In his heart he had made the sacrifice as fully as if he had taken his son's life, thereby showing that he feared God and withheld nothing from Him. That faith was counted to him for righteousness, and because he obeyed God renewed the promise to bless and multiply him and to bless all nations in his seed. He is registered as the father of the faithful and called the friend of God, and doing such works of obedience is what makes a person a true child of Abraham.

When he reached the appointed place he told Isaac what was required, and Isaac consented and submitted because he trusted his father's integrity and believed God had commanded it. He felt it a privilege and an honor to yield his life as an offering if God would accept him. Then with the knife raised God stopped Abraham before he harmed Isaac, his hand stayed by an angel, and a ram was offered in Isaac's place.

Foreshadowing of Christ's Sacrifice

The command to offer Isaac was given both to test faith and to impress the mind with the reality of the gospel, being designed to prefigure the sacrifice of God's Son for the sins of the world. Isaac laid upon the altar in near-sacrifice was a figure of that Son offered for the world, while the ram provided and offered in Isaac's place represented the Son of God to be sacrificed in man's stead. That substitution shows no person can make expiation for himself, for the Son of God alone can bear the world's guilt.

Through anguish and obedience Abraham was permitted to grasp the promise and have the plan of redemption and the self-denial involved in giving a Son to save humanity impressed upon him. From his own experience of torture of soul through the dark days of that fearful trial he understood something of the greatness of the sacrifice made by the infinite God for man's redemption and of the greatness of God's love. He saw in advance the coming Just One, Christ the incarnate Saviour, the Lamb slain for humanity's sins, and rejoiced in the vision of Christ. Through the test he was permitted to understand that God accepted the death of His Son to save a rebellious race, and that the Father suffered with His Son.

Unlike Isaac, Christ was not spared but endured humiliation, suffering, crucifixion, and a death of agony and shame to save the fallen race doomed to death by transgression of the law. The Father's real sacrifice lay in accepting the death of His beloved Son to save a guilty, rebellious race, saying to the sinner, Live, for a ransom is found. The angels who witnessed His humiliation and soul-anguish were not permitted to interpose as in Isaac's case, and there was no voice to cry that it was enough. That giving proves the infinite compassion and love of God and gives assurance that He who delivered up His Son for all will with Him also freely give all things.

Abraham had set his feet in the blood-stained path without having to travel it, for when his knife was raised his hand was stayed by an angel. Satan invoked that test to tempt Christ in the wilderness after His long fast, suggesting He need only begin that path and not endure its suffering in self-denial, painful hunger, and death. Appearing in light as an angel from the throne, the tempter claimed to be the same angel who had stayed Abraham's hand and to have come now to save Christ's life and help bear part of the work in the plan of salvation. Christ rejected that temptation and remained committed to carrying out the plan of redemption fully.

Call to Complete Surrender

Nothing held is too precious to give to God, for the dearest treasure belongs to Him and the Lord who gave can also take away. Isaac stands for anything as dear to the heart as he was to Abraham, so possessions, worldly treasure and wealth, talents, lives, and cherished interests and darling treasures must be laid upon the altar and yielded back for His work when He calls. Such surrender gives them true value for saving souls, secures the heavenly benediction, and brings more entrusted to the faithful steward, while holding back nothing decides whether one is rejected or welcomed to inherit the kingdom. Complete surrender of the whole human will to God places a person by faith under the protection of Jehovah when obeying His whole will, voice, and law.

The command calls for prompt, immediate, unquestioning, cheerful obedience to every requirement even when startling, terrible, painful, and apparently contradicting promise, without hesitating, delaying, murmuring, questioning, or giving up. Age and feebleness give no excuse from duty, and personal feeling, convenience, affection, and inability to see fulfillment give no right to question, delay, or reproach. True faith is not faith alone but faith joined with trust in God and producing fruits and good works, requiring the whole person surrendered to God. Abraham's experience is the enduring example and measure of extraordinary faith given to give strength and courage and faith, teaching trust in God as the very best friend irrespective of consequences through difficult trials. Believers are to believe His promises and rely on Him regardless of consequences, with assurance that God will provide for His faithful obedient ones even when action brings cost and ridicule.

Solemn duty rests on Christian parents to educate and mould children to have high respect and exalted reverence for God and everything sacred and holy, to regard His claims first, to sacrifice anything for Him, and to exemplify faith by works. Children are taught by Isaac's willing submission to submit to parents and to God, trusting integrity and believing God's command even when the requirement is painful. The same voice that told Abraham to leave his country for a land God would show commanded the offering, and Abraham believed, delighted to obey, obeyed at once without reasoning it out, and came off conqueror. That faith was imputed to him for righteousness, obedience to God's voice and law being essential to favor and blessing, and he was saved by faith in Christ just as the sinner is saved by faith in Christ today. Doing such works of obedience is what makes a person a true child of Abraham, commended with the promise that in his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed. His going up to Mount Moriah to offer his only son at God's command is held up as the example brethren and sisters are to follow in sowing beside all waters. They are to meet opposition from selfish motives, bigotry, and prejudice with courage and living faith, not confining labor to their own country or hovering about the churches but going out to the unbelieving world to convert souls to the truth.