Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
Abraham told his servants to stay behind with the ass while he and the lad went on alone to worship and return, leaving them at a distance so they could not hinder his obedience and only God would witness his full consecration of Isaac. His promise that they would come again expressed faith that God's promise concerning Isaac would still hold even as he expected to offer him, believing the same power that gave him Isaac could raise him even from the ashes of the burnt sacrifice. The command was a severe test in his old age, terrible to human judgment and full of anguish, yet he obeyed without questioning, reasoning, murmuring or delay, letting trust in God control his actions rather than feeling until God stopped him at the last moment. The offering was a figure of God giving His Son to die to save humanity from ruin, permitting Abraham to enter in small measure into God's own experience, making real the Father's infinite sacrifice in surrendering His beloved Son to the shameful death of the crucifixion where, unlike Isaac, no voice stayed the sacrifice. The journey thus teaches implicit confidence in God and complete surrender of the will, holding nothing too precious to give to God but laying whatever is cherished most upon the altar when He requires it.
Words and Setting
Abraham directs his servants to stay behind with the donkey while he and the boy go onward to worship and then come back to them. He leaves the servants at a distance from Mount Moriah and proceeds alone with Isaac so they cannot prevent or interfere with his obedience. He desires no human witnesses, wanting only God to look on and see his full consecration of Isaac, to read his heart and know how severely he feels the test, and to witness the parting scene between father and son.
He advances step by step toward the mountain through three days of dark and fearful trial with grief and agony and torture of soul. He lays the wood upon his son's shoulders and himself carries the knife and the fire, bracing himself for the work he must do without murmuring against God. The Lord goes with him every step, and he draws strength from God by looking not at things seen with mortal vision but at things eternal. He has wakened his son Isaac to set out at the command of God to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.
The proving of his loyalty takes place near Salem, the central and elevated place later chosen as the capital Jerusalem. His promise that they would come again is fulfilled when an angel stays his hand as the knife is raised to slay Isaac, so that Abraham and the lad can return.
Faith in Resurrection
Abraham's statement that he and the boy would go to worship and return expressed his faith that God's promise concerning Isaac would still hold even though he expected to offer him, for he trusted that God could raise Isaac from the dead. He continued toward the mountain despite grief and the doubts suggested by Satan, and did not abandon confidence that Isaac would be the line through which his descendants came. He believed the same power that had given him Isaac could raise him again from the dead and still fulfill the promise through him, even from the ashes of the burnt sacrifice.
He trusted that God saw the end from the beginning, and regarded the sacrifice as real in his heart, carrying out the purpose in his heart as fully as if he had by his own hand taken his son's life. He strengthened himself with the evidences of God's goodness and faithfulness to endure this, and this faith was counted to him for righteousness. As he acted in faith, the promised coming of Christ was opened before him, and he saw the incarnate Savior, the Lamb given for human sin, and rejoiced.
Perfect Obedience Tested
The command to offer Isaac came as a severe test in Abraham's old age, terrible to human judgment and seemingly in conflict with the promises concerning his son, bringing anguish, grief, agony and torture of soul through three days of dark trial as he advanced step by step toward the mountain. He obeyed without stopping to question how the promises could be fulfilled if Isaac died, without reasoning against God's word, without murmuring or faltering, and without delaying while he tried to reason through a command that could not be reasoned out. Under the severest test he stopped reasoning and obeyed, drawing strength from God and looking not at things seen with mortal vision but at things eternal, with the Lord going with him every step.
His faith and confidence in God controlled his actions rather than his feelings, putting duty to God before personal feeling in implicit trust and obedience without complaint. Neither age nor love and personal attachment excused him from obeying, and he continued until God stopped him at the last moment. He came off conqueror by obedience, and for that complete obedience of heart — carrying out the fearful test in heart purpose as fully as if he had by his own hand taken his son's life — he was called God's friend and the father of the faithful.
His obedience reveals true faith, which is not belief alone but trust in God that produces fruits, the saving faith in Christ by which he was saved just as the sinner is saved by faith in Christ today. It answered the same voice that had told him to leave his country and go to the land God would show him. God only designed to prove his willingness to endure, requiring him only to set his feet in the blood-stained path but not to travel it.
The purpose of the test extended beyond Abraham and his descendants, for heavenly beings witnessed his loyalty and obedience. That witnessed loyalty exposed Satan's accusations as false and helped reveal the plan of salvation to the universe.
Foreshadowing Divine Sacrifice
Isaac's offering was a figure of God giving His Son to die to save humanity from ruin. God in divine compassion and infinite love required no more of Abraham than He Himself had given to man. The trial was permitted so Abraham might experience the cost of giving a beloved son and enter into God's own experience of sacrifice, and by that personal experience the plan of redemption and the gospel were impressed upon him.
His anguish makes real the self-denial and infinite sacrifice of the Father in surrendering His beloved Son to the agonies and shameful death of the crucifixion for the guilty race. The guiltless suffered for the guilty to pay the immeasurable ransom that fallen, rebellious man could never provide for himself. Legions of angels witnessed the humiliation and soul-anguish of the Son of God, insulted, mocked, derided and tortured until He bowed His head in death. Unlike Isaac they were not permitted to interpose, and no voice was heard to stay the sacrifice, giving the greatest proof of divine love and pity that with Him God will also freely give all things.
Christ in the wilderness was tested like Abraham to show perfect obedience. God had designed Abraham's test only to prove his willingness to endure, requiring him only to set his feet in the blood-stained path but not to travel it. Satan invoked that precedent to argue that Christ, like Abraham, was being tested only to prove willingness and need not continue along the blood-stained path of hunger and death. Christ rejected the claim and remained resolved to carry out the plan of redemption in every particular.
Example for Believers
The journey to go yonder and worship teaches implicit confidence in God, obedience to His requirements even when painful, and complete surrender of the will. Nothing a person possesses is too precious to give to God. Isaac stands for whatever people cherish most, including wealth and worldly possessions, so the call is entire surrender of the whole will, laying all possessions upon the altar when God requires it and holding back nothing. Faith is shown genuine only by such willing obedience and surrender of what belongs to God, and nothing has true value until it is devoted to God.
Abraham's willingness to offer his only son, the child of promise, at God's command shows that obedience can require surrendering what is most cherished and dearest. That devotion stands in contrast to those unwilling to give up earthly possessions for others, for God's cause, and for everlasting and eternal life. Isaac himself willingly submitted, trusting his father's love and integrity and believing he would not make this sacrifice unless God had commanded it.
His obedience is recorded to teach that obedience to God's law is essential to receiving His favor and blessing. Because he obeyed God's voice, he came under the protection of Jehovah and received the commendation that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. His trust at each step gives strength and courage for others to rely on God's promises and dealings. God gave the test as a lesson for his present and eternal good, and 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 the dictates of the flesh.
His going up Mount Moriah to offer his only son, leaving the young men behind to go yonder and worship, stands as obedience and sacrifice for God's people to follow. It calls them to meet opposition from selfish motives, bigotry and prejudice with undaunted courage and living faith. It calls them to sow beside all waters, not confining labor to their own country but going out to the unbelieving world to convert souls, because the field is the world and the harvest is ripe.