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Genesis Chapter 22 "Abraham's Trial." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location The time of this trial is about seventeen years later, and Isaac is now twenty two years old. This is the time that Abraham will be tried by God, and God will ask Abraham to deliver up his own son to be sacrificed on an altar. The lesson that we are to receive from this, is that Isaac shall be a type of Christ. There is a message here that we must pay special attention to. God is taking a flesh man, a man that could be tempted; who had a son that he loved so dearly that there was nothing that was greater in value to Abraham, then Isaac. In Isaac, was the fulfillment of both Abraham and Sarah's dreams. Isaac was a special gift from God and a miracle birth. Think for a moment, that if God told you to sacrifice your child, and the commitment that it would take to give up the life of your child. However, God does not expect this of anyone, and He knows the pain it would be to you. But what this lesson is for you and I, is to show us how it will hurt our Heavenly Father, when 1870 years later, His only Begotten Son [Jesus Christ] will be sacrificed on the cross of Calvary. Abraham was asked to do this act of love, and through this act, we can see how strong his faith was, and his commitment to the Heavenly Father. Abraham knew God was in control, and that He kept his promises. The promises that God continually stated since their early marriage; that Sarah would bare a son, and through that son, she [Sarah] would become the mother of many nations. [Genesis 17:16] Abraham so believed that if God told him to raise the knife and let it fall, the God would resurrect Isaac, and the sacrifice would be restored. Abraham trusted God, and in his belief were the actions of his faith. To have faith you have the understanding and the focal point of your belief, and then you have the confidence in that belief to carry out exactly what is expected of you. Today God speaks to us through His Word, and instills the understanding in our minds by the Holy Spirit. Our test today by God, is our action in caring out what He expects of us through His holy Word. The sacrifice will take place on mount Moriah, and the word Moriah in the Hebrew tongue means "chosen by God". It is on Mount Moriah that Solomon will build God's temple, and it is also the future sight that city of Jerusalem will be built. It is the chosen place on earth, that is special to God. Jerusalem is made up of several hills, "the mount of olives", "mount Zion", "Calvary", well known, and others, and they all make up what is called "Moriah". The "wind of Moriah" is the Spirit of God". It is believed by most that the hill of Moriah that Isaac was given for sacrificed by Abraham, was Calvary, for 1890 years later, our Lord Jesus Christ would be sacrificed on the same hill of Calvary. This chapter will present some very deep things, for God wants you to know and understand His emotions and feeling that He has for you, that He would sacrifice His son for you, to free you from the bondage and seal of death that is place on all sinners, that each of us can come back in fellowship with in, through the blood of His son, Jesus Christ. Though Abraham was willing to make the sacrifice, God was not willing that it be carried out through Isaac. Genesis 22:1 "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, "Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am." God is going to test and prove Abraham. God does not interfere in the lives of all, but if you are chosen for a task by Him, He will prove you also. When the test come upon you, are you going to run like a rabbit when it comes, or make a stand? God has His plan, if you are chosen to be an important part of that plan He will see how you stand up against adversity. So years after God had given to Abraham, Isaac and the love bond had grown between father and son, Then the test came, and God called out to Abraham. Abraham heard God and was ready to answer. Genesis 22:2 "And He said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, 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." God means, thy only son by Sarah, of his people. This Moriah again has four peaks, and is the place where Jerusalem is located today. Calvary is the highest, and the place of Christ's crucifixion on the cross, and is where this takes place [Matthew 27:33]. Genesis 22:3 "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him." The wood that would be used to fire the altar, would be the wood from the grove that Abraham planted at Beer-sheba, where the well of the living waters were located. It is the well of the oath of seven, and would have part even in Jesus day, when He taught the woman at the well, and she brought the whole city out to hear the good news of the gospel. Genesis 22:4 "Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off." 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." Abraham had the faith to know that even if he sacrificed the son, Isaac, he knew that the son would come back with him. Whether in the resurrected body, or through the intercession by God, he knew Isaac would not be taken from him, for Abraham had faith in God's promises that He made to Abraham. Genesis 22:6 "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together." Isaac is going to carry the wood that the sacrifice will be made on, and the father and the son is a "antitype", both together becoming part of the sacrifice. This is a type of what will happen years later when Jesus carries His cross up Calvary hill. It is Isaac that is caring his wood [cross] up Calvary's hill, at Moriah, and they will go forth together [Isaac and Abraham]. Genesis 22:7 "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? Genesis 22:8 "And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering:" so they went both of them together." Isaac is about the age of twenty two, and he is now putting the whole thing together; and so he asks Abraham; "Where is the Lamb for the burnt offering?" He doesn't know, for Abraham hasn't told him yet. Now is the time to tell Isaac, so Abraham responded, "God will provide a lamb for a burnt offering." They then continued up the mount. Genesis 22:9 "And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood." Isaac is also beginning to get the picture, but he also loves and trust his father Abraham, and Yahveh. Genesis 22:10 "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son." Genesis 22:11 "And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham," and he said, "Here am I"." God allowed Abraham to continue through the sacrifice to the point that the commitment had been made, yet, the life of Isaac had been spared. Then Yahveh God called out to Abraham, and Abraham heard God. Genesis 22:12 "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." Neither would God withhold His only son from the sacrifice that would be made. Though God has many children, there is only one "begotten" of the Father, His name is Immanuel, the Messiah, the "Prince of peace"; Jesus the Christ. The prophet Isaiah foretold the suffering that Jesus willingly had gone through for the sake of each of our sins personally, in Isaiah the fifty third chapter. Just as Isaiah prophesied, Jesus willingly went to that cross, only He knew that the Heavenly Father would not stop the sacrifice then, until it was completed; and the "lamb" [Jesus Christ] had been sacrificed, and the blood shed. The loss of Isaac's life would not have paid that price for any sin, and thus the shedding of his blood would not happen, but Abraham had passed the test of complete faith and commitment to Yahveh, our Heavenly Father. Genesis 22:13 "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a 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." The ram is a mature male sheep. This is the same as God Almighty offering up His own son, instead of you and I paying the price for our sins. Our Father offered His own Son for you and in your place. God provided the sacrifice, and you must accept it for you. You must accept that sacrifice [Jesus Christ] for it to be in forgiveness for your sins. Genesis 22:14 "And Abraham called the name of that place Yahveh-jireh: as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." It is difficult to put the words of the Hebrew text in English, However, "Yahveh-jireh" means "God will provide". Do you believe that, or does doubt control your mind. God will provide, and you can count on that. When we enter times of great stress, and problems, and common sense tells us that we have done all that can humanly be done to stop it; that is the time to understand that testing you to see how well you trust Him, and believe that "God will provide" for you. So don't worry. We are not worthy to even pretend that we could be a sacrifice, but Jesus Christ was worthy to be offered for once and all, for the sins of all who will believe upon His name, and call upon Him. We do not serve a dead God, but a living risen Savior. Genesis 22:15 "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time," Genesis 22:16 "And said, "By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:" This is the oath that God is making upon Himself, that will lay the very foundation of Israel, and Christianity, and even the foundation of the coming of His son, and the sacrifice that He would make. Here is that foundation. Genesis 22:17 "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;" The "gate of his enemies" is the passage ways that the enemies go through to get to your lands, your homes and your peoples. God is telling us the He will give us the victory over all our enemies, for through God, it is us that controls our gates. When we look around the world there are many gates that our enemies must pass through to get to us, and Christian nations have controlled them all. The canals, the passage ways, the high grounds; and even in the case of Alaska, the passage way to our homeland from the far east and Russia, God has given to America that for such a small price. This is a promise to both the House of Israel [Christian Nations], and the House of Judah [Jews] that they would always posses the gates of their enemies. This promise is still in effect today, and this is why any nation that calls God's people of Satan, God will destroy, and cause much trouble to those peoples. Genesis 22:18 "And in you seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice." Today it is the Christians that stand up for one another, and that what ever blessing of the earth come through. There has always been sin in the world, and as a child of God we must act like a child of God, and have enough of a back bone to speak out when those around us are getting out of line. This not only applies to us in a personal sense, but as the body of Christ, and also the officials that are over us. The blessings come with the responsibilities. Genesis 22:19 "So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba." This is the place where Abraham dug his well, and resided in his old age. This starts a new stage in the study of Genesis, and we will see that Satan will again try to interfere into the lineage, or bloodline of Christ, through the womb of the women. He attempted it first with Eve, then Adam's daughters, when the fallen angels came to marry them. It was the cause of the cause of the flood of Noah's time. Now it has been name that Sarah will be the woman that this seed [Isaac] will come forth, so we will see a new attempt by Satan, to destroy the pure lineage of the coming Christ. So we will see it is time to pick a wife for Isaac, that will continue the blood line that the Christ child will come into the world through. Genesis 22:20 "And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, "Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;" In the Hebrew tongue, "Milcah" means "Queen"; while ""Nahor" means "snorting" Genesis 22:21 "Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram," Genesis 22:22 "And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel." Genesis 22:23 "And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother. We will see that "Rebekah" was a very beautiful woman, bright and compassionate; she also was a humble person. Genesis 22:24 "And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah." So now we have the genealogy of Rebekah, who will be Isaac's wife and the mother of both Jacob [Israel], and Esau [red, or Rosh, or Russia]. Because Isaac was born years after the normal birthing times for a woman; for Sarah was in her nineties, we see that Isaac is marrying his uncle's granddaughter.
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