Abraham’s Test
Abraham’s Test
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A Burnt Offering
Afterward, God tested Abraham:
“Abraham!” God said.
“Yes? I’m here.”
“Please take your son, your beloved only child, Isaac, to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him as a burnt offering there on the mountain I will show you.”
Image by Katherine Clark from Freely Photos
Sometime after the events of chapter 21, God spoke to Abraham again. Scripture doesn’t say how much time had passed, but Isaac is clearly no longer a baby. Yet his innocent question in verse 7 and his silent submission suggest he was still young. Since Ishmael had been disinherited, Isaac was Abraham’s only remaining child. And his father loved him dearly.
This time, God gave no commands and made no promises. He politely requested that Abraham take Isaac to the land of Moriah to sacrifice him there.1 The horror and revulsion modern readers feel at this shocking request is no cultural misunderstanding. It’s how God feels about child sacrifice.2 To avoid any implication that the God of Israel might actually desire such a sacrifice, the story begins with the assurance that God was only testing Abraham. But Abraham didn’t know that.
God’s request introduces the fourth and greatest threat to Isaac inheriting the covenant promises: the death of Isaac himself.3 God’s covenant revolved around Isaac, and it was for Isaac’s sake that Ishmael had been disinherited.4 Isaac’s death would make the fulfillment of the promises impossible. But Abraham had witnessed the impossible before.5
Setting Out
The next morning, Abraham rose early, saddled his donkey, took two young men and his son Isaac with him, and chopped the firewood for the burnt offering. Then he set out for the place God had told him about.
On the third day, Abraham looked and saw the place in the distance. He told the young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there to worship, and then we will return.”
Image by Harry Cunningham from Pexels
For the second time, Abraham faced losing a son. He had responded to God’s command to send Ishmael away by rising early the next morning, gathering food and water, giving them to Hagar, and sending her off with Ishmael.6 He responded to God’s request to sacrifice Isaac by rising early the next morning, preparing a donkey and some firewood, calling two young men to help with the trip, and setting off with Isaac. Even in the most painful situations, Abraham was promptly obedient.
The narrative draws out Abraham’s ordeal by describing his actions in excruciating detail. But it never mentions his emotions. The reader is left to feel on his behalf, imagining a level of anguish that words could never express. For two days he marched on, somehow managing to put one foot in front of the other. Then on the third day, there it was. The mountain of sacrifice loomed ahead.
When the time came to start hiking up the mountain, Abraham left the two young men behind with the donkey. He promised that “we will return.” As terrible as the trial must have been, Abraham still had faith that God would keep his promise. For that to happen, he would have to receive his son back somehow. According to Hebrews 11:19, he believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. Though he did not know what lay ahead, by this time Abraham knew the power and faithfulness of his God. That was enough to keep him going.
A Tale of Two Fathers
Abraham gave the firewood for the burnt offering to Isaac, his son. But he carried the fire and the knife himself.
Image by Sweet Publishing from Free Bible Images, CC BY-SA 3.0
For the last leg of the trip, father and son traveled alone. They took with them only what was necessary for the sacrifice. Abraham gave the firewood to Isaac, who probably carried it in a sling across his back. But Abraham carried the implements of death: the fire and knife.7
Abraham’s son carried the wood he was to be sacrificed on to the designated place. Much later, God’s Son would also carry the wood he was to be sacrificed on.8 God led Jesus to the cross just as Abraham led Isaac to the altar.9 Isaac’s silence while being bound, indicating his submission to his father, parallels Jesus’s silent submission to his Father.10 Both fathers received their sons back on the third day.11
God did not ask Abraham to do anything more for him than what he was willing to do for Abraham. In fact, God went even further. Unlike Isaac, Jesus actually died. Redeeming Isaac required a substitute sacrifice.12 A ram would suffice as the initial substitute.13 But it was ultimately Jesus who took Isaac’s place. And ours.
Walking Together
Then the two of them continued on together.
Isaac said to his father, Abraham, “Father?”
“What is it, my son?”
“We have the fire and the firewood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
“God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering himself, my son,” Abraham replied. Then the two of them continued on together.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The trek up the mountain would have taken several hours, but all Scripture records about it is one brief conversation.14 Abraham would not have revealed the true purpose of his trip. Anyone would have assumed the old man had lost his mind and tried to stop him. Isaac was clearly in the dark and understandably confused. They had everything they needed to make a sacrifice—except the sacrifice.
Abraham’s enigmatic response probably did little to calm Isaac’s mind. Abraham likely didn’t fully understand it himself. But what else could he say? God would either accept the sacrifice of the son he had provided for Abraham and Sarah or provide a substitute. Either way, what Abraham said was no lie.
The repetition of “then the two of them continued on together,” a literary device called an inclusio, marks this conversation as the central theme.15 The story does not revolve around Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac or even the reaffirmation of the promises in verses 16–18. It revolves around Abraham’s conviction that “God will provide.”
This profound statement of faith is the theme of not only chapter 22 but also the entire story of Abraham and arguably all of Genesis. Abraham had not always trusted God to that degree, but God had always provided everything he needed regardless. Now, at the pinnacle of his faith journey, Abraham was forced to draw on that lifetime of experience to trust that God would provide once more. In doing so, he became the father of all who live by faith.16
Binding Isaac
When they arrived at the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and arranged the firewood. Then he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the firewood on top of the altar. He reached out and readied the knife to kill his son.
But Yahweh’s messenger called out from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes? I’m here!”
“Don’t hurt the boy! Do him no harm! Now I know you fear God because you have not denied me even your son, your only child.”
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
When Abraham and Isaac reached their destination, Abraham busied himself building and preparing the altar. Once again, his actions are described in detail, but his emotions are never mentioned.17 Isaac must have understood what was happening by the time his father started tying his hands and feet together. Yet he said and did nothing. The focus remains solely on Abraham’s obedience.
Finally the moment of truth arrived. Abraham readied the knife and gathered all his strength to force himself to slit the throat of his beloved son.18 But just in the nick of time, a loud voice called out his name. Yahweh’s messenger declared the end of the test. Abraham had passed.
Earlier in his life, Abraham feared Abimelech more than he feared God.19 By the end of his journey, he had learned to fear God even more than he feared losing Isaac. This was the ultimate test of Abraham’s loyalty. As much as he loved Isaac, God alone came first in his life. And now Abraham had proven it beyond all doubt.
Yahweh’s Provision
Then Abraham looked around and saw a ram with its horns caught in a thicket. He took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham named that place Yahweh Yireh, which is the origin of the proverb said today “On Yahweh’s mountain it is provided.”
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As Abraham had predicted, God himself provided the burnt offering—a ram caught in some nearby bushes.20 Abraham freed Isaac, and together they sacrificed the ram instead. To commemorate the provision of the ram, Abraham named the place where he built the altar Yahweh Yireh, which means “Yahweh provides.”
Yahweh’s provision for Abraham and Isaac parallels his earlier provision for Hagar and Ishmael.21 Both of Abraham’s sons lay at death’s door until Yahweh’s messenger spoke from heaven. Hagar failed to see the well that would save Ishmael, and Abraham failed to see the ram that would save Isaac. God not only saved the lives of both boys but also secured their futures by reaffirming his promises.
This story later inspired a proverb among Abraham’s descendants: “On Yahweh’s mountain it is provided.” If the mountain where Abraham bound Isaac is the location of the temple, this takes on even greater significance.22 The temple became the only location where the Israelites could atone for their sins by bringing sacrifices to God.23 In this way, God provided a sacrificial substitute to protect Isaac’s descendants from death, as he protected Isaac.24
The Promise Expanded
Yahweh’s messenger called out from heaven a second time, “Yahweh proclaims, ‘By myself I swear that because you have done this and have not denied me even your son, your only child, I will certainly bless you by making your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will take possession of his enemies’ cities. Through your offspring, every nation on earth will continue to be blessed because you have obeyed me.’”
Then Abraham returned to the young men, and together they set out for Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.
After Abraham had finished sacrificing the ram, Yahweh’s messenger spoke a second time. He reiterated the covenant promises of offspring and land, and he also expanded them because of Abraham’s obedience.
Yahweh promised Abraham’s offspring victory. This can be linked to the promise of land and the Israelite conquest of Canaan. But the promise gives Abraham’s offspring victory over his enemies, not their enemies. This indicates that one specific descendant of Abraham is meant, pointing beyond the Israelites to Jesus and his ultimate victory over the nations.
The promise of blessing the nations was also expanded. The first two instances of this promise mentioned only Abraham as a blessing and used a passive form of the verb (“they will be blessed”).25 Here the promise expands to Abraham’s offspring, and the verb form indicates a repeated action (“they will continue to be blessed”). The blessing of the nations that started with Abraham would continue through his offspring.26
Through his obedience, Abraham acknowledged God’s sovereignty over his descendants. God alone was responsible for Isaac’s future, even if that meant losing him. But it was in giving Isaac up that Abraham secured his future and that of his descendants.
Nahor’s Children
Afterward, Abraham received news that Milcah and his brother Nahor also had children: Uz (the firstborn), his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. It is Bethuel who fathered Rebekah. These are the eight sons of Milcah and Abraham’s brother Nahor. Nahor’s concubine, Reumah, also gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
Image by Isaac Quesada from Unsplash
The story of Abraham’s test ends by listing the sons of his brother Nahor, who stayed behind when Abraham left Harran.27 This brief genealogy begins the transition from Abraham’s story to Isaac’s. Although twelve sons of Nahor are named, the main purpose of this section is to introduce Nahor’s granddaughter and Isaac’s future wife, Rebekah.
The next three chapters bring Abraham’s journey to a close by recounting Sarah’s death, Isaac’s marriage, and finally Abraham’s death. But this does not bring an end to the covenant, which would pass to a new generation.
- The “land of Moriah” is not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, but according to 2 Chronicles 3:1, the temple was built on Mount Moriah. Whether this is the same mountain God led Abraham and Isaac to cannot be proven.
- Jeremiah 32:35.
- See Threats to the Promise.
- Genesis 17:19–21; 21:12.
- See Sarah’s Laughter.
- Genesis 21:14.
- The “fire” was probably a container of hot coals.
- John 19:17; see Typology.
- Philippians 2:8.
- Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 26:62–63.
- Genesis 22:4; Matthew 16:21.
- See A Soothing Aroma.
- Genesis 22:13.
- The highest mountains within a three-day walk from Beersheba are only slightly above three thousand feet. See WorldAtlas, “Highest Mountains in Israel,” by Joyce Chepkemoi, April 25, 2017, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/highest-mountains-in-israel.html.
- See Inclusio.
- Romans 4:16.
- See Setting Out.
- Slitting the throat was the only proper way to kill a sacrifice. See A New Reality.
- See The Fear of God.
- See Walking Together.
- See Hope.
- Compare Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1.
- Leviticus 4:31.
- See A Soothing Aroma.
- Genesis 12:3; 18:18.
- See Why Israel?
- See The Road to Canaan.