Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac.

(Gen 22 NIV) Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. {2} Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Here are a few sermon notes on Gen 22.

The words of God to Abraham are poignant, Isaac had been born to Abraham in his old age, so not much chance to produce another son. Now God tests Abraham to his limit, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son, and God makes it even worse by adding the phrase "Isaac, whom you love".

The parallels between Gen 22, in which God orders Abraham to sacrifice his son, and the cross on which Jesus is sacrificed as the Lamb of God are obvious, but here are a few notes. The sacrifice of Isaac was a 'type' of the Old Testament. It looks forward to its ultimate fulfillment in the New Testament. On its own, it looks like God is just testing the faith of Abraham (Gen 22:1). But in the light of the New Testament and the cross we can see the heart of God when He sacrificed his one and only Son, whom He loved on the cross. The result was that He would get a bride for his Son, that is, the church.

First, note how the NT comments on this passage:

(Heb 11:17-19 NIV) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, {18} even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." {19} Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

In order to understand God's test of Abraham we have to know that God's promises to Abraham specifically said that they would be fulfilled through his son Isaac. God does not test us without giving us his promises. God has given us his promises in the bible.

Gen 17:19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

(Gen 21:12 NIV) But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.

Abraham is listed in Heb 11 as a man of faith. We should note that his obedience in being prepared to obey God's order to sacrifice Isaac was based on God's previous dealings with him. His faith was not blind faith. It was based on his own experience of God. God had previously said to Abraham "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."

Now, we have the Genesis account.

(Gen 22 NIV) Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. {2} Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

• "Some time later" - Isaac, the son of promise, had been born, and Abraham had sent Ishmael and Hagar away (Gen 21:10-21). Isaac would have been a young man by then.
• Abraham was open to the voice of God, God speaks and he says "Here I am"
• This is stated as a 'test'. Does Abraham really believe the promises that God has already made about Isaac? Gen 17:19, Gen 21:12
• Abraham was told to sacrifice his only¹ son, whom he loved. This parallels Jesus "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.". Mat 3:17, John 3:16, Heb 11:17, 1 John 4:9.
• Through Abraham, the father of Isaac. We see and feel the father heart of God as he sacrifices Jesus on the cross.
• Abraham exhibits faith in God's promises, that would be fulfilled through Isaac and his descendants, Gen 17:19, Gen 21:12, Heb 11:17-18
• As a result of his faith in God's promises Abraham was obedient. Note: faith results in obedience, and faith has an object, God's promises.
• If God sacrificed Isaac, then Abraham reasoned that God would raise Isaac from the dead in order to keep his promise to Abraham. Heb 11:19
• It was God's will to afflict his son, Isa 53:4
• A burnt offering is a pleasing aroma to the Lord (Gen 8:20, Exo 29:18 ). Jesus was also a fragrant offering to God, Eph 5:2. See also Phil 4:18
• Mt Moriah was where Solomon's Temple was built. 2 Chr 3:1 Where future burnt offerings would be made 1 Ki 8:64

{Gen 22:3} Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. {4} On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. {5} He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." {6} Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, {7} Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" {8} Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

• "Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey." Abraham did not delay his obedience to the voice of God.
• Jesus went to Jerusalem on a donkey
• Two servants went with Isaac, just as two thieves where crucified with Jesus.
• Third day, Jesus rose on the third day, Abraham received his son back on the third day alive.
• v5 "We will worship and then we will come back to you" - this was an act of worship on Abraham's part (Rom 12:1), and he expected to come back with the boy.
• Isaac carried the wood for his sacrifice just as Jesus carried his cross to the place of execution.
• God provided Jesus as the lamb.
• Jesus is our sacrificial lamb, 1 Cor 5:7.
• The father was to sacrifice his son. The crucifixion of Jesus was the father's idea, Acts 2:23.

{Gen 22:9} When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. {10} Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. {11} But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. {12} "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

• Abraham was open to the voice of God, God speaks and he says "Here I am"
• The intent of Abraham to sacrifice his son, was as good as the deed. God tested Abraham to the fullest extent, and he passed the test.
• Abraham did not withhold his only son, the son whom he loved. Just as God did not withhold his only son, whom he loved, to pay for our sins. Mat 3:17. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- Rom 8:32
• Jesus was sacrificed on the altar of the cross to pay for our sins. 1 Cor 5:7 Eph 5:2
• Isaac yields himself to his fathers will. Just as Jesus yields himself to his Father's will. Luke 22:42

{Gen 22:13} Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. {14} So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

• God provided the ram as a substitute for Isaac. God provided his Son who died as our substitute for our sins.
• The mountain of the Lord is the same mountain that Jesus was crucified.
• The Lord will provide - Jehovah-jireh

{Gen 22:15} The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time {16} and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, {17} I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, {18} and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." {19} Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

• In the words above God ratifies his covenant to Abraham, see Gen 17:19, Gen 21:12
• "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed" ,This is fulfilled when Jesus died for our sins, then people from every nation will be blessed (Great commission, Mat 28:19), Rev 5:9.
• "because you have obeyed me", because Jesus obeyed God, he would bring many sons to glory. Heb 2:10
• God did not withhold his only son, Rom 8:32
• Abraham received his son 'back from the dead', Heb 11:19.

{Gen 22:20} Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: {21} Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), {22} Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel." {23} Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. {24} His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

• After Isaac was 'sacrificed' his Bride Rebekah was born. The Church is the Bride of Christ, and was born out of the sacrifice of Jesus, 1 Pet 1:23.
• Jesus was descended from Isaac according to the flesh, Mat 1:2.
• Like Isaac we are children of the promise Gal 4:28
• Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah Gen 25:20

Reference:

1. Here are John Gill's comments on only son: "thine only son Isaac; for, though Ishmael was his son, he was a son by his maid, by his concubine, and not by his wife; Isaac was his only legitimate son, his only son by his lawful wife Sarah; the only son of the promise, his only son, in whom his seed was to be called: "

Why did God punish the Canaanites for child sacrifice, when He personally ORDERED Abraham to do it?! See Glenn Miller

Related articles on this site The Faith of Isaac and The Hallway of Faith Heb 11