Last time we talked about Genesis 22, we focused our efforts on three words in verse 1: “God tested Abraham”. We talked about the fact that God testing Abraham is not the same as God tempting Abraham. We talked about the fact that God does not tempt us. We talked about when God does test us He is testing our heart. We talked about the many reasons that God test’s our hearts. And we talked about how God tests our hearts, that God’s testing us does not come without fiery trials.
Now at this point Abraham does not know that God is going to test him. We know God is testing Abraham because we are the readers, but Abraham doesn’t know this yet. All Abraham knows at this point is that God has called out to him, for which Abraham responded, “Here I am”.
Now we are going to discover how God is going to test Abraham looking at verse 2 which says this: “He said, ‘Take you son, your only son Isaac, whom you love and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on the mountains of which I shall tell you.” What I want to do is take verse 2 and lay it open to help you see what’s there. I have 5 important observations we need to make so we can grasp the weight of this verse and really this chapter too.
Observation #1: Notice that God says to Abraham, “Take your son…”
This is a simple observation, but an important one. Remember, no word in Scripture is there by accident. It’s worth your time to consider and think over every word between every comma, every word between every colon, every word between every semicolon, every word between every dash, every word within every parentheses, and every word between every period. Small observations can lead to big applications.
So, what do these three words tell us? They immediately tell us that this test is going to involve Abraham’s son. Which should also cause one to brace him or herself, because trials involving your children are not especially easy, even though every trial that God takes us through is good. Someone once said, “A child can endure his parents but no parent can endure the thought of their child suffering.” That is so true.
The reason I want to point this out is because I want you to begin to feel the tension here. And keep in mind, Abraham still doesn’t know what God is about to ask of him, all he knows is that God, who gave him his son, is bringing him up in the conversation.
Observation #2: Not only does the test involve a son, but this test involves a specific son.
God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac…” Ishmael is out of the picture now. There is only one child left for Abraham – Isaac. And Isaac is the promised child.
The child that God had promised Abraham and Sarah for 25 years or so. The child that Abraham and Sarah longed for and kept waiting on God to bring. The child that God said He would multiply Abraham through. The child that God said He would use to cause Abraham to become a great nation.
Again, I want you to feel the tension here. God is going to use Isaac, Abraham’s only son, to test him. Also keep in mind that we know how this story goes, Abraham does not. Again, you and I know what God is about to ask of Abraham, but he doesn’t. At this point, Abraham doesn’t even know what he is about to face is a test.
Observation #3: Not only is Isaac Abraham’s only son, but a son whom Abraham has great affection for.
God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love…” Again, we feel the building tension here. Another layer is added to the relationship between Abraham and Isaac. This isn’t a son that Abraham has no affection for. This isn’t a son that Abraham has animosity with. This isn’t a son that Abraham dislikes or hates or is unhappy with or is indifferent towards.
This is a son that Abraham has tenderness for. A son that Abraham is fond of. A son that Abraham cherishes. A son that Abraham delights in. A son that Abraham enjoys. A son that Abraham is attached to. A son that Abraham and Sarah have a profound and passionate affection for.
Again, I want us to feel the tension here. This is the son that he and Sarah have longed for so long. The son who God kept saying, ‘Abraham, I am going to give you a son.’ The son who finally came when Abraham was 100 years of age. The son that has been at the center of everything that God has called Abraham and Sarah to do.
Like Abraham, God may use those closest to you to determine your commitment and faithfulness to Him.
Some people may wonder, why would God use Isaac to test Abraham? My answer to that question is why not Isaac. Who better to test Abraham’s commitment and faithfulness to God than the child that God gave him. In the same way, God may not ask us to sacrifice our children as He did Abraham, but He will certainly use those closest to us, those who we love, like a friend or a coworker or a fellow Christian or a spouse or a sibling or a parent or grandparent or an aunt or an uncle or a nephew or a niece or a cousin or a child, to determine how deep our commitment and faithfulness to Him is.
And that test can come in a variety of ways. It may come through an issue with some kind of temptation. It may come with a health scare. It may even come with the loss of a family member, like your own child. It may come with moral division between members of your own family.
As I thought about this, I thought about what Jesus said in Matthew 10:34-37. He said this, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
What Jesus is saying is that his coming from heaven to earth did not bring peace but division, especially within families. Because of him, families will be torn apart. Because of him parents will oppose their children, children will oppose their parents, and in-laws will oppose in-laws. Even what God commanded Abraham to do was a decision that could have brought division: Abraham had to decide to obey God or, for the sake of his child, disobey God. This is why Jesus calls his followers to have a supreme love for Him, because if we do not, when our family opposes our Christ-like ways, we’ll cave.
Many of us have never had to face that before. Many of us have never had to choose between following Jesus verses keeping peace in the family. But there are many that do.
For example, a muslim child must choose between following Jesus or getting kicked out of their family, and maybe even death. A believing wife, married to an unbelieving husband will often find herself at odds with her spouse, and may even face opposition, because she wants to fellowship with the saints when her husband wishes to do otherwise, and she must make a choice.
My point is this: You’ll discover how much Jesus means to you when God tests you using your own family. You’ll discover if Jesus really is a priority for you. You’ll discover if you really love Jesus and are faithful to Jesus as you think you are, when the day comes you must choose between your family and God. You’ll discover how faithful you are to God when your family are doing things that you don’t want to have anything to do with and you are forced to make a decision to part ways or keep the peace. And Jesus says, if our choice isn’t Him, then we’re not worthy of Him.
Observation #4: Also notice that God has Abraham and Isaac to journey from where they currently are.
God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah…” Although it may not seem like it, the location is important. And it’s important for a few reasons.
First, because “the land of Moriah” is actually a land with many mountains, one of which is considered Mount Moriah. Secondly, the land of Moriah is also the location of Jerusalem. Thirdly, according to 2 Chronicles 3:1, Mount Moriah is the place that Solomon constructed the temple in Jerusalem. And lastly, “the land of Moriah” is important because of the travel distance. Remember from Genesis 21:32, Abraham is currently in Beersheba. Mount Moriah is 50-60 miles from Beersheba, which would equate to a three day journey for Abraham and Isaac. Keep all this in the back of your mind, it’ll be important in just a moment.
Observation #5: Lastly notice what God instructs Abraham to do whenever they reach the land of Moriah.
God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” According to Leviticus chapter 1, a burnt offering is an offering made for the atonement of general sins, and would involve the sacrifice of a male bull or sheep or goat or turtledove or pigeon, that would be without defect, and then consumed by fire. However, God commanded that Abraham use Isaac as the sacrifice for the burnt offering.
Now the fact that God calls for Abraham to sacrifice his only son rather than an animal and the fact that it goes against God’s moral law to murder, tells us that God has no intention to see this command fulfilled. God would not violate His own moral law; that would make Him a sinner. What God was doing was seeing how deep Abraham’s commitment was to Him.
Like Abraham, the test for which God tests your heart may be a long journey.
Again, Abraham had to travel 50-60 miles or three days, to sacrifice Isaac. To me, this will be just as bad as when Abraham reaches Mt. Moriah to do what God has commanded, because he has time to think. Keep in mind, Abraham doesn’t know this is a test like we do. He doesn’t know God is going to stop him from going through with it.
So consider what all will be going through Abraham’s mind as he approaches the land of Moriah with son, knowing what is going to happen when he gets there. That in three days, he is going to have to put his son to death. In three day this promised child that God had given him will no longer be. You know there had to be tension in Abraham’s heart and mind. You know that had to be questions.
My point is that, in the same way, many of the tests that God will put us through may be a long journey. When God tests us it may be for three days. When God tests us it may be for three months. When God tests us it may be for three years. And it is likely to cause us great apprehension. We don’t know how long God shall determine our test.
But here’s what I can tell you. No matter how long God may test our hearts, it is momentary (it will not last forever) and it is “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17). Therefore, whatever test God may have us go through, no matter how hard it may be, and regardless of how long it may last, it is for our good.
The last point I want to make is that if you cannot tell already this chapter is a shadow of things to come.
A lot of people read the New Testament thinking that Jesus and what he did on the cross can only be discovered there. But truly he is also discovered all throughout the Old Testament through what we call a shadow. A shadow in the Bible is a picture or a cast of what is or what will be, and Genesis 22 is one of those shadow’s.
Here’s what I mean: Genesis 22 is a shadow of God sending Jesus to be sacrificed on the cross. Just as Abraham was going to offer his only son, whom he loved, as a burnt offering for the atonement of general sins, so God offered His only Son, whom He loved, as an offering for the atonement of general sins for all of humanity. Just as Abraham was to travel for three days to sacrifice Isaac, so Jesus laid in a tomb for three day. Just as Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac in the land of Moriah, so Jesus was sacrificed in the land of Moriah on the hill of Golgatha. So everything about Genesis 22 points to what is going to happen 1,767 or 18 centuries later when Jesus comes and dies on the cross, according to the will of God.