SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 22
IMPORTANT VERSE:
“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.”（Genesis 22:14)
ABRAHAM TESTED (vs. 1-19)
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 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.”
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. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 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.”
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, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and the wood are here,” Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
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. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “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 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. 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.”
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I wear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.
Then Abraham returned to his servants and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
NAHOR’S SONS (vs. 20-24)
Some time later Abraham was told, “Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel. Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.
THOUGHTS (From Life Application Study Bible)
When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering to him, Abraham obeyed. He traveled 50 miles to Mount Moriah near the site of Jerusalem. It showed that his love for God superseded his love for his own son Isaac. God tested Abraham to determine his commitment and develop his character. And he passed the test. Obeying God is often a struggle because it may mean giving up something we truly want. We should not expect our obedience to God to be easy or to come naturally.
It is difficult to let go of what we deeply love. But when we do give to God what he asks, he returns to us far more than we could dream.
Abraham received abundant blessings because he did not hold back but obeyed God. First, God gave Abraham’s descendants the ability to conquer their enemies. Second, God promised Abraham children and grandchildren who would in turn bless the whole earth. People’s lives would be changed as a result of knowing of the faith of Abraham and his descendants. Most often, we think of blessings as gifts to be enjoyed. But when God blesses us, these blessings are intended to overflow to others.
There is a parallel between the ram offered on the altar as a substitute to Isaac and Christ offered on the cross as a substitute for us. Whereas God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, God did not spare his own Son, Jesus, from dying on the cross. If Jesus had lived, the rest of humankind would have died. God sent his only Son to die for us so that we can be spared from the eternal death we deserve and instead received eternal life.