Abraham’s Faith is Tested – Genesis 22:1-19

Abraham, Isaac, Bible, Sacrifice, Trial

22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, 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. And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. 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? And Abraham said, God will [a]provide himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of Jehovah called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in the 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. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place [b]Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah [c]it shall be provided. 15 And the angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth [d]be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 22:8 Hebrew see for himself.
  2. Genesis 22:14 That is, Jehovah will see, or provide.
  3. Genesis 22:14 Or, he shall be seen
  4. Genesis 22:18 Or, bless themselves

Abraham’s Faith is Tested – Genesis 22:1-19

Some time later, God comes to Abraham and tells him to take his son, Isaac. He tells him to offer him as a burnt offering.

Some people may find this difficult to understand, but it is actually a test of Abraham’s faith.

Often, in Scripture, God tests our trust by putting us in difficult situations. These tests are designed to help us grow in our obedience and in our love for God.

The story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:1-19 is one such example. It was a supreme test for both men and it resulted in the ultimate triumph of their faith in God.

To modern readers, this is probably one of the most agonizing passages in the Bible. It involves nearly killing their son, and yet both men obeyed God’s command, binding Isaac to the altar, until an angel of the Lord intervened.

This experience is a type of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, the ram being sacrificed in place of the lamb to fulfill God’s promises of a great nation and of all nations being blessed through him.

The Hebrew word for this chapter, nasa, means “tested” or “tried”. This is an extremely challenging passage, and it is important to remember that God is testing our faith and our obedience.

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