Genesis 22 – Study
For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.
Passage: Genesis 22:1-8
1 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, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will show you.’
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded 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.
A. Find Out:
- What did God do with Abraham? v.1
- What did He tell him to do? v.2
- Where was he to do it? v.2
- How many days did they travel to get there? v.4
- What was Isaac puzzled about? v.7
- What did Abraham reply? v.8
B. Think:
- What did this test show about Abraham?
- How do you think he felt as he went?
- How do you think he has changed since we met him?
C. Comment:
When we come to this terrible test, we must always remember that God wasn’t going to let it happen. What was important was the way Abraham responded to God. Let’s consider what must have raged in Abraham’s mind.
First, he must have been in turmoil over the thought of losing Isaac, the son who had taken so long to come and who meant so much to him. Surely God wouldn’t take the son He had given and have him put to death?
Second, he must have been in turmoil over the sort of God he was dealing with. The pagans who worshipped idols sacrificed their children and this God had appeared completely different from them. Where does this leave him now? But somehow Abraham manages to just get on and do it. He has come a long way with God and he’s not giving up now, as hard as it may be.
In his words in v.8 we find his complete trust in God: “God will provide”. Read Hebrews 11:17-19. The reality here is that Abraham believed in a God of resurrection. This man whose faith appears to have wavered many times is now standing rock steady in the sure belief that the God who has lead him thus far knows best – even in the matter of death! What an incredible man of faith he has become!
D. Application?
Although God would never ask us to slay those closest to us, He may ask us to let them go or hold them more lightly if they compete with our love for Him.
Passage: Genesis 22:9-19
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.’
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.’
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.
A. Find Out:
- What did Abraham go to do? v.10
- Who intervened? v.11
- What did he tell him? v.12
- What replacement was there for the sacrifice? v.13
- What did Abraham call that place? v.14
- What did the Lord promise as a result? v.17
B. Think:
- What did Abraham show by being willing to sacrifice Isaac?
- How did this incident reinforce Abraham’s knowledge of the Lord?
- How, in one sense, did it seal Abraham’s future?
C. Comment:
It is important to realize that this was a unique event in history where God asked a man to slay his own son. He Himself would do it in respect of His own Son, Jesus, but He never asked or asks any other man to do the same. Again we should emphasize that God did NOT want Isaac killed, He merely wanted to test Abraham’s dedication! Now Abraham has passed the test of tests!
Through it Abraham sees the Lord as the God who provides when we come to the end of ourselves. The Lord had provided for Abraham before, but it seems that only now is he really aware of it. It sometimes takes a crisis for us to realize deeper truths about the Lord as they directly affect us personally.
The Lord then reiterates His promise to Abraham. Abraham, your family will flourish, and the world will be blessed by you. The future is now assured. In Mark 10:29,30 Jesus lays down a similar principle for us which is a further extension of 1 Samuel 2:30c, that if we honor God He will honor and bless us! That is His promise, and He WILL keep it, but it does require US to play our part!
D. Application?
- Are we honoring the Lord in all we are and do, or are there parts of our lives that we hold back from giving him without reservation?
- The Lord looks for us to honor Him. WHEN we do, He will honor us.